Hey I was on the forum and saw an ad for a black card and remembered all the prestige that come with it. And was reading about how they have a luxury concierge thats 24/7 that can get you tickets to a sold out concert and help you pick out gifts and such. Sounds awesome but I want to hear stories and experiences dealing with luxury and membership cards. What are the benefits? Is this fastlane? And what are the juicy secrets about them?
Getting a credit card for the "prestige" of it, in my opinion, is bullshit. You're also going need to spend in the six figures to get an Amex black card. I don't think the benefits of the card are worth it, compared to the fees. A credit card is not "fastlane" - they are merely tools. Tools, if used properly, can reap great rewards. If used incorrectly they can mire you in debt.
Personally, I go by a simple rule. If it takes more money out of your pocket than what you're getting back, I would NOT invest in it. I mean, for example, I never understood frequent flyer miles. Correct me if i'm wrong, but it seems like you have to spend around, let's say, $10,000 for you to receive maybe (and I mean a big MAYBE) some points on an airline flight. In the meantime, JP Morgan Chase-your-money, Discover Debt and American Depress are making tons of money from you in the form of high interest.
But this is just me, maybe someone else would like to give a different opinion.
You would understand frequent flier miles and credit card points if you spent enough to reap the benefits. First, an Amex Gold is a charge card, you have to pay it off every month (no interest). They are making much of their money off the credit card fees merchants pay. Second, using credit cards to your advantage is just smart business.
For example, I spent six figures on my Amex Gold last year running my business. I get "free" first class overseas flights with my points and it paid for one of my expensive (relatively) watches. Not to mention you get a 3x multiplier on American Express gold business cards.
I also have an Amex Plum card which is 60 days 0 interest, and 1.5% cash back (that's like free money). If you spend $100k, you get $1500 back free. There is 0 negatives if you pay off your cards.
Yes, you need to spend a lot, but any decent sized business will spend a lot of money. I put everything on my credit cards. I'm even trying to get my suppliers to put $60k/100k orders on my cards. No dice yet