black card

Visa Black Card Introduces New Benefits

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Services

Visa has unveiled an array of new features to its ultra-exclusive Black Card's concierge program.

Available to just 1% of US residents-to ensure a maximum level of service for members-the sleek carbon card, with an undisclosed credit line, now comes with added amenities to its full-service concierge plan. With either a phone call or an email, the Black Card team is available 24/7 to handle anything from the standard restaurant, flight or hotel reservation to more challenging requests, like emergency document translation or specialty shopping, for when your beach reading requires a first edition. Now the card goes one step further when it comes to travel, offering trip delay reimbursements, roadside assistance (US & Canada), emergency services and increased redemption value for travel points.

Perhaps the most useful, and enjoyable, service though remains the Black Card's lifestyle management. Whether staying local or traveling to the most far-flung locale, the concierge will curate an evening out, including transportation, entertainment and dining. After tailoring your activities to your request, an email confirmation will arrive with an itemized itinerary. When the night is at hand, you'll receive a call from a Black Card representative to confirm that everything is in order, before you even get your bow tie on. Stepping out, your evening's chariot could be a Mercedes-Benz S550, whose driver will escort you to your entertainment, say, Cirque du Soleil's new Ovo performance (with VIP access). After two hours of wondering how the human body can leap, bend and balance like that, you'll have worked up quite the appetite, so it's off to dinner at the newly opened hot-spot with an impenetrable reservation line (if you're in Manhattan, have them gain you entrée to Keith McNally's Pulino's). As the night wanes, your driver suddenly becomes your best friend for returning you to your hotel or residence, as anyone with heels on will attest to.

Factor in travel priority, luxury gifts, and auto/baggage/travel insurance, and suddenly your gold and platinum cards may seem to be worth not much more than, well, plastic.

Tags: black card, concierge service, ConciergeService, credit cards, CreditCards, luxury credit cards, visa, visa black card

Extreme Credit Cards for the Biggest Spenders in the World

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Celebrity Shopping

Wealthy patrons with shopping addictions are a tempting customer base for creditors, and so more and more of them are coming up with ways to make their services attractive to the biggest spenders in the world. The Centurion card from American Express is the leading status symbol to date, with its classy black card made of titanium that comes with exclusive perks like a personal concierge (to help you plan your spending) and special treatment at all the top retailers.

But the Centurion, better known simply as the "Black Card," is getting some competition for the top of the prestigious credit card pyramid. Companies like Bank of America and Citigroup are coming up with their own versions, and it seems the greatest competition so far is from the Visa Stratus Rewards card, aka the "White Card." And in the U.K. there's always the Ozwald Boateng-designed Coutts & Co.'s World card from the same private bank Queen Elizabeth uses.

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Tags: american express, AmericanExpress, black, black card, BlackCard, cards, charge, charge card, ChargeCard, credit, credit card, credit cards, CreditCard, CreditCards, white, white card, WhiteCard