It has benefits that hardly anyone will use that aren't rich and famous. For us rebuilders it gave me personally an accomplishment feeling that I was on my up from the rebuilder cards with lower scores to higher scores and SL's. Usually 5k or more for most CCC's issue the trio rank.
Most people don't know they even exist. They just see visa and mastercard
The responses above sum it up pretty well.
The only 3 perks that I can think of that are network issued and important to people are:
Rental car insurance
Then you have the MasterCard air program which I believe is now discontinued.
The last one is the visa infinite $100 discount on domestic airline companion tickets. This is actually a really nice benefit but sadly only one US issued card has it the last time I checked. The other visa infinite card issuing banks decided against the perk.
The rental car coverage applies to all visa/MC credit cards I believe. Although different tiers get different coverage levels and the issuing bank has a say as well. I think the only standard across all cards is that the rental car coverage becomes primary in a foreign country.
This may even be able to be opted out of by the issuing bank.
The only 3 perks that I can think of that are network issued and important to people are:
Rental car insurance
Then you have the MasterCard air program which I believe is now discontinued.
The last one is the visa infinite $100 discount on domestic airline companion tickets. This is actually a really nice benefit but sadly only one US issued card has it the last time I checked. The other visa infinite card issuing banks decided against the perk.
The rental car coverage applies to all visa/MC credit cards I believe. Although different tiers get different coverage levels and the issuing bank has a say as well. I think the only standard across all cards is that the rental car coverage becomes primary in a foreign country.
This may even be able to be opted out of by the issuing bank.
@wasCB14 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:We all know that for whatever criteria, CCC's may target you to be the lucky candidate for a segment upgrade into a World Mastercard, Elite Mastercard or Visa Signature Card depending on the existing type of card that you currently have of course.
Unless you're rolling like 'Lifestyles with Robin Leach' for the average Joe or Jane, what does this really mean and does it really matter?Most useful perks come from the issuing bank, not Visa or MC. Consumers often need to pay an AF to get such a card. The issuer collects the AF and the bulk of the processing fee, so has both the incentive and resources to provide great perks (and protections/rewards).
Visa and MC get a smaller slice of the fees. They don't have much of a budget to provide luxury perks. However, for whatever reasons, they feel the need to promote a luxury image. They provide a lot of benefits that may sound great at first, but there's almost always some catch.
- You may need to pay directly for some service, and it's not cheap (like the MC airport concierge).
- If they offer some "discount", you can usually get an even better deal through some other channel (some admission fees with both).
- You may need to pay an inflated price for the "extras" (like some hotel rates through Visa).
"airport concierge" like a helicopter uber pickup and dropoff must be nice 
@Anonymous wrote:We all know that for whatever criteria, CCC's may target you to be the lucky candidate for a segment upgrade into a World Mastercard, Elite Mastercard or Visa Signature Card depending on the existing type of card that you currently have of course.
Unless you're rolling like 'Lifestyles with Robin Leach' for the average Joe or Jane, what does this really mean and does it really matter?
That pretty much sums it up! 