If there's one card most associated with celebrities, it's the American Express Business Centurion Card, often referred to as the Amex Black Card. It's an invite-only card, and although you don't need to be famous to get it, the spending requirement for an invite is rumored to be at least $250,000 per year.
Millionaires use credit cards like the Centurion® Card from American Express, the J.P. Morgan Reserve Credit Card. These high-end credit cards are available only to people who receive an invitation to apply, which millionaires have the best chance of getting.
Customer satisfaction: A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and an average user rating of 3.9/5 on WalletHub. Pre-qualification: Available online if you have an Amex credit card.
Yes, it's hard to get an American Express card because they all require good or excellent credit for approval. But American Express isn't the only credit card company to target people in the highest tiers of the credit score scale. Barclays and Wells Fargo do too, for example.
The different fees often make or break a deal for a merchant. This is why many merchants, especially small businesses, don't accept American Express. American Express' interchange fee is just too high. Providers like Visa and Mastercard charge between 1.15% and 2.5%, while Amex charges merchants between 1.43% and 3.3%.
The answer is simple: stores want more money in its pockets. American Express charges stores, or merchants, higher fees than other credit card networks like Visa, Mastercard, and Discover.
Why It's One of the Most Exclusive Credit Cards: The most exclusive, prestigious credit card is without a doubt the American Express Centurion Card, otherwise known as the Amex Black Card. That's because it's the most famous.
American Express is special because it is a luxury credit card brand, known for offering elite rewards and having exclusive approval requirements. American Express also is among the country's largest credit card issuers by purchase volume, and it is one of the four major payment networks.
American Express is good because its credit cards offer customers a wide selection of bonus rewards in popular purchase categories. American Express credit cards also have an assortment of lucrative welcome offers, introductory 0% APR offers, and luxury travel benefits.
Salary Needed for Amex Platinum Credit Card
If you make near $100,000 a year and have good credit, you should have no issue getting approved. But, applicants with annual incomes as low as $40,000 have also been approved if they have a low debt-to-income ratio and pay their other credit cards in full every month.
Amex is so popular because it offers high-end credit cards with great rewards and luxury perks, which have become status symbols in popular culture over time.
They take advantage of rewards cards to get cash back or earn free travel. The wealthy can benefit more than average earners from credit card rewards because they charge a lot. If your card pays you 2% cash back and you spend $100,000 per year, you can earn a lot more in rewards than the typical card user.
The American Express Black Card isn't available to just anyone. It's a charge card that's offered to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) through an invitation. Think of it as an exclusive club. This means you can't just apply to join.
There are around 20,000 Black cardholders in the U.S. This is a no-limit credit card. Cardholders are excepted on an 'invitation-only basis.
In the 2020 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study by J.D. Power, American Express came in first. It has also consistently done well in these yearly studies. If you get a card that's issued by American Express, you can expect high-quality service. With Visa cards, you won't interact with Visa for customer service issues.
Getting the Amex Gold Card isn't the easiest card to qualify for as you need good or excellent credit. That means having a minimum 670 FICO score and existing cards in good standing. Being an existing American Express cardholder can also make it easier to qualify.
If you have a Consumer or Business Green, Gold or Platinum Card, your Card does not have a credit limit.
It has an initiation fee of $10,000 and an annual fee of $5,000. It's also invite-only; you can't apply without permission from Amex. The card offers some incredible benefits, like complimentary elite status across four hotel chains and with Delta, airport arrival services, and access to a concierge.
When applying for the Amex Blue Card, try to have a good credit score, which is a FICO® Score of 670 or above. This is one of the easiest Membership Rewards cards to open, and even consumers with average credit scores have a decent chance of approval.
The Centurion® Card from American Express is out of reach for most people, but Amex does offer other elite credit cards such as The Platinum Card® from American Express. Anyone can apply for the American Express Platinum card, though it does come with a $695 annual fee and requires at least good credit for approval.
You can register Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Payment cards registered must be issued by a U.S. bank. If you have an iOS device, and your card is registered to your Apple Wallet, Apple Pay will automatically display as a payment option within the McDonald's app.
Centurion® Card from American Express
Why it's one of the hardest credit cards to get: The hardest credit card to get is the American Express Centurion Card. Known simply as the “Black Card,” you need an invitation to get Amex Centurion.
Costco is the only major grocery store that doesn't accept American Express credit cards at the moment. However, some smaller grocery store chains and independent merchants may also not accept American Express.