Platinum credit cards

Platinum credit cards are prestige credit cards that are marketed as being “beyond gold”.  They were originally set up as a credit card that emulated the original gold card with its exclusivity and high level of services.

Platinum cards were first offered by American Express in 1984 when they were offered as an invitation only card to their best customers.  Then to be a platinum card member it was necessary to be a member of American Express for at least two years, have a higher than average spending level and an excellent payment history.  It had a high fee for the time, but offered a very good level of service.  It was aimed at recreating the original exclusivity of the gold card, which was seen as having been devalued by the general availability of gold cards to anyone who applied for the card.

As well as American Express, VISA and MasterCard also offer platinum cards.  While American Express directly offers and services its cards, the VISA and MasterCard cards are offered through third party banks and financial institutions.

Platinum cards are no longer invitation only, as in most cases they can be applied for.  The invitation only cards are now “black cards” such as the American Express Centurion card and the VISA signature card.  Although Platinum credit cards are open to general applicants there is still a generally high level of income and credit history that needs to be met before the platinum credit card is approved.

The platinum cards still have a reasonably high level of benefits.  One of the most important benefits is the concierge service.  These services are telephone based personal assistants who can deal with a wide range of routine tasks that would otherwise take up a large amount of time.  These include tasks such as booking travel tickets, meetings and personal shopping.

There are also a wide range of insurance benefits that include services such as free travel insurance, extended warranties, car rental insurance and purchase protection.  As platinum card holders tend to be frequent travellers there are a large amount of benefits that center on travel, and these include access to travel lounges and hotel privileges.  One of the many things that they do offer which tends to be particularly prized are free companion tickets when buying a full plane ticket.  This is limited to a few airlines, although it is still a valuable benefit.