Posted by Credit Card Forum
May 1, 2010
: The Visa Black Card is the latest entrant in the prestigious credit card market category and has created a lot of buzz in the industry. Is it just another luxury card with prohibitively high annual fees? Or do the benefits of the new Visa Black Card justify its expense? Read this review to find out whether or not you should get a Visa Black Card of your own!
First, let’s debunk some of the hype surrounding this card:
Black card?
This should not be confused with the AmEx Centurtion “black” card. That one requires $7,500 in fees just for the first year ($5,000 initiation fee and $2,500 annual fee) and is invite only for AmEx’s biggest spenders (you have to spend several hundred thousand annually on another AmEx card in order to be invited).
In a nutshell, Visa Black Card is just Barclay’s trademarked name for the card… there is no such thing as a “black card” tier for Visa cards. In fact, the Visa Black Card is reportedly only the “Platinum Plus” tier. That is usually the tier people get when they aren’t approved for a Visa Signature Card, so it’s far from prestigious.
Limited to 1% of U.S. residents?
Many people out there assume this means the Visa Black credit card is only for the top 1% of the population…. nothing could be further from the truth. It merely means they are limiting the total enrollment to 1% of Americans. Truth be told, 1% equals around 3 million Americans… that’s a lot of people. In all honestly, probably not more than 1% would ever want the Visa Black Card, so saying this really doesn’t mean much. Far less than 1% of Americans have the AmEx Platinum Card, but you don’t hear American Express saying that as a marketing gimmick, do you?
Exclusivity?
It’s marketed as something that is highly exclusive, but what are the real Visa Black card requirements? Here’s what we dug up:
•You have to be a US resident and have a Social Security Number
•Your income must be at least $15,000 annually
•You must have qualifying credit
•You are able to pay the annual fee of $495
As you can see from the requirements, it appears that a large number of Americans would easily qualify if they wanted the card. In fact, I have heard stories of people from every walk and life reportedly getting a Visa Black Card application in the mail, including an old lady that only lived on Social Security and a college student that worked at a fast food chain. I guess it’s not very exclusive, is it?
Carbon black card?
One of their selling points is that the Visa Black credit card is made of carbon. However after examining the card in person, it looks and feels just like plastic, except that it’s thinner and more flimsy. This is just another gimmick, because I don’t think anyone would consider the material special. In fact, most handling the card probably wouldn’t think anything of it.
First-Class Airport Lounge Access?
The Visa Black includes Travel Lounge Priority Pass, the largest airport VIP lounge program, which gives complimentary access to more than 500 luxury airport lounges across the world. However if you read the fine print, cardmembers only get 4 free visits per year! Compare that to the AmEx Platinum which gives you unlimited visits and at a lower annual fee!
Luxury Gifts?
The card touts various “luxury gifts” as perks that Visa Black Card members get. When the card first launched, it sounds like there were some half-way decent gifts that some members got. However as of lately, it sounds like the most frequently awarded gift during the first year is allegedly a Cross pen… most of us couldn’t care less about a pen and for $495 annual fee, we expect a heck of a lot more.
What the Visa Black card really is…
Just do the math: 3,000,000 (1% of Americans) x $495.00 annual fee = $1.48 billion dollars every year! The issuing bank, Barclays, is the real winner with this one. The benefits customers currently get with this credit card don’t justify the annual fee whatsoever.
Skip the Visa Black Card application and go for…
…the AmEx Platinum. The annual fee is slightly cheaper and the benefits far exceed the Visa Black Card. As a sponsored affiliate of American Express, we also have a special signup offer for our readers. Check out the American Express Platinum Card benefits to see for yourself why it blows Visa Black Card out of the water!
Tags: visa black card, visa black credit card
Posted in Reviews | Comments (11)
November 17th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
I agree with Holly, I don’t think this card is only for the 1% pop. I got a pre-approval on the mail and I’m still in college, I do have a great/excellent credit score, but not enough money to spend on this card.
May 1st, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Well, I got an invite & app for this card in the mail. I DO have great credit but I’m not looking to impress anybody. Should I blow $450 a year to impress girls???? MY wife doesn’t think so! Well…………?
May 9th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
I suppose this is one way to get the ladies :p
May 11th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
I already have it.
May 21st, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I would like to apply for a black card. Is there an annual fee?
May 22nd, 2010 at 8:57 pm
These things are way SICK!!!! You whip it out and BANG!!! Your a celebrity. Went to look at the new dodge ram and opened my wallet and my sales person seen it and BOOM!!!! In the back room signing papers. Took the truck home with the card.
May 23rd, 2010 at 1:31 am
My brother got one of these. But he’s a successful lawyer so he can afford. Little old me still drives a Corolla around!
May 24th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Ummm, Jacqueline, it says right in the article the annual fee IS $495! jeez…
June 21st, 2010 at 5:56 am
I had this card and in my opinion was not worth the fee. It does impress folks when you pull it out. But- If your late on one payment, they’ll boost your percentage rate to over 20%. It happened to me and I have excellent credit. I’m going back to Amex Platnum.
June 30th, 2010 at 12:15 am
should had read this before geting it..to bad..iguess amEx platnum card is next..
July 6th, 2010 at 11:14 am
This article is very biased and it seems to me that the author is bitter and jealous, possibly he didn’t get approved for the card or maybe he works for another company…hmmmm.