credit cards

American Express Membership Rewards: Our Top Luxury Picks

Filed under: Services, Luxury Cars & Autos

When it comes to credit card rewards programs what's most valuable? Travel? Cash back? Free luxury goods and services?

The American Express Membership Rewards program offers up options in all those categories via an online store where you can shop with your bank of earned points and buy whatever you want. Rewards points can be redeemed for everything from airline tickets to American Express cash cards to flat screen TVs and even designer handbags. And like any store they have regular specials and sales, with deals of the week announced on the AmEx Facebook page (right now you can get a Nikon digital camera for 50 percent off). If you use a lot of credit the program is a great way to indulge in some of your favorite high-end treats without spending an extra dime.

I browsed through the American Express Membership Rewards store and rounded up my favorite luxury picks. See my selections after the jump and then share in the comments, do you use credit card rewards for luxurious indulgences or practical necessities? What would you choose?

Source

Tags: american express, American Express Membership Rewards, credit cards, rewards program

Continue reading “American Express Membership Rewards: Our Top Luxury Picks”

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

Is Sapphire The New Black?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

You wouldn't think that this would be the time to launch a luxury credit card but JPMorgan Chase & Co. has come out with a new card, Chase Sapphire, which is aimed at the affluent. Bloomberg News reports that Chase Sapphire is for households with incomes exceeding $120,000. The new card has no pre-set spending limit and holders earn a point for every dollar they spend.

There are two Chase Sapphire cards. The basic card offers the Ultimate Rewards program that includes double points on airfare purchased through the company's travel booking tool and up to ten bonus points per dollar for shopping at any of the over 300 merchants featured at the Ultimate Rewards Mall. The Preferred card also includes a 25 percent travel bonus that means points are 25 percent more valuable when booked online with the travel booking tool. Preferred card members will receive 10,000 bonus points on purchases of $50,000 or more per year. The cards also offer concierge service and emergency services for travelers. The Chase Sapphire has no annual fee and the Chase Preferred has a fee of $95 after the first year. Chase Sapphire has a 10.24 percent variable interest rate and a $39 late fee for balances over $250.

The Sapphire card is meant to compete against American Express and its many programs for affluent cardholders. The Bloomberg article states that American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault told investors recently that his cardholders on average spend 3.5 times more than Visa cardholders and 4.5 times more than MasterCard users. The Sapphire's points and rewards program are meant to appeal to those who use their cards frequently. Will it work? American Express's cardholders are pretty loyal to the brand. But with American Express raising fees and rates being able to switch to a new card with no annual fee might be appealing.

Source

Tags: chase sapphire, ChaseSapphire, credit cards, CreditCards

Diamond VIP Credit Card

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

The Eurasian Bank in Kazakhstan has come up with a very glamorous way of honoring their VIP members: they're issuing them limited edition VISA cards embedded with diamonds and accented with gold.

Said to be the first of its kind in the world, the card is reserved only for the elite few members of the bank that have incomes of $300,000 a year or greater. The cards have an elaborate gold filigree design in the shape of a heart that features a 0.02 carat diamond in the center.

Crazy.

Via Bornrich

Source

Tags: bank, credit, credit card, credit cards, CreditCard, CreditCards, kazakhstan, visa

Cavalli Intros Snakeskin Credit Card, Will Compete with AmEx Black

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping

For the most part, the fashionable set chooses exclusive credit like the AmEx Centurion -- the oft-envied black card crafted from titanium instead of mere plastic. But as of March of this year, Roberto "Excess is Success" Cavalli is trying to get in on the action with a snakeskin-finish credit card for the discerning shopper.

The iridescent card comes with its privileges: special sales at Cavalli, invites to fashion shows. Perhaps cardmembers will gain access to Cavalli's new club in Florence, or clubs soon to open in Dubai and Milan.

But snakeskin does not a status card make, between AmEx's personal concierge, free stays at the Mandarin Oriental and the eye-catching prestige of carrying plastic that's not plastic at all.

[via BlackBook]

Source

Tags: amex black, AmexBlack, credit cards, CreditCards, roberto cavalli, RobertoCavalli, snakeskin

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.

Source

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