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Back in the 1980s, I carried a Carte Blanche card. It was pure white with blue script lettering and a gold border.
It wasn't any harder to get than the AmEx card, but because it was rarely seen, it was thought by many to be very exclusive.
It was a beautiful card, and even though there weren't many places that accepted it, it was a fun piece of bling to have in my wallet.
I also carried the Diner's Club, which was also nice, but it had a more "corporate" look - as opposed to the Carte Blanche, which just conveyed the essence of "RICH".
@Revelate wrote:
@BlueNightStar wrote:
@frugalQ wrote:
Bluenightstar, I'm like you. For years I only used my debit card, and, I never envied anyone else's cards.
Unfortunately, there are groups of people who look at you a certain way when you pull out certain cards.Yes, it's the reality. I, however, am more interested in what kind of person someone is and a CC is not really going to be a determining factor in that decision for me.
If you never notice the person in the first place...
I'm not above stupid tricks to catch someone's attention even for a fleeting moment .
Sorry, did someone just post something? Oh, must be my imagination.
@Revelate wrote:
@BlueNightStar wrote:
@frugalQ wrote:
Bluenightstar, I'm like you. For years I only used my debit card, and, I never envied anyone else's cards.
Unfortunately, there are groups of people who look at you a certain way when you pull out certain cards.Yes, it's the reality. I, however, am more interested in what kind of person someone is and a CC is not really going to be a determining factor in that decision for me.
If you never notice the person in the first place...
I'm not above stupid tricks to catch someone's attention even for a fleeting moment .
I'm not the saint I'm sounding like in this thread either . Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
I, too can document the same responses by wait staff and others. Amex cards seem to elicit a big smile, different response lines, etc. Yes, it does matter. In the nicer establishments I always use my AMEX card and I tip accordingly 20 to 25 percent. I do not use my AMEX at lower end venues, aka discount stores, fast food, etc. It degrades the intrinsic value of what you have worked so hard to achieve! I can positively attest that I have recieved tickets to "sold out events" (been able to purchase ) when they find out I have an Amex Card. It is even a bigger plus if you have used your AMEX card with them before or they have it on file. To me, the AF is well worth it.
You might well be right, but the Amex impressiveness is based on a false understanding then. As seen here, it really isn't very hard to get an Amex charge card with somewhat decent credit, and in the US over 50% of adults have scores above 700, so many many people could in fact get them.
Now people don't, perhaps because they don't realize that they are in fact eligible, or they don't want to pay the fee, or they want a credit rather than charge card.
As discussed on multiple threads, there are many cards that are much more difficult to get than an Amex, so to worry about "degrades the intrinsic value of what you have worked so hard to achieve" by using it a cheap restaurant, well let's just say that doesn't resonate with me!
I don't have any big fancy major cards with fancy CL's but I think the Express card is very pretty, with all my favorite colors
@Repo-ed wrote:I get comments anytime catches a glimpse of the 5 Amex cards in my wallet, or if I pull out the PRG or Zync. People WANT Amex - whether they can or not, or want to admit it or not.
It's "status", and people want the feeling it comes with.
I'm not sure what you are basing this off of, but okay. I don't use them anymore, but when I used the Premier Rewards Gold or the Blue Cash Everyday, no one said anything. I don't know what American Express used to be, but it's pretty clear that since people who have charge offs and lates can get them, they aren't a "status" symbol. Don't forget that they even people with awful credit can carry one in the form of Bluebird.
@IECredit wrote:
I work for a Bank and once after work we all went to BWW. When it came time to pay one of our coworkers pulled out a Cap 1 card and alot of the table just laughed. Till this day that story still cra up! Just saying it was a laugh =)
Capital One does have nice cards for people with excellent credit. People think the Zync is the holy grail but laugh at Capital One cards? I really wouldn't be able to care less if someone laughed at a card I pulled out to pay with. Do people really judge people based on the kind of credit card they have? I wouldn't want to do business or be friends with anyone that did that. Someone could use a First Premier or Credit One card and it wouldn't make me laugh or make me judge them in any way.
A card's looks or "status" do not sway me to apply or not when considering a card. The only thing I care about is how much cashback I will receive or how long a zero interest period on purchases it has. I do notice card's looks and think the Fidelity American Express is the ugliest card in existence, since green is not on my list of likeable colors. It has the highest basic cashback I have, so I use it anyway. Even if the green is peeling after only one year of use.
Dh asked to be an au on my csp said its really cool. Haha