A Black Credit Card — known simply as a Black Card — is a type of credit card used only by the richest of the rich. Designed for lavish spenders with high-tier needs, these luxury credit cards come with luxurious perks you can’t get with ordinary credit cards. The catch is that Black Cards come with strict eligibility criteria, heavy spending requirements and enormously expensive fees that can easily reach up to thousands of dollars per year.
Viewed as a status symbol, Black Card holders can safely say they’ve financially “made it.” Very few people are privileged enough to own such a card. In fact, out of more than 100 million American Express cardholders globally, it’s rumoured that only around 84,000 of them own an American Express Centurion Credit Card — the first, and most well-known, Black Credit Card in the world. There are also some great alternatives to Black Credit Cards in Canada, which we highlight below.
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No single credit card company owns the sole rights to issue Black Credit Cards, and there is no universally-accepted definition of what counts as a Black Credit Card. Rather, the term “Black Card” is used generally to refer to the most exclusive credit cards in the world that multiple card issuers offer as a reward to top-spending clients.
That being said, the first such card to be released, the American Express Centurion Black Card is often referred to simply as the “Amex Black Card” and is perhaps the most well known Black Card on the market today.
American Express, Mastercard and a number of other financial institutions in Canada, the US and around the world offer different versions of Black Credit Cards, each with its own unique fees and features.
Black Credit Card programs are typically loaded with premium features designed to make living and spending as easy as possible for cardholders. Below are just some of the benefits of owning a Black Card:
Service at your fingertipsNeed a hard-to-get reservation at a high-end hotel? Want to upgrade your boring rental sedan to a luxury SUV? Feel like champagne and oysters at 3am? Complimentary Black Card concierge services have you covered. Of course, you’ll still have to foot the bill for any items that don’t come for free with your card (some Black Cards offer shopping credits to stores like Saks Fifth Avenue). Card services will handle the rest.
When shopping for credit cards, you normally have to weigh fees against perks and add-ons, ultimately choosing a card with the best combo of what you want at a reasonable cost. But with Black Credit Cards, you typically don’t have to sacrifice any perks. Cardholders can enjoy a generous suite of complimentary travel insurance coverage, airport lounge access and other valuable add-ons along with standard credit card features.
Many Black Cards offer cash back or rewards points like other cards on the market. Surprisingly, the earning rates aren’t usually much higher than what you could earn with an ordinary credit card. The primary benefit of owning a Black Credit Card seemingly has more to do with prestige and convenience.
Black Cards are made with premium materials like metal, which gives cards a durable and substantial or weighty feel. Some card providers even embed diamonds or other precious elements into cards to let cardholders flex their wealth even more.
The greatest intrigue of Black Credit Cards is how people qualify to get one. The truth is — no one really knows. Black Card issuers keep eligibility criteria under strict confidence. Even cardholders don’t know what formula (if any) is applied during the approval process.
To deepen the mystery, some Black Credit Cards programs are invitation only, meaning there’s no application process. You can’t get a card unless the card provider reaches out to you first.
Generally, you must satisfy the following criteria to be considered for a Black Credit Card:
Since the AMEX Centurion Black Card was released in 1999, a number of card issuers have designed prestigious cards programs to rival its popularity and cater to top-tier spenders. The list below highlights some of the most popular Black Cards on the market today. Find out which Black Cards are available to residents of Canada and how to apply (or if an application process even exists).
Card details — including rates, fees and qualification criteria — may change over time. Check with the card issuer to get the most up-to-date information.
Credit card designations like “Black,” “Gold,” “Platinum,” and “Elite” are neither regulated nor universally defined, but financial institutions nevertheless use these terms fairly consistently to indicate whether a luxury card is basic, top-tier or somewhere in between. This comparison is primarily used to differentiate between credit cards offered by the same company but can also be used to make certain cards competitive with other cards on the market bearing the same designation.
Though credit card issuers are free to classify luxury credit cards however they want, Black Credit Cards tend to differ from other luxury credit cards in the following ways:
Income and credit score requirements for Gold and Platinum cards may be out of reach for some, but it’s still possible for anyone with a good salary and spending history to qualify. However, Black Cards tend to have enormous income requirements well beyond what most people earn in a lifetime.
Additionally, approval for Black Cards is often discretionary. So, even if you’re wealthy and have an excellent credit history, you may still need to be connected with the right people or have a certain degree of social or economic influence to be approved.
Black Card issuers design card benefit programs with their clients’ affluent standard of living in mind. While luxury credit cards ordinarily offer valuable perks like travel discounts, accelerated rewards points and dining deals, Black Cards up the ante by offering benefits such as dedicated service teams, free upgrades at the worlds’ most elite hotels, on-demand access to sold out events, zero spending limits (or super high spending limits) and flexible repayment options to accommodate mega purchases.
Of course, not all Black Cards come with the same benefits. There is some debate about the real value of Black Cards. Some non-Black luxury credit cards come with comparable benefits for much lower annual fees. In the end, the value of a Black Card depends on how much you’ll use the perks that come with it.
Given the mystery surrounding “The Black Card,” it’s not surprising that a number of myths have developed around its use and qualification requirements. Let’s walk through some of the misconceptions about Black Cards:
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