Platinum Visa Card

[PaulNZ]

My bank mailed me stating I qualified for an Visa platinum card all I need to do is pay a lump sum, and the card will be on its way.

I used to think platinum was unique, but it looks like every bank is issuing one. Kinda spoils the taste.

I don't show a lot of wealth, I am most natural walking around in a work shirt and scruffy work boats. I drive a 1993 Toyota with 270,000 kms on the clock, but I would meet any net worth/earning criteria needed for such a card.

I would need a standard card for use around my friends, I would never flash anything like this around them, but there are situations where it may be useful to show a discreet sign of wealth.

I wonder if these cards are all that exclusive?

 

[catdance62]

Platinum cards are really common. Loads of everyday people have one.
My question is, why do you have to pay to have one? Is it a secured card?

 

[2B]

Why would you PAY to have a credit card?

I get cash back, 25 day interest free and it's a platinum card. They just sent it to me and increased my credit limit. I didn't normally use what I had but did get close when I booked expensive trips. I pay it off safely before the payment due date.

I don't "not use" my card in front of people. I don't see any particular status in what color credit card I have. Someone else with a platinum card might have a $60,000 balance they can't ever pay off. That's a lot lower status to me than someone with a plain-jane card that's paid off every month.

 

[REWahoo]

...there are situations where it may be useful to show a discreet sign of wealth.

Please provide some examples.

 

[ziggy29]

PAY to get the card? Ick, I feel unclean.

My CU keeps sending me stuff to "upgrade" my gold Visa to Platinum, but I just don't see the need. It would cost nothing, but I don't know that the platinum benefits are a big deal to me. I also don't know if that would close my (19-year-old) Visa account with them and start a new one (not good for the old FICO) or be a continuance of the original account. I could call and confirm, I guess, but it's not that big a deal and there's always a chance they could screw up and close a seasoned account and open a new one.

 

[ziggy29]

Please provide some examples.

I can see some occupations (such as a real estate agent) where it might be a career advantage to look successful (nice cars, "platinum" credit, that sort of thing). In the eyes of some, it could equate to being successful at what they do (i.e. selling houses) which would be a "sell" to potential clients.

For most people, who cares?

 

[2B]

PAY to get the card? Ick, I feel unclean.

My CU keeps sending me stuff to "upgrade" my gold Visa to Platinum, but I just don't see the need. It would cost nothing, but I don't know that the platinum benefits are a big deal to me. I also don't know if that would close my (19-year-old) Visa account with them and start a new one (not good for the old FICO) or be a continuance of the original account. I could call and confirm, I guess, but it's not that big a deal and there's always a chance they could screw up and close a seasoned account and open a new one.

My account number stayed the same. It still has the same "customer since" date on it. I'm not particuarly worried about the impact on my credit score for this minor change even if they did change my number. Last time I checked three years ago the average was over 800.

 

[UncleHoney]

The platinum card is strictly a form of penis enhancement for the card holder.

Believe me, the chicks at the grocery store, Lowes and Home Depot don't even notice. They probably just give a little laugh inside and think, just another white haired old geezer flashing his big credit limit around.

 

[Jeb-NY]

Anyone that notices what CC I use is not worth impressing.

Jeb

 

[DAYDREAMER]

Never relized that "Means of DEBT" are used to show wealth. Thats funny!

 

[ziggy29]

Never relized that "Means of DEBT" are used to show wealth. Thats funny!

I know this board is going to be overrepresented with people who espouse the LBYM lifestyle and who despise debt (myself included), but there are occupations where projecting a successful image can be important. I'm not sure how much a "platinum card" would do that, but some "success symbols" that seem frivolous to many people can be helpful in some lines of work.

 

[Alan]

I just checked my CC and it is Platinum Visa (from Penfed CU) - and it replaced my Amex Blue Cash 'cos it has better cash back rewards. (no fee either of course).

However, a few months back we hired a car while on vacation in France and my Platinum card was not acceptable by Hertz as a guarrantee for the larger vehicle we needed for 4 adults with luggage for 2 weeks.

Had to use my Amex Blue Cash (both have same limit). On returning the car I was able to pay with my Platinum Visa.

Anyone who is impressed by the color of your CC is not worth impressing.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

yikes. sorry, that's all i got.

 

[lets-retire]

I thought the only difference between a platinum card and most of th e rest is the platinum offered some kind of incentive for using it. I get credits to buy stuff from a catalog.

 

[ziggy29]

I thought the only difference between a platinum card and most of th e rest is the platinum offered some kind of incentive for using it. I get credits to buy stuff from a catalog.

At my CU (the one that is trying to get me to upgrade to platinum), there are apparently some extra concierge platinum benefits over the gold card, but nothing I plan to use. Besides, their cards give no points or cash back, so I almost never use my CU Visa Gold as it is -- just enough to keep it active, since it's a very old, established account which helps the ol' credit score. So I've just never bothered.

 

[Alan]

IHowever, a few months back we hired a car while on vacation in France and my Platinum card was not acceptable by Hertz as a guarrantee for the larger vehicle we needed for 4 adults with luggage for 2 weeks.

Another "gotcha" was that the minimum age to hire this class of car was 30 so DD and SIL (aged 27) could not be named as drivers.

I've traveled and hired cars abroad a lot and this was the first time I've come across either situation.

 

[Animorph]

Paying a lump sum up front sounds more like a scam than an offer. Visa Platinum is not an exclusive card by any means.

 

[barbarus]

I got my first Platinum card probably 15 years ago. I now have three or four of the things, including the prudent PenFed card and it never entered my mind that there was some status supposed to be associated with one. I have NEVER noticed anyone paying the least attention to a CC being platinum.

It's just one more GD credit card as far as I can tell.

As far as impressing the distaff side of humanity, I'm repulsive enough that a fistfull of these puppys would not be able to overcome the inherent revulsion.

NEVER pay for one. Most people can get at least a dozen for free.
I probably get an offer a month from a new issuer for these objects.

 

[youbet]

I thought the only difference between a platinum card and most of th e rest is the platinum offered some kind of incentive for using it. I get credits to buy stuff from a catalog.

The Visa cards offered by my credit union distinguish between their Gold and Platinum offerings as follows:

Gold: Int rate = 9.9%. No incentive points.

Platinum: Int rate = 12.9%. Includes incentive points.

I took the Platinum because I never have to pay the interest (never carry a balance) and I use the incentive points to buy a plane ticket for DW to go visit her sister every spring.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I wouldn't pay a lump sum to secure a platinum card--that sounds like a scam.

Alan, that's very weird that Hertz would not accept the Visa card to guarantee the car--was Visa being overly diligent in not allowing what it might construct as a suspicious use of the card (once there was a hold on our account when we bought a computer out of state to be shipped to a different address than ours)? What a pain--what if you didn't have the Amex to use?

Our CapitalOne Platinum Visa (they sent a platinum, we didn't request it) doubles the warranty period on items purchased with it (up to an additional year), provides $100,000 of travel accident insurance for loss of life or limb while traveling, and gives us free CDW coverage when we rent a car. I wouldn't pay extra for a card that offered any of these "benefits" and I imagine it costs Visa virtually nothing to provide them.

 

[Alan]

Alan, that's very weird that Hertz would not accept the Visa card to guarantee the car--was Visa being overly diligent in not allowing what it might construct as a suspicious use of the card (once there was a hold on our account when we bought a computer out of state to be shipped to a different address than ours)? What a pain--what if you didn't have the Amex to use?

Very strange - this was Hertz in Bordeaux. When we returned the car 2 weeks later I was able to pay with my my Visa no problem.

The alternative if I did not have Amex with me would have been either to have got a smaller car and some of the luggage would have to have been on folks' laps for the jouney's too/from our rental houses in France and Spain (2 hr drives) or to rent 2 smaller cars and travel in convoy.

I think I might call and get the credit limit raised from $25 to$60K to see if that helps in future, although the Amex is a limit of $25K as well. Or I might just continue to carry the Amex and keep it active with a few small purchases each year.

I also paid Hertz for collision damage insurance so if the car was stolen or wrecked I was covered so it should not have been an insurance thing. May be it is a French thing - the agent couldn't tell me why at the time there was a problem.

 

[mbooth]

Hmmmmmm

I'm sure that all the responses are quite genuine and have some reasonable points. However, the OP is from New Zealand, trust me folks, the financial, economic, banking and regulatory credit fundamentals are quite different to the US situation down here (the Antipodes).

In fact, I'm a little surprised the OP actually posited the query, but then he/she only has 4 posts, so they maybe haven't grasped the fact that the ER board is US-based and so responses will have a US-bias (statement of fact, not bias ).

Cheers

 

[2B]

Hmmmmmm

I'm sure that all the responses are quite genuine and have some reasonable points. However, the OP is from New Zealand, trust me folks, the financial, economic, banking and regulatory credit fundamentals are quite different to the US situation down here (the Antipodes).

In fact, I'm a little surprised the OP actually posited the query, but then he/she only has 4 posts, so they maybe haven't grasped the fact that the ER board is US-based and so responses will have a US-bias (statement of fact, not bias ).

Cheers

Quite true but the basic points that seem to be agreed upon is that there isn't any "status" in having a platinum card and there isn't any reason to pay to get one.

New Zealand is a "civilized" country so I wouldn't expect the financial system to be too far out of line with the US. You can't make that sort of assumption about other lesser developed countries like France, Nigeria, and Uganda.

 

[ziggy29]

New Zealand is a "civilized" country so I wouldn't expect the financial system to be too far out of line with the US.

Isn't Iceland pretty civilized as well?

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

Hey I've got a platinum visa and a platinum mastercard and didn't have to pay a dime or an annual fee. They just kept upgrading my metal free cards I got in college because I rarely used them and they wanted to get those sweet sweet interest and late payment fees. I could put something like $20,000 on them if I had to which is a nice upgrade from the $250 they were as introductory cards.

Unless you are getting some kind of "cash back" and you know you'll be making more than your annual fee don't pay for a card.