Question
When I ask this question I will go ahead and say that Elite Level are cards that have exceptional benefits, customer service and require high incomes or annual fees. What benefits do they have that make them worth it? Here are some I know of:
1. Amex Centurion
2. Amex Platinum
3. Citibank Chairman Card
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Carte Blanche Mastercard
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pretty much just american express centurion, and citibank's new ultima equivalent in the US (and ultima outside US)
(and there are a couple others in UK besides those)
id say $400 citi card and amex plat are mid tier
and world mc, visa signature are lower tier
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When I ask this question I will go ahead and say that Elite Level are cards that have exceptional benefits, customer service and require high incomes or annual fees. What benefits do they have that make them worth it? Here are some I know of:
1. Amex Centurion
2. Amex Platinum
3. Citibank Chairman Card
Amex Platinum and annual fees? I don't think so.
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Amex Platinum and annual fees? I don't think so.
1. Citibank Chairman - Currently not accepting applications
2. Diners Club Carte Blanche - This card needs 1 or 2 additional benefits to be competitive with Chairman or AMEX Platinum, but it is $100 less per year. There is no reason IMHO to have this in your wallet if you have Chairman or AMEX. A simple Diners Club card would suffice.
3. American Express Platinum - Comparable and complementary to Chairman.
4. American Express Centurion - Spend $250k per year on AMEX to qualify. Superior benefits that seem to diminish year after year.
5. Stratus Rewards - There has been some dissatisfaction among FT members; supposedly they are not accepting new members
6. Merrill+ Visa - No specific requirements and no annual fee. However it has superior benefits and service if you spend $50k per year. It was recognized by Forbes (along with Centurion, Chairman and Stratus) in their luxury plastic article http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/10/luxurious-credit-cards-cx_lm_0410luxcards.html. You will still need to carry another card to get premium insurance benefits. Also, the rewards program is a bit lacking when compared to Chairman, AMEX and Diners Club.
7. Saks World Elite Mastercard - World Elite MasterCard is a new offering supposedly targeted at households with $250k per year income. The Saks rewards program is only compelling for Saks shoppers.
8. A few other US candidates that qualify as premium, but not exclusive are:
- Diners Club - Widely issued, but it has good benefits for its price. Especially if you travel internationally
- MBNA Quantum - MBNA created a big splash when they introduced it, but it has fizzled since. It does not have any distinguishing benefits
- Merrill Lynch Signature Rewards Deferred Debit Card - Carries a bit of prestige because it was an early Visa Signature card and was originally issued to ML customers with large accounts. Has good benefits for its price. (Actually this is probably more exclusive than a few of the above cards since you must have $20k on deposit to get it... That is alot of cash for alot of people.)
9. Outside of the US:
- Citibank Ultima
- Diners Club Ultimate
- Visa Infinite
- Coutts and Co
- There may be more...
10. Last but not least my American Flag Platinum Discover Card that I will not get rid of because I have had it for 16 years and they run those annoying 5% cash back offers that lure me in. This enables me to pretend that I am frugal :)
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1. Citibank Chairman - Currently not accepting applications
...
10. Last but not least my American Flag Platinum Discover Card that I will not get rid of because I have had it for 16 years and they run those annoying 5% cash back offers that lure me in. This enables me to pretend that I am frugal :)
There's also the UBS Charter Card which maybe similar to what the Citi Chairman Card will become since it seems that the Chairman Card is going towards Amex.
UBS Charter Card = annual fee $1500 ($1000 for additional cards)
http://www.ubs.com/1/e/media_overview/media_americas/mediareleases?newsId=97999
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7. Saks World Elite Mastercard - World Elite MasterCard is a new offering supposedly targeted at households with $250k per year income. The Saks rewards program is only compelling for Saks shoppers.
Is there any new information on this card? There were a number of posts here and some website information (including on www.priceless.com and its links to Saks) outlining the benefits, but I have not seen detail or any updates. For example, what airlines are included in their buy full fare business class, get a companion ticket free program; what are the details of their free upgrades; what hotels are included and what benefits at those hotels; etc.?
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Is there any new information on this card? There were a number of posts here and some website information (including on www.priceless.com and its links to Saks) outlining the benefits, but I have not seen detail or any updates. For example, what airlines are included in their buy full fare business class, get a companion ticket free program; what are the details of their free upgrades; what hotels are included and what benefits at those hotels; etc.?
I have not seen anything. I am waiting for someone else to be the beta tester.
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It's all on the Saks site.
https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/SaksFirst/benefits_overview.jsp?ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=14084 74395222441&bmUID=1160611582159
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There's also the UBS Charter Card which maybe similar to what the Citi Chairman Card will become since it seems that the Chairman Card is going towards Amex.
UBS Charter Card = annual fee $1500 ($1000 for additional cards)
http://www.ubs.com/1/e/media_overview/media_americas/mediareleases?newsId=97999
Has anyone received definite information that the Chairman Card is moving to an AMEX platform?
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haven't multiple FTers talked to multiple CSRs at citi now?
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haven't multiple FTers talked to multiple CSRs at citi now?
I have talked to multiple CSRs. No one has mentioned a conversion to the AMEX platform. Does anyone have confirmation that the AMEX conversion is true?
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2. Diners Club Carte Blanche - This card needs 1 or 2 additional benefits to be competitive with Chairman or AMEX Platinum, but it is $100 less per year. There is no reason IMHO to have this in your wallet if you have Chairman or AMEX. A simple Diners Club card would suffice.
3
I'm surprised by such a blanket statement. If one is an avid golfer (I am not) and precieves the Golf program to be of use and value, then a simple Diners Club card would not suffice.
Similarly, if one flys sky team domestically regularly then the Amex Plat is not similar and complementary to the chairman card.
If having the Amex Plat card negates the need to actually purchase a skyteam member airline lounge membership, then the card is a no brainer.
what it really boils down to is matching your needs, intrests and patterns with the best match 'elite level' card FOR YOU.
There is NO one best card.
There maybe One best card for YOU based on your priorities, intrests, travel patterns and other individual factors.
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I'm surprised by such a blanket statement. If one is an avid golfer (I am not) and precieves the Golf program to be of use and value, then a simple Diners Club card would not suffice.
Similarly, if one flys sky team domestically regularly then the Amex Plat is not similar and complementary to the chairman card.
If having the Amex Plat card negates the need to actually purchase a skyteam member airline lounge membership, then the card is a no brainer.
what it really boils down to is matching your needs, intrests and patterns with the best match 'elite level' card FOR YOU.
There is NO one best card.
There maybe One best card for YOU based on your priorities, intrests, travel patterns and other individual factors.
1. INMHO = My opinion regarding Carte Blanche. Yes, I know that it has golf benefits.
2. Complementary = They work well together. I fly skyteam most of the time. I live in a sky team hub city. AMEX Platinum is great. However, sometimes there is no skyteam lounge at my destination so Citi Chairman/Priority Pass is great. That's like peanut butter and chocolate, i.e. a complementary blend.
(BTW, many DL/CO/NW lounges are in Priority Pass so in some home airports AMEX may not be an advantage over Chairman.) I imagine its nice to get comp status in both Starwood (AMEX) and Hilton (Chairman) for some. I personally have status in both.
3. Similar = This is obvious since AMEX Platinum and Citi Chairman have core benefits that are almost a 1-1 match: hotel status, airline club access, and premium concierge.
enough said...
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Personally, I have a Plat because you get FHR for about $250/yr, (difference from Gold) and I'll probably end up getting Cent in the future.
I'm very interested in the new Chairman card, but not at all interested in the current one.
Diner's Club I might end up getting for Hyatt and AA transfers. (Have Starwood already but it's a credit card) Hopefully the new Chairman card offers this.
Although even if it does DC's AA miles > points feature would remain a unique feature.
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1. ........so Citi Chairman/Priority Pass is great. That's like peanut butter and chocolate, i.e. a complementary blend.
(BTW, many DL/........d...
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups :D ^
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Nobody has said anything about a Barclaycard.
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2. Complementary = They work well together. I fly skyteam most of the time. I live in a sky team hub city. AMEX Platinum is great. However, sometimes there is no skyteam lounge at my destination so Citi Chairman/Priority Pass is great. That's like peanut butter and chocolate, i.e. a complementary blend.
(BTW, many DL/CO/NW lounges are in Priority Pass so in some home airports AMEX may not be an advantage over Chairman.) I imagine its nice to get comp status in both Starwood (AMEX) and Hilton (Chairman) for some. I personally have status in both.
I was out of the country when I got my Chairman Card and just recently got back to the US. I failed to notice that CVG has no Priority Pass lounges and ATL only has terminals D and E covered. Not good when I'm usually flying DL and often connecting in CVG or ATL. :( At least BOS is covered, but it looks like I may upgrade the Business Gold back to a Platinum... I tend to get to BOS just in time for my flights anyways and generally am in the lounge for just a brief while if at all.
I'm guessing that DL is specifically limiting access at those hubs to Priority Pass (perhaps by demanding outrageous fees?) in order to get more of their frequent fliers to become CRC members. Same price as a Business Platinum for CRC membership as a GM, and the additional Amex benefits make the decision easy... I guess you are quite correct about them being a wonderful combo! I'm tempted to call Amex right now to upgrade the card since I'll be flying through CVG tomorrow and ATL the day after.
The Chairman Card suddenly became slightly less perfect to me.
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I was out of the country when I got my Chairman Card and just recently got back to the US. I failed to notice that CVG has no Priority Pass lounges and ATL only has terminals D and E covered. Not good when I'm usually flying DL and often connecting in CVG or ATL. :( At least BOS is covered, but it looks like I may upgrade the Business Gold back to a Platinum... I tend to get to BOS just in time for my flights anyways and generally am in the lounge for just a brief while if at all.
I'm guessing that DL is specifically limiting access at those hubs to Priority Pass (perhaps by demanding outrageous fees?) in order to get more of their frequent fliers to become CRC members. Same price as a Business Platinum for CRC membership as a GM, and the additional Amex benefits make the decision easy... I guess you are quite correct about them being a wonderful combo! I'm tempted to call Amex right now to upgrade the card since I'll be flying through CVG tomorrow and ATL the day after.
The Chairman Card suddenly became slightly less perfect to me.
International Airlines use concourse E and multiple airlines use D. Only Delta has clubs on the other concourses and it would not be good business to open CRC's to Priority Pass. If you will notice most airlines do not open their clubs to PP at their hubs. AA does not at DFW, DL does not at ATL or CVG. But DL does at DFW and AA does at some other airports. All you have to do is get an AMEX PLAT and your in. Don't ever expect PP with CRC's at ATL or CVG.
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International Airlines use concourse E and multiple airlines use D. Only Delta has clubs on the other concourses and it would not be good business to open CRC's to Priority Pass. If you will notice most airlines do not open their clubs to PP at their hubs. AA does not at DFW, DL does not at ATL or CVG. But DL does at DFW and AA does at some other airports. All you have to do is get an AMEX PLAT and your in. Don't ever expect PP with CRC's at ATL or CVG.
Interestingly, DTW/MSP/MEM/EWR/IAH have several PCs and WCs in multiple terminals that have Priority Pass access, seemingly including ones where not many international flights depart from. I guess NW and CO are more willing to open up their clubs than DL... But I do see your point that several other airlines do the same so it's not just DL being annoying.
Amex gave me the first year fee-free when I downgraded my Business Platinum to a Gold a few months back, so the first 8 months or so should only be the $150 difference between the regular annual fees, prorated accordingly (or perhaps the entire first year, depending on how they do it.) Makes the decision even easier! Plus I'm at 9 SPG stays for the year so I won't have to get that 10th stay in to requalify for Gold. :)
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I was out of the country when I got my Chairman Card and just recently got back to the US. I failed to notice that CVG has no Priority Pass lounges and ATL only has terminals D and E covered. Not good when I'm usually flying DL and often connecting in CVG or ATL. :( At least BOS is covered, but it looks like I may upgrade the Business Gold back to a Platinum... I tend to get to BOS just in time for my flights anyways and generally am in the lounge for just a brief while if at all.
I'm guessing that DL is specifically limiting access at those hubs to Priority Pass (perhaps by demanding outrageous fees?) in order to get more of their frequent fliers to become CRC members. Same price as a Business Platinum for CRC membership as a GM, and the additional Amex benefits make the decision easy... I guess you are quite correct about them being a wonderful combo! I'm tempted to call Amex right now to upgrade the card since I'll be flying through CVG tomorrow and ATL the day after.
The Chairman Card suddenly became slightly less perfect to me.
Priority Pass is a good program but it does appear that various carriers do not choose to have their lounges participate at various hubs. For instance, LAX, IAD and ORD Red Carpet Clubs do not participate in the program, but DCA, SFO and Orange County Red Carpet Clubs do. The Chairman Card helps round out my airport club memberships with Priority Pass, but it alone (just like an individual carrier's club system) is not the total solution.
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What I have learned from my personal experiences, and the posts here:
As company brands, Citibank and American Express are just hard to surpass when it comes to rewards and services offered. They are both companies with historic backgrounds, and the resources to offer a good product, which are hard to match. It basically comes down to preference.
When one compares the American Express Centurion and Platinum cards it comes down to what one wishes to pay, and the colour that one desires. There is very little true difference between the two. In fact if you are a 100K account, on any of their charge cards, there is little they won’t do for one on request. The colour of the card does not affect the speed of the authorization code, or the shopping experience (unless one should walk into an establishment waving their card, the method of payment would not even be known.) It could be asked, with the new Platinum American Express cards now being issued by Citibank with no annual fee…why is anyone paying for it at all? It comes with rewards points of between one to thirty per dollar spent, its own American Express magazine, 360, and several benefits not offered to the traditional American Express Platinum card holder, such as unlimited buy one airline ticket get one free – international or domestic, access to the exclusive web site, Entre, which was created just for Citibank’s Platinum American Express members...and more.
In the end this cross branding scheme will have psychologically merged, their products will become so blurred, one will not know or realize to whom they are truly affiliated. Not that should matter, as long as one is best matched to a product.
The Chairman Card, from Citibank, is the best replacement for my Carte Blanch card, since Citibank robbed this brand of all it rewards since it took the Master Card logo. For the same price as the Diners Club cousin, one can expect much more from this card. The rewards, flexibility of payment, and acceptance world-wide make it a ‘no-brainer’ choice amongst the well heeled. If this does become yet another Citi/Amex project, that will force me to find a Master Card again, if only for the ‘acceptance.’
And to touch on an earlier mention of the ‘Purple Card’ issued by Coutts, there must be many more than 100 issued, as I know too many with the card. And to the benefit of all their high end users, (over 50,000 Pounds/annum) Coutts rewards them with a waived annual fee. When was the last time anyone waived the annual fees on high use accounts across the board? I hope that trend spreads!
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The Platinum from Amex has DL,CO,NW lounge access. Unless you are a NON-US that would be the reason.
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AMEX - FHR, FFP transfers
DC - FFP and FSP transfers (and cheap)
vs chairman with TYN
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Nobody has said anything about a Barclaycard.
shhh.....the UBS Visa Signature Card and American Express card are issued by Barclays (Juniper) ;)
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update?
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on? barclays?
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Not Barclay's. Someone out there that I am overlooking has an elite card program and with all of the elite's going bye bye, someone has to be adding one. I am watching for someone to offer the WEMC besides Saks as well.
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i guess i misunderstood i thought the new CO card was a WEMC.
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Looks pretty standard to me:
http://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/card_acquisitions/unsolicited/page/PFSCreditCardDetails&sourcecode=64GZ
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http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=639160 is what i meant, but on the app it does just say WMC
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I have seen that one as well, pretty card, little high for not much in benefits. Still not a WEMC though.
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Perhaps HSBC/Saks were granted a exclusive period in return for pioneering the World Elite Mastercard platform? This would allow testing the integration of the various benefits and service providers.
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just noticed this listing page >
http://www.priceless.com/cards/worldelite/elitecards/
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Look what we have resorted to: discussing a new CO card. My 2 cents...
1. It is a World Mastercard, not World Elite per the application
2. The fee is not too bad when you consider that a normal airline card costs approximately $80 or so. Add in a club membership and $375 sounds okay.
3. The double miles for hotels and rental cars is a nice feature
This seems like a pretty good card for heavy CO travellers.
However, it will not work for me. I only carry elite cards that are black as my sole purpose in 2007 is to meet cute young waitresses :)
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spg + cent + merrill are all ill ever need/want credit card wise, unless something new comes out.
How can you have an elite credit card that is not black white will make a comeback sometime :p and if the card uses RFID it could be completely clear.
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A pink card would get more attention, but for me it might be the wrong attention.