Premium credit cards (A guide)

In this brief guide, we are going to discuss Premium credit cards, their benefits and how to get a premium credit card.

Premium credit cards

Premium credit cards as the name implies are exclusive credit cards which are only reserved for people with high credit scores, high spending habits and those who utilize a lot of reward facilities. The annual fees and APR charges on premium credit cards are usually very high.

Premium credit cards are also referred and known as premier, black cards, purple cards or platinum credit cards.

Premium credit cards can be seen as a status symbol and many people will usually get them for this reason.

What benefits do premium credit cards offer?

Premium credit cards offer a lot of benefits and rewards and hence these credit cards are targeted at a niche market. 

Premium credit cards have strict entry criteria and look for people with over £50,000 in income per year and very good credit scores. These credit cards also have very high annual fees ranging from £100 to more than £1000 in some cases and with this, you can expect some very good benefits.

Some of the benefits premium credit cards offer include:

Airline mules which have a better-earning rate than other standard credit cards

Premium credit cards will also offer concierge services for booking cars, hotels, golf courses, events, flights and much more.

Premium credit cards may come with bundled travel insurance and companion tickets.

Premium credit cards may also come with high ATM withdrawal limits with little fees.

Premium credit cards will also offer its users access to airport lounges from all over the world as well as perks such as free upgrades to business or first class.

Premium, premier or platinum credit cards offer very high credit limits, rarely any introductory rates and usually charge between 12% to 17% interest rate on any balance being carried over from one month to another. You may find some premium credit cards with rates up to 50%

 You must be certain you can afford to pay the balances in full each month if not you will quickly pile up and accumulated credit card debt. This may mean that the benefits you are getting from your premium credit card are now much smaller than the cost of your premium credit card.

Which premium credit card is best?

The best premium credit card will depend on what you are looking for a premium credit card to do.

Some of the best premium credit cards include:

American Express® Gold Card.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard. ®

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card.

The Platinum Card® from American Express.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Mastercard® Black Card™

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card.

BARCLAYCARD 28 MONTH BALANCE TRANSFER PLATINUM CARD REVIEW

JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP CREDIT CARD

AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM CASHBACK CREDIT CARD *

BRITISH AIRWAYS AMERICAN EXPRESS PREMIUM PLUS CARD *

STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST CREDIT CARD FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS *

BRITISH AIRWAYS AMERICAN EXPRESS CREDIT CARD *

M&S REWARD PLUS CREDIT CARD *

M&S SHOPPING PLUS CREDIT CARD *

Is a premium credit card worth it?

A premium credit card will be worth it if the rewards you are getting from the premium credit card would otherwise cost you more than the APR and annual fees you are paying on your premium credit card if you tried to purchase them yourself.

Should you get a premium credit card?

We will try and create a brief framework to determine if you should create a premium credit card or not.

Do you carry over your credit card balance from one month to another?

If yes then maybe a premium credit card may not be best for you as the interest rate charged on premium credit cards are quite high and if you carry your credit card balance from one month to the other you may end up with credit card debt and the benefits of the premium credit card may not fully be felt.

Do you earn at least £50k and have a good credit score?

If you don’t earn at least 350,000 and have a good credit score then you may find that many credit card providers will not offer you a premium credit card.

Will you use a concierge service or an airport lounge?

If You won’t use a concierge service or an airport lounge then maybe the rewards offered by a premium credit card are not suited to you.

What to consider when getting your Premium credit card?

Whilst the premium credit card may be right for you, there could also be other potential credit cards which suit you better. It is always advisable to use a credit card eligibility checker 

Which provides you with all the credit cards you may be eligible for outside of the premium credit card.

When comparing multiple credit cards; below are the things you should look out for before applying.

Eligibility

Each card issuer will have its own lending criteria that  you will need to meet before they will provide you with an offer of credit. There are now credit card eligibility checker platforms which let you know which credit cards you are eligible for and which you have a high probability of getting on application. 

Most credit card providers now have their own credit card eligibility systems in place which will let you know if you will be approved for a credit card with them or not. These tools use a soft credit check t pull your credit file data and hence does not leave any footprints which are visible to the public or harm your credit score.

You should avoid applying for a credit card if you are not confident you will be accepted as rejections for credit could damage your credit score and history. This may then affect your ability to get further credit in the future.

Interest rates

When getting a credit card, the interest rates on the credit card are a very important factor and you should always lookout for the APR figure. The interest rates on the credit card are the rates that will be charged on any outstanding credit card balance which you carry over from one month to another. If you pay your credit card balance in full each month then you will not have any interest to pay.

Credit cards typically come with up to 55 interest-free days on purchases if you don’t carry a balance month-to-month.

Credit limits

You should look at the credit Credit limits when choosing a credit card provider as the credit card limits will determine how much you can spend on your credit card. Most credit card providers may offer you a credit limit increase if you can show good credit behaviour over a few months.

Rewards and perks

Credit card providers offer various rewards and perks but usually, these are reserved for applicants with high credit scores.

Fees

Some credit card providers will have annual fees on their credit cards but these are usually for credit cards with high credit card limits and lots of rewards or perks.

You should always check what fees are attached to your credit card. These can include annual or monthly account fees, cash advance (withdrawing cash using the card) fees, overseas transaction fees and others.

How to get your premium credit card

To get your premium credit card, check to see if you have a credit score first.

If you are unsure of what your credit score is then you should check your credit score from the four credit bureaus in the UK: Experian, Crediva, Equifax and Transunion.

Some of these credit bureaus may charge you a fee to view your credit report so what you can alternatively do is request a statutory credit report which is a free credit report which each credit bureau must provide to you upon you requesting it.

Alternatively, you can also use credit score services such as Checkmyfile and clearscore to check your credit report.

Once you have done this you should then check on a credit card eligibility platform to see what credit cards you are eligible for and then apply for the best credit card. This may be the premium credit card or it could be another credit card from a different provider which suits you better.

In this brief guide, we discussed premium credit cards. If you have any questions or comments please let us know.

If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.

You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.