2017 Luxury Cards Review & Comparison | What Perks Do You Get with MasterCard® Exclusive Credit Cards?
There is a class of the best luxury credit cards that give you gifts and other advantages beyond what most credit cards offer. You may have heard about luxury cards in the past and wondered what special perks were included and how easy is it might be to get an exclusive card.
Why would someone other than the super rich want a luxury credit card? Possibly, because of the special event offers, such as the opportunity for a front row seat to a show, or if someone travels a lot, an exclusive card can get them into members-only lounges around the world.
There are three of the most exclusive credit cards issued by Barclays Bank Delaware and marketed by Black Card LLC, and which give several special benefits beyond just earning rewards points or travel credit. We’re going to take a look at each level of each luxury cards provided and compare the unique benefits that they offer their members.
Overview of Luxury Credit Card Benefits
One of the ways that the best exclusive credit cards stand out is by offering benefits you can’t find from owning non-exclusive credit cards. Here are a few of the types of items you’ll see offered by the top luxury credit cards to help keep their clients happy:
- Luxury gifts
- Members-only LUXURY MAGAZINE
- Luxury Card Concierge™
- Stainless steel card design
- Annual airline credit
- VIP access to restricted lounges
- Access to insider special events
How Difficult Is It to Get the Best Luxury Credit Cards?
We found in our luxury cards review that there are costs and qualifications associated with the most exclusive credit cards that make them more difficult to get than other cards. One of these is your credit rating, you will typically need a good to excellent credit score, as these luxury cards tend to offer higher credit limits.
In our luxury cards review, we found that these exclusive credit cards carry rather large annual fees of between $195 to $995, depending upon which level of luxury credit card you get. There is also an annual fee for additional card users.
With the three options in our luxury card review, you’ll see that Barclay’s and Black Card LLC do offer a lower-end option that is easier to secure if you’re not in a high wealth bracket, and that still allows you to receive some of the special perks associated with the best exclusive credit cards.
See Also: Top Best Interest-Free Credit Cards | Ranking | Best Zero Interest Credit Cards (Reviews)
Comparison Reviews List
The list below is sorted alphabetically (click any of the names below to go directly to the detailed review section):
Brief Comparison & Ranking
| Luxury Credit Cards | Annual Fee | Cash Back | Lounge Access |
| MasterCard® Black Card™ | $495 | 1.5% | Yes |
| MasterCard® Gold Card™ | $995 | 2.0% | Yes |
| MasterCard® Titanium Card™ | $195 | 1.0% | No |
Comparison Luxury Cards Review | Basics of the New MasterCard® Exclusive Credit Cards
Image Source: Luxury Card Review
The LUXURY CARD™ brand offers three levels for their top luxury credit cards, starting with the card with the lowest annual fee, the MasterCard® Titanium Card™, that has an annual fee of $195. This exclusive card is followed by the medium range MasterCard® Black Card™, with an annual fee of $495. The most expensive of the best luxury credit cards is their MasterCard® Gold Card™, with an annual fee of $995.
As you can imagine, each step up in annual fee gives you more benefits than the exclusive card before it. If this is the first time you’ve considered getting one of the best luxury credit cards for the added premium benefits attached, then the tiered levels of obligation give you the option to try a lower cost exclusive card first to see if the perks are worth it.
In this section of our luxury cards review, we will go over each card in more detail and highlight which benefits you get with all three and which are particular to just one of the most exclusive credit cards. You may find that one of the benefits that you’re most interested in are available on just one or two luxury credit cards, but not all three.
We will start with the lowest annual fee exclusive card and work our way up to the top end of the most exclusive credit cards one by one, so you can see what additional special features are added on for the higher price.
After the initial luxury cards review below, we will go into further details about each of the special associated perks, what they include, and how they work.
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The MasterCard® Titanium Card™ is the most affordable of the group of top luxury credit cards and is made of a brushed stainless steel and carbon patented design. According to The Credit Card Insider, you can have just good credit (about a FICO score of 700-759) and qualify for this luxury credit card.
Here is an overview of this first-tier exclusive card’s terms:
- 15.24% APR for purchases
- 0% introductory APR for balance transfers (45 days)
- 25.49% APR for cash advances
- Annual fee of $195
- Additional authorized users are $95 each per year
- Balance transfer fee of 3% or $5
- Cash advance fee of 5% or $10
- No foreign transaction fee
Here are the luxury cards review associated perks:
- Earn 1.0% value for cash back
- Earn double points redeeming for airfare
- Luxury Card Concierge™
- LUXURY MAGAZINE delivered each quarter
- VIP hotel & travel benefits
- MasterCard® Priceless® experiences
MasterCard® Black Card™ Review
You start getting into significantly more special extras with the MasterCard® Black Card™. This card is the mid-range luxury card offering of the bunch and is of made of a stainless steel and carbon patented design.
In our luxury card review, this card is noted for people with excellent credit, which means you need a FICO score of about 760 and higher to qualify for this exclusive card.
Here is an overview of this second-tier exclusive card’s terms:
- 15.24% APR for purchases
- 0% introductory APR for balance transfers (45 days)
- 25.49% APR for cash advances
- Annual fee of $495
- Additional authorized users are $195 each per year
- Balance transfer fee of 3% or $5
- Cash advance fee of 5% or $10
- No foreign transaction fee
Here are the luxury cards review associated perks:
- Earn 1.5% value for cash back
- Earn double points redeeming for airfare
- Luxury Card Concierge™
- LUXURY MAGAZINE delivered each quarter
- VIP hotel & travel benefits
- MasterCard® Priceless® experiences
- $100 annual airline credit
- $100 Global Entry and TSA Pre-è application fee credit
- Priority Pass Select™ lounge access
- Luxury gifts
MasterCard® Gold Card™ Review
The best exclusive credit card’s top tier is the MasterCard® Gold Card™. The card’s exclusive benefits appear to be very close to those of the MasterCard® Black Card™ with a few extra advantages, such as higher cash back value and airline credit. This top luxury credit card is made of a 24k gold plated and carbon patented design. While looking at qualifications for the best luxury credit cards, we found that excellent credit is needed to qualify.
Another important note is that, out of the three exclusive credit cards on the list, the $995 annual fee is waived for active duty military members who didn’t have the card previously. This makes it one of the best luxury credit cards deals if you’re in the military.
Here is an overview of this top-tier luxury card’s terms:
- 15.24% APR for purchases
- 0% introductory APR for balance transfers (45 days)
- 25.49% APR for cash advances
- Annual fee of $995
- Additional authorized users are $295 each per year
- Balance transfer fee of 3% or $5
- Cash advance fee of 5% or $10
- No foreign transaction fee
Here are the luxury cards review associated perks:
- Earn 2.0% value for cash back
- Earn double points redeeming for airfare
- Luxury Card Concierge™
- LUXURY MAGAZINE delivered each quarter
- VIP hotel & travel benefits
- MasterCard® Priceless® experiences
- $200 annual airline credit
- $100 Global Entry and TSA Pre-è application fee credit
- Priority Pass Select™ lounge access
- Luxury gifts
Image Source: LUXURY CARD™ Exclusive Credit Cards
Exclusive Credit Cards Special Benefits Overview
Now that you’ve seen all three luxury cards and know which special benefits each one offers, we are going to take a deeper look into what “luxury gifts” and “concierge service” means. You may find after reviewing the perks of each of the exclusive credit cards that some benefits are more useful to you than others.
In our luxury card review, we found that special access to events and VIP lounges in airports around the world are two important considerations when people choose luxury credit cards. They’re looking for things that enrich their life and comfort, especially when traveling.
People also like to feel like part of an elite club, and the best exclusive credit cards offer luxury gifts from high end retailers and 24/7 personalized service to help them feel that way. The points rewards and travel credits are two more things that may be important to you when picking out the top luxury credit cards for your lifestyle.
Exclusive Credit Cards Perks | Luxury Card Concierge™
The Luxury Card Concierge™ service, which is offered with all three luxury cards, offers an elite group of dedicated and experienced consultants at your service to help you with a wide variety of needs. It’s not just a travel hotline, but more of a personalized assistant available 24/7.
Their specialists can help you with everything from travel planning to finding the perfect gift to trying to secure tickets to a sold out show. This is a popular perk found in our luxury cards review. You can find more details on the sevice here.
Exclusive Credit Cards Perks | Priority Pass Select™
A popular perk of the top two luxury credit cards is Priority Pass Select™, which gives VIP airport lounge access to more than 950 lounges in over 400 cities worldwide to make your layovers and travel more comfortable. This benefit is not available to MasterCard® Titanium Card™ holders.
Exclusive Credit Cards Perks | VIP Hotel & Travel Benefits
No matter which of the best luxury credit cards you have of the three, there are other hotel and travel related benefits that all these luxury cards qualify for. They include special amenities, upgrades, and more.
- Room upgrades
- Spa credits
- Complimentary food & beverages
- Airport “meet & greet”
- Chauffeured transportation
- Cruise privileges
- Charter services
- Global luggage delivery
- Wireless communication
- Car rental
Image Source: MasterCard® Luxury Card Review
Best Luxury Credit Cards Perks | MasterCard® Priceless®
Luxury Card members can enjoy special invitation-only, curated events, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences through the MasterCard® Priceless® program. These are the types of opportunities that you will typically see highlighted in the best luxury credit cards commercials as they show people on awesome, one-of-a-kind adventures.
The program offers three main types of activities:
- Priceless Cities® – City-based unique excursions
- Priceless® Golf – Access to exclusive PGA Tour and other experiences
- Priceless® Surprises! – Never know when, where, or who they will surprise next
Holders of the most exclusive credit cards also get to be part of their Luxury Gift Program, which is a way of thanking cardmembers. They send out gifts from some of the world’s most iconic and recognized brands. Only the top two luxury cards are included, and there is no preset schedule or frequency.
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Luxury Cards Review 2017 Conclusion
If you’ve ever wondered what owning one of the best luxury credit cards would offer, we hope that we’ve given you some insight into the kind of special benefits and perks you get. As you can see, you don’t have to have to be rich or have perfect credit to get your ticket into the luxury card club.
Somewhere between good to excellent credit is enough to qualify for one of these exclusive credit cards and the special bonuses that go along with them. And if you happen to be a member of the military, you can get the best exclusive card for a lot less than others, with all the same features and special goodies.
While some people may feel that a luxury credit card just isn’t for them, others who travel a lot or just want to have access to special invitation-only events, may find they hold a lot of value beyond just the usual cash back and travel points rewards.
Regardless of your income level, our luxury card review illustrates that you don’t have to be a millionaire to own one of the best exclusive credit cards out there. With these MasterCard® luxury credit cards, you have a chance to feel just as special as anyone else and get the perks to make it worth your while.
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