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Coutts and Co Silk Charge Card review 2020
Last updated:
A luxurious charge card with an impressive range of benefits for Coutts' high-net-worth customers.
Finder rating: ★★★★★
0%
Foreign transaction charge
£0
Account fee
£3,000
Minimum credit limit
Details
| Issuer | Coutts & Co |
|---|---|
| Network | Mastercard |
| Rep. APR | N/A (this product is a charge card). |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Additional Rewards Info | Coutts Concierge service that gives you 24/7 access to expert help and advice, from flight information, tickets, accommodation, car hire, emergency currency lost passports, messaging and interpretation services. Social and leisure arrangements, such as table reservations, chartering a yacht and tickets booking. Sourcing domestic staff. Exclusive online concierge service for bespoke discounts and money can't buy, red carpet experiences across travel, entertainment and dining. Silk membership, offering access to luxury holidays with complimentary experiences, room upgrades, late checkouts and VIP status in selected hotels and VIP shopping experiences. "Thank you from Coutts" available, select a thank you gift once you have spent a specific amount. |
| Lounge access | Access to over 700 executive airport lounges in over 300 major airports worldworld. £20 per person per visit. |
Expert review
Review by
Chris Lilly
chris.lilly@finder.comChris Lilly is a publisher at finder.com. He's a specialist in credit-based products including business and personal loans, mortgages and credit cards, and is passionate about helping UK consumers make informed decisions about their borrowing. In his spare time Chris likes forcing his kids to exercise more.
Expert review
One of the oldest banking institutions in Europe, British private bank Coutts serves wealthy and high-profile customers, including the Queen and her family. As you can imagine, joining this exclusive club isn’t exactly easy, but if you are part of it, you can enjoy the perks of this VIP charge card.
Being a charge card, you’re expected to pay your balance in full every month. Provided you do that, you won’t pay any interest on your purchases and also get some flexibility with repayments – purchases at the start of the billing cycle are paid for at the end of the billing cycle. Unlike with most charge cards, you won’t be charged any annual fees.
The benefits are mostly meant for frequent travellers. You can use the card abroad without being charged any extra fees, will get airport lounge access and will be enrolled in Thank You from Coutts – Coutts’ loyalty programme that will reward you with a choice of gifts and experiences if you spend at least £25,000. Coutts also offers a 24/7 concierge service that you can consult anytime for help with a variety of needs – from hotel and dinner reservations to expert advice if you lose your passport.
As this card is on the Mastercard network, it’s accepted in more than 40 million locations worldwide. You’ll also be able to enjoy access to Priceless Cities experiences.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Avoid currency conversion charges when spending abroad
- Airport lounge access
- No annual fee
Cons
- Applicants with low credit scores are unlikely to be eligible
- Only available to existing customers
- You may be offered an opening credit limit as low as £3,000
Compare Coutts alternatives
Table: sorted by representative APR, promoted deals first
If (as is the case for most of us) a Coutts credit card is out of your reach right now, there are plenty of cards like Coutts credit cards on the market to make you feel like a VIP. American Express offers an impressive selection of cards catering to all sorts of consumers, all with rewards attached – from lounge access to hotel upgrades.
Much more of a luxury option than your average credit card, premium American Express cards come with perks aplenty. Expect to pay an annual fee, but in some cases this will be waived for the first year.
With an American Express reward card you earn points on almost everything you purchase. With pure reward cards, instead of just cashback, you build up points for all the spending you do and these can be exchanged for exclusive rewards including flights, hotels, gift cards and more.
With an American Express cashback card you’ll be able to enjoy cashback on almost everything you purchase.
American Express has teamed up with BA to enable you to earn Avios on your day-to-day spending. You can use your Avios to buy flights, hotel stays, car hire and more.
How to apply for the Coutts and Co Silk Charge Mastercard
Unsurprisingly, becoming a Coutts customer is quite hard. You can try with a preliminary online enquiry, but if you don’t earn at least £500,000 a year or have £1 million worth of assets to invest, you’ll just get a message advising you to consider alternative banking options.
Instead, if you already are a Coutts customer, you can simply give them a call or contact your personal adviser. You may want to compare Coutts’ charge card and its credit card to make sure you pick the one that best suits your financial needs.