Are prestige cards worth it?

Prestige cards go under a number of different names.  The most common name for prestige cards are gold cards, but there are also silver, platinum and black cards.

Gold cards were originally a very exclusive, invitation only, card that were only open to card holders with a high salary, a high degree of spending or a large amount of assets.  These cards offered a greater number of services than a standard card, with an enhanced rewards program and services such as travel insurance free with the prestige cards.  As gold cards became more common the demand for them grew and so credit card providers started to offer them to new customers, with either very low or non existent lower salary limits.

Silver cards were developed as an intermediate stage between gold and standard credit cards.  They were offered to the public from the very start, unlike other prestige cards. They did not have the same high fees, but they also had a lower level of services and rewards.

Platinum and black cards are an attempt to reintroduce the exclusivity of gold cards.  They tend to have more strictly enforced salary limits and many of them are invitation only cards, although it is possible to get an advertised card.

Essentially prestige cards offer higher credit card fees in return for a higher amount of service.  It is no longer the case that a prestige card has the same aura of exclusivity.  The services are worth considering.

Concierge services are personal assistants who are available over the telephone.  There are a number of things that these services can do, all aimed at doing the time consuming jobs.  These include booking flights, arranging for personal shopping and arranging doctor’s appointments.  In effect they do the same sort of job as a personal assistant.

Prestige credit cards also offer tailored reward programs.  These mean that rewards can be spent on a large number of experiences instead of cash.  These were introduced to deal with the problem that many prestige card holders found – they didn’t tend to be attracted to any of the rewards and so would allow the points to build up.  As they were not using the rewards programs, the prestige cards became less attractive.  In order to get round this, tailored rewards were introduced so that card holders could spend on luxurious experiences without feeling guilty about “wasting” money.