American Express Black Card
“Don’t leave home without it,” American Express has always told us. When it comes to the Black Card, that’s easier said than done. For those who travel extensively and have deep pockets, the company cleverly introduced a mysterious “black card” in 1999 that is officially known as the Centurion Card from American Express (not to be confused with the Mastercard Black Card).
What makes the product unique (and desirable) is that it’s an invitation-only card and the company doesn't publicize what you need to do in order to qualify. But based on the lucky (?) few that got invited, here is how you might qualify: own an American Express credit card for at least one year, spend at least $100,000 - $450,000 a year, earn at least $1 million annually, and have a high net worth. If you do get invited to the dance, the fees are quite steep: an initiation fee of $5,000-$7,500; an annual fee of $2,500 and another $2,500 for up to two authorized users.
In return for this “investment,” members receive one point per $1 spent on all purchases, a $200 Annual Air Travel Credit, airport lounge entry, unlimited first class upgrades five days before you fly with Delta, rental car benefits from Hertz that guarantee you complimentary vehicle upgrades and weekend pricing beginning at 7 a.m. on Thursdays, and a first crack at ticket sales for exclusive Centurion card events. Whether people who make $1 million a year worry about securing weekend pricing for a rental car is an open question...but if you just want the black card to impress other people, you’d better go out and start spending.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: How Do Credit Card Companies Wo...115 Views
finance a la shmoop. how do credit card companies work? you could write a
book on this but don't. it'll hurt instead think about a credit card [man carries huge book and grimaces]
company is kind of twisted moneylender who really makes money in two ways.
well first they make money from the people who take your credit cards like
when you use your credit card to lovingly pay shmoop 20 bucks a month for our
awesome content. thank you very much. that $20 charge carries about a 1% hit. from
the credit card company that is the hard-working elves here at shmoop only
keep about nineteen dollars and 80 cents from that twenty you just paid. credit [equation]
card companies need to pay for their jets right? well that one transaction was
just 20 cents but there are gujilion's of them so the dough adds up to billions
and billions really fast. unless do you think the job of being a credit card
company is easy, note that every few thousand transactions is done by some
bad actor like no different kind of bad actor. you know meaning of theif someone
behaving badly they've stolen your card and if race to Best Buy [man runs out of store carrying TV]
hoping to abscond with ten flat screens to sell on the street corner and make a
fast buck. while the credit card company is generally responsible for those
frauds against mankind and have to hunt down the bad guys .so that's one way
they make money. the other way credit card companies get paid is that they get
money from consumers who use them either directly or indirectly directly. means
something like an annual fee. and then there are charges well you know that is
if you don't pay off your credit card bill each month you carry what is called [credit card rates listed]
a balance. and on those amounts you pay huge interest. like for many buyers on
credit the fee is 15 to 20 percent per year these days and sometimes more. so if
you bought a thousand dollar television set with your 20% credit card and didn't
pay it off for three years you'd have paid $200 a year in interest for three
years or $600. do you think Visa Mastercard or Amex pay 20% interest for
the money they borrow to lend to you? hardly they pay very very low interest
rates like just a few percent in there so on the [visa employees pictured]
20% they charge you an interest to punish you for not paying off your
credit card their cost is more like 2% I either making like an 18% spread or
profit margin on that money. the 600 bucks you paid for renting the grand for
3 years from the kindly loving people at visa
Oh made visa over 500 bucks on that money nice. work if you can get it and [equation]
you know a really nice jet.
Up Next
What does a personal wealth manager do? A personal wealth manager helps individuals reach their financial goals. To do this, they ask questions lik...
What are petrodollars and what do they have to do with dinosaurs?