The Black Card | Centurion Card | Visa Black Card | Luxury Credit Cards

History of the Black Cards, and the Visa Black Card

On October 2, 2007, ThinkTank Holdings LLC (founded by Scott Blum, located in Jackson, Wyoming.) announced a new Patent Pending (filed 2007) Credit Card Venture titled “Next Card“. The concept for “Next Card” was simply for a high-end/luxury credit card made from a special carbon/carbon based material. Concept from inception was that this card would be available to corporations and individuals for an annual fee of $495, it was also anticipated that the card would launch with typical luxury card services such as 24-hour concierge, points and rewards program, as well as other benefits.

After Black Cards and the Black Card Brand (that is, American Express)

Chasing the American Express Black Card brand was no doubt a goal of Scott Blum with this concept. The American Express Centurion Card started out as an urban myth (see history) that American Express ultimately decided to capitalize on October 14, 1999. “There had been rumors going around that we had this ultra-exclusive black card for elite customers,” says Doug Smith, director of American Express Europe. “It wasn’t true, but we decided to capitalize on the idea anyway. So far we’ve had a customer buy a Bentley and another charter a jet.”

Visa after having launched it’s “signature” series of cards in 1999, launched a higher tier of “signature preferred” cards in May of 2007 targeted at customers who spend $50,000 a year or more on their cards (Visa Signature average spend is approximately $27,600 a year). Merchants actually pay 14% more per transaction vs a regular Visa or Signature card.

“The whole purpose of this card is to take share from American Express,” said James McCarthy, Visa senior vice president for consumer-credit products. They may be a ways away, according to a 2007 survey in Europe, Centurion cardholders spend 11.5 times more (see demographics) than the typical American Express card member, and on average have income in excess of 1M a year.

Combine urban myth and Black Card allure with Visa salivating over American Express and Centurion Card premiums and what do you get? The Visa Black Card.

Visa Black Benefits vs American Express Centurion Card Benefits

In our initial comparison of the Visa Black Card and American Express Centurion Card we observed that luxury plastic is no longer, well, plastic (although it sure seems that way); The question still remains how truly exclusive the Visa Black Card is? Time (and our readers) will tell, but as stands, 1% of the population is somewhat “undefined” other than by credit record, and other private information (Barclay’s has yet to clarify what this actually means), while American Express has some hard limits, e.g. you have to spend $250,000 on a Platinum Card to qualify, no getting around that. Outside of exclusivity, luxury credit cards aim to offer “new levels of service” for their “elite clientele”  while providing “unique experiences” and unusual “discounts and amenities“. Below, we’ve put together a detailed comparison chart of the Visa Black Card compared to American Express Centurion Benefits. What stands out most is the automatic membership and hotel/airline elite access gained with the Centurion Card, which is nonexistent on the Visa Black Card; Of course, the Visa Black Card only runs $495 a year, compared to the $2500 a yearfor the Centurion Card. At current it appears the Barclay’s Black Card is sorely lacking in many areas where American Express is not, and the card itself is more comparable to the American Express Platinum Card ($450/year membership).

VISA Black Card vs AMEX Centurion Benefits

*We are not fully aware of all Visa Black Card services offered quite yet, and will update as we learn more as our readers get the card and submit info.