Prestigious Cards for "Average People"

[eagles08]

When we talk about prestigious cards we hear about the AMEX Centurion or the JP Morgan Palladium.  I know these cards carry huge prestige!  However, whats a card of high prestige for the avgerage American?  The less than $100,000 a year salary guy.  I'm talking about the cards that get a "wow" at Food Lion, Applebees, Ruby Tuesdays, or maybe the local golf course.  If you were a cashier at a similar establishment, what cards would wow you?  I know when I saw any American Express card I was wowed or made assumptions about the person's wealth and credit status but thats the only card I really thought anything of due to my lack of knowledge.  Now I'd probably still be impressed by any AMEX, or the CSP.  So in your opinion, whats got that "wow" or "niceeeee!" factor?

[eagles08]

Oh, and especially for @09Lexie, no, I PROMISE I won't go apply for any of the cards discussed in this thread!  I have alllll I can handle right now!

[Open123]

I think any metal card, Amex charge, and any Black colored cards tend to wow people.

[longtimelurker]

This is frequently asked, and the answer often comes back to the cards you exclude!   Basically, it's possible for almost anyone, with time (for bad stuff to drop off) and discipline , to get a very high (800+) score and corresponding good and clean credit history, and that's enough for any "normal" card.

So what's left is those cards for high-net-worth invididuals that are by invitation only.

I know that is not what you had in mind, but basically any other "wow" card, especially things like the Amex Plat and the CSP, are available to a very large segment of the population, they just don't happen to have them.  And rarity isn't a good criterion either, because otherwise "Visa from very small credit union" would jump to the top.

[Pilotdude]

Amex Unicorn maybe...not because it was hard to get, it wasn't really comparative to the other Amex cards.  It just looked pretty cool.

The CSP is also up there of course beause its a pretty Sapphire Blue and metal, weighs more and most CS folks have to look at it twice to find the number and info on it.

My AMEX BCP gets some looks because its clear with a Blue square in the middle. 

Mostly its my CSP and BCP which get the looks...and here in L.A. its usually followed by the woman looking amazed, starting to give me the "gold digger eye bat/giggle combo"  lol  This of course does not please my current wife very much. 

As to the rare creme de la creme cards, yes the Centurion of course. 

[eagles08]

---

@Open123 wrote:

I think any metal card, Amex charge, and any Black colored cards tend to wow people.

---

Ahhhh, good point about black cards!  I tend to think that about my DP!  It's not a super great card but just looking at it one could assume it is! And it's just something about the word preferred that sounds good!

[Pilotdude]

---

@eagles08 wrote:

---

@Open123 wrote:

I think any metal card, Amex charge, and any Black colored cards tend to wow people.

---

Ahhhh, good point about black cards!  I tend to think that about my DP!  It's not a super great card but just looking at it one could assume it is! And it's just something about the word preferred that sounds good!

---

My NFCU Flagship Visa is black and does get some looks...but not as much as my CSP.  Now..if the Flagship Visa was also metal...then...

[Themanwhocan]

US bank Cash+ is so prestigious for the Average People, that most Average People haven't even heard of it...

Now that you've heard of it, it just doesn't seem as prestigious, now does it?

[Kutuzov]

I was cashier for some years, and I can tell you no card would really get a wow from me, unless it got a very unique design, I remember the first time I saw the cap1 cc with the Van Gogh Starry night, I knew it was just a cc with new design, as long as you pay most people won't care about your cc, specially cashiers that are used to see plenty of different cc and there's no real way to tell if any of better than the other, as long as it dosen't decline they will be ok with any.

[thom02099]

---

@eagles08 wrote:

When we talk about prestigious cards we hear about the AMEX Centurion or the JP Morgan Palladium.  I know these cards carry huge prestige!  However, whats a card of high prestige for the avgerage American?  The less than $100,000 a year salary guy.  I'm talking about the cards that get a "wow" at Food Lion, Applebees, Ruby Tuesdays, or maybe the local golf course.  If you were a cashier at a similar establishment, what cards would wow you?  I know when I saw any American Express card I was wowed or made assumptions about the person's wealth and credit status but thats the only card I really thought anything of due to my lack of knowledge.  Now I'd probably still be impressed by any AMEX, or the CSP.  So in your opinion, whats got that "wow" or "niceeeee!" factor?

---

Cards with certain names, from certain issuers, are frequently synonymous in the minds of Mr and Mrs/Ms Average American (who don't frequent message forums!), with wealth and prestige.  Thus, the Merrill Lynch Plus Platinum Visa (with the very cool ML Bull on the front) or the J P Morgan Select Signature Visa (the brown is rich looking!) come to mind as "prestigious looking" cards.  The metal of the Chase Sapphire Preferred is nearly always an eye-catcher.  And the AMEX Zync/Unicorn, for it's rarity now, it's become a cult favourite!