topic Re: What does Platinum mean? in Credit Cards

What does Platinum mean?

Skye12329 — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:05:11 GMT

I heard someone say they were shocked because one of my CC's say Platinum on it, but i was wondering whats the big deal about it? Because all of my cards including Debit cards say Platinum on it.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

manwoot — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:06:34 GMT

AMEX Platinum is a "big deal" card.

Every other platinum is... meh...

Re: What does Platinum mean?

Skye12329 — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:07:31 GMT

Ok, but what does it mean though? I mean is it anything special?

Re: What does Platinum mean?

manwoot — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:09:12 GMT

@Skye12329 wrote:
Ok, but what does it mean though? I mean is it anything special?

Personally, I wouldn't say it's a big deal or special at all. Lenders use the terminology gold, platinum, diamond, preferred, etc. but it's really just labeling of cards. Capital One Platinum, for example, is one of their worst/lowest cards you can get from them.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:10:08 GMT

There was some metal inflation back around the 90s. Lots of gold, and now lots of platinum. My first debit card around 99 was a gold card. Even many secured cards are called Platinum. Maybe we'll all have Palladium debit cards in a few years.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

scenery_guy — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:32:11 GMT

78 or Pt (chemistry humor).

It's on of the the earth's rarest element in the crust. It's a noble metal. It's scarce and highly valuable and a precious metal commodity. It's more expensive than gold. To credit card marketing groups Platinum > Gold. Gold cards at one time were the illusive upper tier card designation. Just like shills they invented a new illusive level. Bingo - platinum cards.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:03:25 GMT

@manwoot wrote:
AMEX Platinum is a "big deal" card.

Every other platinum is... meh...

And Amex Plat isn't a big deal really either, just need to pay the annual fee.

As others have said, simple term inflation. I got my first Gold MC around 1986, and whenever I showed it, which was a lot because I was young and a jerk, people were impressed. Now, for many cards, platinum is the lowest level, below signature.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

mxp114 — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:08:05 GMT

Platinum means nothing, I think for 99% of lenders in the US it is the standard issued tier but some even just issue Signature or World status easily. In other markets like Brazil, Platinum has maintained a degree of perceived prestige and exclusivity. The Platinum Card from American Express means little too.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

CreditScholar — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:21:57 GMT

@mxp114 wrote:
Platinum means nothing, I think for 99% of lenders in the US it is the standard issued tier but some even just issue Signature or World status easily. In other markets like Brazil, Platinum has maintained a degree of perceived prestige and exclusivity. The Platinum Card from American Express means little too.

+1. Platinum really means nothing these days in the US market.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

improvingmycredit — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:26:52 GMT

@Skye12329 wrote:
I heard someone say they were shocked because one of my CC's say Platinum on it, but i was wondering whats the big deal about it? Because all of my cards including Debit cards say Platinum on it.

Hey Skye12329! Welcome to the Forums!

In general and I hope this helps, each different credit card network offers different tiers of benefits. For example, MasterCard offers: Standard Mastercard, Gold Mastercard, Platinum Mastercard, World Mastercard and World Elite Mastercard. Each tier of card offers more in benefits to the card holder. It used to mean a lot more to hold a different tier product then it does now a days but still, the benefits are better per level of card. It meant something in the 80's/90's to carry a Platinum card for example but today, almost all lenders offer the Platinum card and it's inherent benefits from Mastercard. But in general, in today's offerings, in order to get a World MasterCard, you must first qualify with the various lenders to receive a minimum of 5K limit and the card (in general) will also allow you to go over that credit assignment with no repercussions from the lending institution. Platinum cards limits can start at $100 to $100K+ where as the World Mastercard is supposed to start at $5K minimum and go up from there. I have included a link for you to check out.

http://www.mastercard.us/credit-card.html

Not all lenders offer all the different tiers either. Most of the rebuilder cards are platinum offerings and so on.

What convoluted the answer even more is that lenders name their products themselves on top of the different tiers and supplement the tiered card with more of their own benefits to make the card more attractive, for example: CitiBank offers the Citi Diamond Preferred MC. This card is a Platinum card at the base of it but nowhere do you see platinum on the card anywhere. The card offers concierge like a "World" card but this benefit is offered through Citi and not Mastercard international.

Overseas, the different card levels still pretty much mean something. Platinum cards issued by foreign banks still hold their status and it's rare to see a World card.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

CreditScholar — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:29:52 GMT

@improvingmycredit wrote:
@Skye12329 wrote:
I heard someone say they were shocked because one of my CC's say Platinum on it, but i was wondering whats the big deal about it? Because all of my cards including Debit cards say Platinum on it.
Hey Skye12329! Welcome to the Forums!
In general and I hope this helps, each different credit card network offers different tiers of benefits. For example, MasterCard offers: Standard Mastercard, Gold Mastercard, Platinum Mastercard, World Mastercard and World Elite Mastercard. Each tier of card offers more in benefits to the card holder. It used to mean a lot more to hold a different tier product then it does now a days but still, the benefits are better per level of card. It meant something in the 80's/90's to carry a Platinum card for example but today, almost all lenders offer the Platinum card and it's inherent benefits from Mastercard. But in general, in today's offerings, in order to get a World MasterCard, you must first qualify with the various lenders to receive a minimum of 5K limit and the card (in general) will also allow you to go over that credit assignment with no repercussions from the lending institution. Platinum cards limits can start at $100 to $100K+ where as the World Mastercard is supposed to start at $5K minimum and go up from there. I have included a link for you to check out.
http://www.mastercard.us/credit-card.html
Not all lenders offer all the different tiers either. Most of the rebuilder cards are platinum offerings and so on.
What convoluted the answer even more is that lenders name their products themselves on top of the different tiers and supplement the tiered card with more of their own benefits to make the card more attractive, for example: CitiBank offers the Citi Diamond Preferred MC. This card is a Platinum card at the base of it but nowhere do you see platinum on the card anywhere. The card offers concierge like a "World" card but this benefit is offered through Citi and not Mastercard international.
Overseas, the different card levels still pretty much mean something. Platinum cards issued by foreign banks still hold their status and it's rare to see a World card.

+1. Platinum cards are the highest level that is publically offered here, and many will have explicit income minimums stated on the website (75-100k). As a side note, the Amex platinum requires a minimum income of 100k and sports a $900 AF.

World cards are by invitation only, and they're extremely rare.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

improvingmycredit — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:30:30 GMT

MXP114 beat me to the punch! LOL

Re: What does Platinum mean?

improvingmycredit — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:35:34 GMT

@CreditScholar wrote:

Overseas, the different card levels still pretty much mean something. Platinum cards issued by foreign banks still hold their status and it's rare to see a World card.
+1. Platinum cards are the highest level that is publically offered here, and many will have explicit income minimums stated on the website (75-100k). As a side note, the Amex platinum requires a minimum income of 100k and sports a $900 AF.

World cards are by invitation only, and they're extremely rare.

Wow CS. I did not know this bit of information. Thanks! I knew that they weren't publicly offered but not the rest. Great info from you always.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

CreditScholar — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:38:04 GMT

@improvingmycredit wrote:
@CreditScholar wrote:

Overseas, the different card levels still pretty much mean something. Platinum cards issued by foreign banks still hold their status and it's rare to see a World card.
+1. Platinum cards are the highest level that is publically offered here, and many will have explicit income minimums stated on the website (75-100k). As a side note, the Amex platinum requires a minimum income of 100k and sports a $900 AF.

World cards are by invitation only, and they're extremely rare.
Wow CS. I did not know this bit of information. Thanks! I knew that they weren't publicly offered but not the rest. Great info from you always.

No worries at all. I'm sure the exact numbers and details are country-specific, so I'm guessing it'll vary from place to place.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 08:36:52 GMT

Credit One VISA® Platinum

First Progress Platinum Elite MasterCard®

First PREMIER® Bank Gold MasterCard®

^ amongst others, lol

Re: What does Platinum mean?

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 10:11:35 GMT

+1 to what creditscholar has said.

In Singapore, card tiers are very distinct as well. Most banks have a minimum income requirement on top of credit score / history requirements. Basic American Express cards have about 35-40k income requirements (65k income for non-citizens) and it goes up from there.

Visa inifinite is the highest tier for example. its somewhat like visa signature plus some other benefits. Most lenders require somewhere between 250-500k minimum income, or liquid assets in the 6 digits region with the issuing bank, in order to qualify.

Whereas in the US, income requirements are rarely ever enforced for many reasons, with potential discrimination suits being one of them. So down here its hard to tell from just the card alone whether that person with the Amex platinum for example is indeed a rich person, poseur, or just a frequent traveler who is able to make good use of the card.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

mxp114 — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 11:14:56 GMT

Yeah the US market is very different, where people seem eager to get the top cards just to have 'em. I think it is this culture that results in premium products being issued more widely. A good example of the market differentiation is the globally issued Citi Prestige product. In Malaysia it requires 200,000 income and a min line of USD $16k however the US issued version has no income requirement and the min line is $2k.

Re: What does Platinum mean?

Shogun — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 14:35:42 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Credit One VISA® Platinum
First Progress Platinum Elite MasterCard®
First PREMIER® Bank Gold MasterCard®

^ amongst others, lol

Made me laugh... Thanks!

Re: What does Platinum mean?

CreditScholar — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 06:45:30 GMT

@mxp114 wrote:
Yeah the US market is very different, where people seem eager to get the top cards just to have 'em. I think it is this culture that results in premium products being issued more widely. A good example of the market differentiation is the globally issued Citi Prestige product. In Malaysia it requires 200,000 income and a min line of USD $16k however the US issued version has no income requirement and the min line is $2k.

+1. I think in many other cultures people are better at knowing their place, whereas in the US, you'll often get responses of "Well who are you to tell me what I can do?" It's much more accepted elsewhere to categorize people openly, whereas that practice is frowned upon in US society.

For example high school students here are often 'streamed', so kids are put into classes that are ranked from top to bottom. The top-performing 9th graders will be in 9.1, whereas the bottom might be in 9.6. They are taught very different things from the start, and they know where they're at in relation to others. They also know that if they do well, they may move up a class level or two the next year.

The same principle works for credit as well. If you're making 40k, don't travel and want an Amex platinum, there's nothing wrong with saying "That card simply isn't for me because I'm just not there yet."

Re: What does Platinum mean?

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 07:02:33 GMT

CS, its like that for most parts of Asia too!

I can see why schools in the US do not differentiate students into different 'classes' as much. The idea of segregating students like this may invite potential discrimination lawsuits, simply because certain ethnicities do not seem to fare as well in academics over the others. Look at affirmative action in colleges as an example. That policy alone has resulted in numerous discrimination lawsuits and one of the cases even went all the way to the Supreme Court. Regardless of whether lawsuits like these have merit, having to defend them can be extremely costly.

Banks prolly don't try to impose these hard requirements for similar reasons. There is a distinct difference in the median income of different ethnicities. Imposing income requirements may invite frivolous lawsuits which they would very much rather not deal with altogether.