Cards with top benefits for top tier customers.

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was under impression Amex Platinum needed a high score and high income to get and had strict underwriting standards.  If they are devaluating the card with allowing too many people to get it, then it does weaken the card somewhat.  I have gotten preapprovals for multiple Amex charge cards over the years, and have not taken up their offers.

Visa Infinite, World Mastercard Elite and Amex Platinum would be the harder tiers to achieve although oddly Mastercard with World Mastercard Elite seems to have popped up on low limit cards although they may have limited features.  

Obviously Centurion is the higher end Amex which is significant and few people can achieve it.  

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No, the belief is that all the Amex charge cards have the same underwriting, just depends on how much AF you want to pay.   People here recently rebuilding have got the Amex Plat with no issue, it's by no means a hard card to get. 

Re Visa Infinite/WEMC:   these are more or less meaningless.  Issuers get higher fees on such cards and so are encouraged to give them widely.    We've seen $500 Visa Sigs too, and I'm sure that the Infinite will also lower minimums.   One of the most popular, CSR, doesn't seem hard to get providing you can get a $10K line (which these days isn't a huge hurdle) and that doesn't provide all the Infinite features either...

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If Amex Plat is easiest, which is hardest card to get that one can openly appy for?

I had a Bank of America card that got converted to a Bank of America Amex with Worldpoints rewards program.  Never used the card and it got closed out.  I don’t see any Bank Of America issued American Express anymore.  The Wells Fargo Propel has a more compelling Amex with better rewards but Wells Fargo reputation isn’t so good.  

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"hardest" like "best" is somewhat subjective.    If you have recently been spreeing, the 5/24 rule is going to make it hard to get Chase cards.   Some small geo-restricted CUs are "hard" because if you don't live in that small area, you cannot get the card.     Some CUs have like Simmons have long involved forms and require very good credit, but these days are rather uninspiring.    Also, these require great credit rather than lots of financial resources, and, IMO, good credit is perhaps easier than having a great deal of money....

[wasCB14]

BofA had the Octave card through Merrill Lynch, but I think that got discontinued. $10M asset minimum.

Amex Platinum has income requirements in some countries. Australia requires $100k AUD (~$70k USD) but that's not terribly restrictive. As others have said, the US Platinum is very easy to get. The main requirement is the willingness to pay the AF.

Amex staff deserves credit for generally operating lounges smoothly when they are extremely crowded. That said, it's clearly more of a mixed demographic compared to the Flagship/Polaris crowd.

And a general comment to the several people who want cards to be more exclusive: Before complaining, consider whether you'd even qualify under meaningfully stricter standards.

Do you really want a $10M asset or $500k income requirement? What if 840 FICOs were needed, or Amex rejected you because they still had a record of your late payment 15 years ago?

Or is the requirement for exclusivity just a hair less than you have?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was under impression Amex Platinum needed a high score and high income to get and had strict underwriting standards.  

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Credit cards don't use income for approval decisions, except in rare cases of some credit unions and perhaps the centurion.  Also there aren't many cards that require truly high scores -- almost all of them just require reasonably above average scores.  The Platinum is actually one of the easier to get as it's a charge card with a high annual fee -- two things that work in Amex's favor.  A much more difficult card to get would be something like the Alliant Cash Back card -- they decline many people with even high scores.

All that said, what credit card you have is never an indication of your net worth -- it just indicates how much you can potentially spend.  These two things are massively different.   Many times, those who appear to have high net worth are in the negative.  All hat, no cattle.

[redpat]

I have a couple of friends that have the Centurion card and it's never about the points or lounges.  It's about the service they get when they travel and all their vacations are set-up and suites/condo's/houses are stocked, private tour guides are also arranged, they are picked up at international airports as some of the perks.  If they need anything on the shopping front it's taken care off and sent to them.  They have an assigned concierge and it's plat card on steroids, not the same.  They also have their own Hotel Program.  They are both have Delta Diamond and AA Exec.status.

This is where the funny money is top tier.  That is why most of us will never experience it because of the cost......

So say what you want about amex but that is their true niche.

[digitek]

ROFL man I juggle 10 cards just to save few hundred bucks...   I'm not sure I'll ever be on that kind of level.

[ridgebackpilot]

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@charp150 wrote:

 IMHO, the Amex Centurion lounges are awful and overrated.  They are absurdly crowded and the ‘buffet’ is like a feeding trough for horses.  Moreover, the facility isn’t all that impressive.  It’s like the lobby of a mediocre Marriott merged with a Golden Corral.  Delta lounges are, in my experience, far superior (I’m based in Atlanta as are their best lounges).  

I actually find a lot of use with PP using the ‘Minute Suites’ when I want to get a nap in during a layover.  Good thing there are far worse problems in the world to be concerned with than the luxuries afforded by credit cards.  

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Hahaha! I couldn't have described the AMEX Centurion lounges better! The first time I entered one and gave the concierge my Platinum card, I thought I was in for an exclusive experience. Imagine how appalled I was to find it crowded and unimpressive. Like farmed shrimp or salmon, it's all about cheap "luxury" for the masses.

The Platinum card is absurdly easy to get. I recently referred a friend who has a six-figure income but just barely and is just starting her career. She got the card with an instant approval.

As others have said, if you want top tier benefits, you have to pay for them. The best example is private aviation, which is really the only way to travel if you can afford the price of entry. Most of us cannot! I ride with friends on their turbine aircraft as often as possible. It's a world of difference from the airlines and their germ-tubes! :-)

[Anonymous]

I agree with the comment that the Delta lounges are far superior.  The Centurion lounge description is pretty spot on -- and very over crowded.  I mean, yeah there's some value there, but it's not amazing or anything.  Mostly it's a bunch of young cc churners overcrowding the place.  I recently went to my first Delta Sky Lounge in Honolulu, and it was fantastic compared to the Centurion lounge -- very few people, served a great beer selection in the huge 18 ounce glasses, and the food was better quality.  Unfortunately to go in these lounges you have to have a Delta ticket, so I'll make it a point to fly Delta more frequently.

[wasCB14]

Delta has some nice lounges, but also some not-so-great ones. There might be a bit more consistency at Centurions.

I've never been to a Centurion early in the morning (before 9 am or so) so don't know what they offer then. Brunch at Centurions seems a lot better than what some older Delta lounges have in the morning.

I like having access to both.

[Anonymous]

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@redpat wrote:

I have a couple of friends that have the Centurion card and it's never about the points or lounges.  It's about the service they get when they travel and all their vacations are set-up and suites/condo's/houses are stocked, private tour guides are also arranged, they are picked up at international airports as some of the perks.  If they need anything on the shopping front it's taken care off and sent to them.  They have an assigned concierge and it's plat card on steroids, not the same.  They also have their own Hotel Program.  They are both have Delta Diamond and AA Exec.status.

This is where the funny money is top tier.  That is why most of us will never experience it because of the cost......

So say what you want about amex but that is their true niche.

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Common redpat ... don't throw in the towel yet! You never know?