American Express created a frenzy among the wealthy when it decided to take advantage of rumors of an exclusive black-colored charge card, used by movie stars and music celebrities for purchasing jets and other items beyond the financial reach of us mere mortals. In 1999, American Express introduced the Centurion Card, a black charge card with no spending limits and a veritable cornucopia of exclusive benefits, all for a significant fee.
Last year, Visa saw the opportunity to market to the same demographic when this company launched its answer to the Centurion Card, the Visa Black Card which I’ve previously described in detail.
Although the assumption is that the Visa Black Card would compete with the American Express Centurion Card, it actually has more in common with the American Express Platinum Card.
Do you qualify?
If you want to hold a Centurion Card, you must be a Platinum cardholder for at least one year and you must have spent $250,000 on the card in twelve months. Both the Platinum and Centurion Cards are charge cards, not credit cards, so you are expected to pay off your entire charged balance each month.
To qualify for an American Express Platinum Card, the prevailing thought is that you will need an annual income of at least $100,000 and a high credit score in order to be approved.
The Visa Black Card is a credit card, not a charge card, offered to only 1% of the United States population. You and three million other people might qualify for this card. Some current Visa customers have received invitations or have had their existing Visa cards automatically upgraded. There have been reports of people with poor credit and little or no income being approved for this card, and an invitation package was sent to a man who had been deceased for seven years.
Annual fees
The Centurion Card is in a class of its own. When you qualify for the Centurion Card, you will be charged a $5,000 initiation fee and an annual membership fee of $2,500. That’s a total of $7,500 will will owe after the first billing period without having spent any money.
The Visa Black Card carries an annual fee of $495 while the American Express Platinum Card requires a yearly membership payment of $450. This fee comparison makes it clear that the features of the Visa Black Card are more likely to be in line with the Platinum rather than the Centurion.
Concierge services
All three cards offer 24-hour concierge services. The purpose of a concierge is to have a personal assistant with the resources to take care of arrangements you do not have time for yourself. A good concierge should be able to order and deliver gifts to the people you specify, give dining recommendations and make reservations, even in the most popular restaurants. A concierge would be your proxy for shopping.
The Centurion Card goes further by assigning you a personal concierge, so you theoretically always deal with the same employee from the service, who gets to know you and your preferences. Additionally, the Centurion Card reportedly permits you to schedule private shopping at high end stores, such as Gucci, Neiman Marcus, and Sony.
Travel services
The Visa Black Card offers 24/7 legal, medical, and financial emergency travel services, as does the Platinum Card and the Centurion Card. All three cards offer travel accident insurance. The Visa Black Card offers up to $250,000 insurance while the Platinum Card offers $500,000 insurance. The Centurion Card offers $1,500,000 in travel accident insurance.
If your baggage is delayed while traveling, the Visa Black Card will credit you $100 a day for three days, while the Platinum Card will insure your baggage up to $2,000. The Centurion Card will insure up to $1,250 for carry-on items and $500 for each checked bag.
Purchase protection and warranties
If there is a problem with any purchase you make with the Visa Black Card, the card can reimburse the owner up to $500 before 90 days have passed since the date of purchase. The Platinum and Centurion Cards protects holders up to $10,000 per occurrence and $50,000 total per cardholder per year within the same 90 days of the purchase.
Summary
In most cases, the Visa Black Card, despite its appearance, is more competitive with the Platinum Card. Based on these benefits, the Centurion Card is in its own class despite some features in common with the Platinum Card. Many of the Visa Black Card’s services are more aligned with Visa Signature benefits, a level that usually does not carry any annual membership fees.
I’ll stick with a free Visa Signature Card, which also comes with concierge services, purchase security, and all features at levels identical to the Visa Black Card.
Review the details from the sources: Visa Black Card, American Express Platinum Card, American Express Centurion Card, Visa Signature Card.
Your opinions
With fees starting at $450, are luxury credit cards worthwhile? Have you received any offers for the Visa Black Card?
About the Author
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Total wastes of money. I will go out on a limb and say that the only people that carry the black cards are ones that can qualify for it and are immature enough to care about telling people that they have one.
I have a Mastercard that is all black and looks really cool. At first I thought it was some sort of promotion, but it wasn’t – same no fee card I’ve always had. I think I’ll keep it instead of applying for one of these – afraid I don’t meet the spending requirements.
I have a couple of Citi World cards which apparently let me borrow above my credit limit without any fees, but must be brought below the limit by the next due date.
Just got a VISA Black Card, NOT impressed with quality of the card for $495…..any of my other credit cards are nicer looking, thought a carbon card would be a stiff metal like material, however it appears to be just cheap plastic…. Come on you guys at Visa Black Card marketing, spend a little more out of the $495 and give folks at least a nice looking card they can showoff and help boost their ego’s, not some cheap piece of plastic that you bs folks into thinking is carbon! You’ll be getting lotsa returns/cancellations of the card before its activated because of this!
I got a pre-approved offer in the mail today for this card. I can’t see any other reason to apply for it beyond saying that I have the card in my wallet. I currently have a black diamond card from CITI with no annual fee and a platinum from Bank of America, again without the fee, so what’s the point of the black card? Just a waste.
I’m an American Express Platinum card member. They used to have a benefit where you could get four free domestic companion airline tickets per year. Most of the time this wasn’t worth it as you had to purchase non-discount tickets though American Express Travel. However there would typically be at least one blackout-date trip back home per year and the savings for my wife and I to fly to a non-major airport would more than exceed the annual $495 fee. It’s also nice to get higher status memberships to rental car companies, hotels, and you can get into the nicer waiting areas at the airport (such as American Airlines’ Admirals’ Lounge).
However since they’ve done away with the companion ticket program, I’m really wrestling with keeping the card. It certainly doesn’t pay for itself now and I don’t travel enough to take advantage of most of its benefits. The only thing holding me back at this point is not wanting to inflict any damage to my credit score by closing an account with whom I have a great credit record. Too bad I closed my “Green” card with AMEX once I got the Platinum card (no reason to pay two annual fees).
Chris-I’m running into the same situation with my Platinum. Have had one since the mid-90’s and originally got it due to the great travel-related benefits. But now, they’ve taken some of them away, the cost has gone up, etc. I actually was on the phone with AMEX yesterday and will be transitioning to a Gold when the next annual fee rolls around. Account is still the same, credit is not effected, etc. Give them a call…
Dave and Chris R., ..both of you guys are correct… I too hold a American Express Platinum Card . American Express did indeed discontinue the free ‘Domestic’ Companion ticket portion of their program. But they kept the ‘International’ Companion ticket part. I actually thought about going back to Gold or even the Green Card because the value of the Platinum Card had been cheapened or de-valued with no decrease in annual fee. I am glad to see Visa Black come on the market because it gives some other choices to guys like us that feel we were lured to Amex Platinum with such perks as Free Domestic Companion tickets, and then had the rug snatched right from under us.
PRAY… TELL ME WHAT GOOD IS THIS CARD ? A $495 FEE ? UGA MUGA ! YOU ARE BLOWING A GREAT DEAL OF ARTFUL SMOKE ON YOUR SELF… I REALY WANT TO KNOW…
4495 FEE
I just today received my pre-approved invitation in a lovely jet black envelope. My motto: Any financial institution that wants me as an exclusive member (for a fee) is probably not an institution I want to belong to.
Great gimmick.
The real benefit to the Amex Platinum and the Visa Black Card is in the concierge services. You can get a table at exclusive restaurants that are booked for several months anytime with these cards. You can also get better seats at concerts and theatre events, again, at the drop of a hat and as late as the day of the event. If that’s your lifestyle, then it’s worth the $495 annual fee. It’s greatest benefit is “exclusive spontaneity.” It’s not for everyone, but it’s great for some of us who value the convenience of never being told “no table” or “no seats available.”
Ditto, I got one of the Visa Black Cards last month. My brother has the Amex Centurion Card and thought this this would be somewhat comparable. Wrong. It looks like cheaper plastic than my Visa Signature card.
Only an idiot would pay 500 dollars a year for a flipping credit card.
The Visa Black Card is for middle income earners that want to pretend they are wealthy.
Like the dolts that live in their mom’s basement and go out on Friday night to buy “bottle service” at some stupid club..
I recieved a black card invitation in the mail, and I have never even owned a credit card! haha I am 21 and still in college! With no income and absolutely no credit history, getting this invitation was obviously a mistake. They must know how cool and fun I am.
I use the AMEX platinum often. I will say that the $450 fee is a steal. I use the concierge service early and often and would have to say i make up the $450 in a matter of months just on cover charges i save at nightclubs for me and my friends when they call ahead of time to put us on the list. Airport lounges are nice and save a pretty penny. I have used them for their fine hotels and resorts program which is only for pretty ridiculous hotels but on the few occassions i used them they got me a better than advertised rate, a free upgrade, a late check out, and a free gift from the hotel (at skylofts in vegas it was their $50 continental breakfast for two every day of your stay). I mean if you travel and do a lot of nightlife oriented things, the AMEX plat is worth is weight in gold. I did get suckered into the visa black just to see if the concierge service was good and no contest AMEX hands down. Visa black called to get us on a list at a club and was told the list was closed, 5 minutes later the AMEX concierge called and it was done and we were met by the GM of the club out front for a smooth entry. I am an AMEX man all the way. If you get one use the perks and you will not even sweat the annual fee.
I had this card for a few months. I have a high income and excellent credit. Inadvertently went over the limit purchasing a gift for my wife. They sent me a letter saying they were raising my rate to 24.9% or I could opt out by cancelling the account. I cancelled the account and will pay off as soon as the bill comes. It is bad enough that they charge a large fee but to try and rob you on the interest rate? BEWARE!
I had a Plat card, I earn 60k and had a 730 score. Never any missed payments, just a limited score due to a limited credit history as I emigrated to the US. I canceled it before my annual fee renewal as there really is no benefit having it. I now use my Citi AAdvantage Mastercard, it’s cheaper plus I get a lot of miles which I can redeem for free flights back to the UK.
Shame really, but once you’ve been hit with a $450 fee, you learn that $85 plus miles is way better.