Black card

[wincrasher]

I got a pre-approved offer for a Visa Black card. It pays back 1%, has some concierge service and an annual fee of $495. Interest rate around 13%.

Do people really get these cards? I just don't see that it's worth such a high fee.

It reminds me of the days when the "gold" card was such a good deal.

Times have changed.

[Broken Arrow]

Although some people really do use cards like these, many more get them (especially the Amex Centurion) as "status cards" more than anything.

They are not the best deals, although some big spenders praise the card's limits.

[wincrasher]

I'm really hard pressed to spend more than $5k a month on credit. Most of my cards have $25k-$30k limits, so I don't need more limit.

I suppose I could make $50 a month cash back - so over 12 months that is $600. So less the fee, that is $105. Big deal.

[disneysteve]

You really need to look at the details of the concierge stuff. It is possible for people to get more than that in value from those services. If you won't, it makes no sense. Probably makes no sense for the vast majority of people, including many who hold the card.

[kork13]

I've never understood quite how concierge services work, or what the benefit of them is, so I've always rather ignored them, even though I (apparently) have the freedom to use them at will through one of my CC's.

But as DS mentioned, if you can get enough benefits out of whatever they offer, I'm sure that even a $500 annual fee could be justified.

[Beppington]

I've never understood quite how concierge services work, or what the benefit of them is, so I've always rather ignored them, even though I (apparently) have the freedom to use them at will through one of my CC's.

But as DS mentioned, if you can get enough benefits out of whatever they offer, I'm sure that even a $500 annual fee could be justified.

This is the thing to do.

Keep life simple.

Remember that when they're offering you something it's almost always gonna be good for them & bad for you, i.e. it's gonna cost you in one way or another ... i.e. You're gonna pay the $495 & then never use the "extras".

[Ima saver]

I got the same card in the mail today. I use my Chase business card and get 3% back on most of the purchases I make and there is NO fee. I threw the card away.

[disneysteve]

Remember that when they're offering you something it's almost always gonna be good for them & bad for you, i.e. it's gonna cost you in one way or another ... i.e. You're gonna pay the $495 & then never use the "extras".

That's not entirely true. They know that most users won't use the extras. They also realize that a few shrewd users will get more than their money's worth, but that's okay because the majority more than pays for that small minority.

[deedee421]

I received the same offer in the mail yesterday and laughed when I saw the annual fee. They said that the offer was limited to only 1% of U.S. residents - definitely trying to sell people on "status", but didn't work for me.

[wincrasher]

I laughed when it said one of the features was is was made of "carbon fiber" to impress people.

Honestly - 1985 called, they want their idea back.

Yeah, it gives my life purpose to "impress" store clerks and hotel employees. Last time I impressed a store clerk was when I pulled out a roll of hundreds and peeled some off.