Signature/Platinum

[Cadillac-XTS]

+1

[webhopper]

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@Credit314 wrote:

+1

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Credit314, I see from this post that you agree with the previous reply. Do you mind elaborating on your experiences? Detailed and constructive posts containing your experiences and thoughts are always helpful to others who may be going through the same thing! Thanks in advance for your additional input!

[webhopper]

Credit314, I see from this post that you agree with the previous reply. Do you mind elaborating on your experiences? Detailed and constructive posts containing your experiences and thoughts are always helpful to others who may be going through the same thing! Thanks in advance for your additional input!

[bs6054]

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@JonStur wrote:

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It's based on the level of service you receive.  Signature Card holders are privy to a 24/7 Concierge service that should assist you in restaurant reservations, travel bookings, tickets at sporting events, and some may even assist in daycare for a pet while traveling. It also doesn't hurt to ask if there are any available discounts for travel or fine dining, and getting tickets to a popular or sold out event. Also unlike a Platinum card, there is no over limit fee.

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That's an explanation of the difference between the type of cards.   My question is what determines whether bank X issues user Y a signature or a platinum.  From my original post in most cases ("most" only because some issuers don't have signature cards) it doesn't seem dependent on CL, which would be an obvious guess.

[YahComb]

For the most part, when You are approved for a card above 5000 nowadays it will be a visa sig-however if you pass 5000 through credit limit increases, then most dont automatically convert, you usually need b to ask them to switch from platinum to visa signature.

[trumpet-205]

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@ccnewcc wrote:

I think that the issuing bank probably has to pay a premium for the premium cards. 

Much like a bank that offers cards with the PayPass feature in MC.  PayPass is an optional feature.  So I am sure that the issuer has to pay a premium in order to give their bank customers that option.

Visa's pecking order goes something like this:  Visa Standard, Visa Gold, Visa Platinum, Visa Siggy

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Issuing bank earn more swipe fee for Signature than Platinum. Same from Platimum vs Gold, etc.

But Signature offers the option to spend over your credit limit, so Signature is reserved for those with excellent credit.

[bs6054]

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@trumpet-205 wrote:

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@ccnewcc wrote:

I think that the issuing bank probably has to pay a premium for the premium cards. 

Much like a bank that offers cards with the PayPass feature in MC.  PayPass is an optional feature.  So I am sure that the issuer has to pay a premium in order to give their bank customers that option.

Visa's pecking order goes something like this:  Visa Standard, Visa Gold, Visa Platinum, Visa Siggy

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Issuing bank earn more swipe fee for Signature than Platinum. Same from Platimum vs Gold, etc.

But Signature offers the option to spend over your credit limit, so Signature is reserved for those with excellent credit.

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But as others have said, there are probably added costs as well.   What drove my question is getting in the same week: Penfed Platinum Rewards with a 20K limit and a US Bank Cash Plus with 15K.  The latter is signature, the first isn't.  Looking into it more, it seems that Penfed doesn't have signature cards, so presumably there is some incentive for them not to.

My highest CL Visa card (Cap One, 30K) is also just Platinum, but that is fairly old (2004), and even though that was the initial (and current!) CL, it might be that at that time signature didn't exist/wasn't common/Cap One didn't do it.

[mxp114]

My guess is some lenders target a different market, perhaps focus on users that won't need/want concierge or other Signature services. Or simply they don't want the added expense of subsidizing some of these benefits. PenFed doesn't issue Visa Signature, which does seem unusual.