Today I was checking the mail and I had one of those nice envelopes that almost always means a wedding invite. It was a sleek black envelope that said “LUXURY CARD” in silver letters on the top left. The back of the envelope had nothing but the MasterCard logo on the bottom in the same silver coloring.
Usually, I’ll just throw out any credit card mailers, but I’m a sucker for good marketing!
I opened it up and read the first card:
“Dear Michael…,
You’re invited to become a Luxury Card member. Apply today for the MasterCard Black Card, offering 2% value for airfare redemptions and 1.5% value for cash back redemptions – the best rates in the industry versus the competition.”
Ugh, they are onto me. They know I love fancy packaging AND travel perks! Also, I’m just bolding the things that they bolded in the letter. I have no need to emphasize anything.
It goes on:
“Each MasterCard Black Card is engineered with a unique stainless steel front and carbon back for durability and distinction. With 46 patents issued globally, Luxury Card leads the industry in metal card design and construction.”
They got me again! When I was growing up poor, we always heard the myth of the American Express Black Card and how it was solid metal. I held one once (I was a cashier in Disney World ringing up a customer) and felt the power it held in that steel card. I want that!
And it continues:
“As a Cardmember you’ll enjoy a 24/7 Luxury Card Concierge – a complete lifestyle management service tailored to your personal requirements. You’ll also have access to Luxury Card Travel – an extensive suite of travel benefits and amenities such as room upgrades, spa credits, airport lounge access, and more.”
Now this card is sounding too good to be true for a traveler like myself. As a budget backpacker, any time I get any kind of perks like room upgrades or access to lounges I feel like I won the lottery or something. This sounds like it could really up my travel game.
Moving on:
“Finally, each quarter you’ll receive LUXURY MAGAZINE, our members-only publication that covers a broad range of categories, including travel, fashion, real estate, vehicles, and technology.”
Oh, so they want to send me a magazine like the Robb Report for things I can’t afford. I believe they think I have money. Jokes on you MasterCard!
Then there is a link to apply and a fake signature from Marina Kissam, their Vice President of customer service.
Well, I have to admit I’m really intrigued at this point. I could care less about the magazine, but the travel perks seem pretty exciting.
What’s the Annual Fee?
The next piece of paper I pulled out was the MasterCard Black Card terms and conditions. You know that page that comes with every credit card mailer full of small print on one side and the little grid on the back.
The first thing I saw that it had a 16.74 APR. I’ve had subpar credit for a while, so I know that is definitely lower than what I’m paying on my Amazon Prime credit card and my Chase Ink Business card. I looked up some stats and for a travel rewards credit card, this is just a little higher than average.
Side note – If you need a business credit card, I love my Chase card. If you sign up with my link you’ll get 80,000 bonus miles and I’ll get 20,000 bonus points for referring. Shoot me an email if you’re interested.
Moving down STOP! $495 annual fee?
That’s a lot of money for a credit card. Is this MasterCard Black Card worth a $495 fee?
MasterCard Black Card Benefits
The opening letter mentioned the black card and some of the redemption points for the Black Card, but it looks like it left out some of the other benefits. Here is a quick rundown but I’ll get more into each:
- Metal Card Construction (they are overselling this)
- 24/7 Luxury card concierge
- 2% Rewards
- $100 annual airline credits
- $100 Global Entry and TSA Pre-check application credit
- $500 Luxury card Travel
- VIP Airport Lounge access with Priority Pass Select
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Global Acceptance
- $0 Fraud Liability Protection
- LUXURY MAGAZINE
- Luxury Gifts
Metal Card
They are going really hard on this sell. It is at the top of all of the pages and they are so proud of their 46 patents. It’s something that is going in my pocket. It’s a credit card. No one needs a blingy credit card.
I’m seeing now the target demo for this. The card is for (probably mainly guys) that want to show off their wealth (or fake wealth) by pulling out a sleek card that hits the table with a metallic thud. Ugh, they think I’m that guy!
Luxury Card Concierge
I honestly am not a fan of these things. You call the number and they give you someone to tell you some of the best things to do in a city and help you get tickets, hotel rooms, or whatever else like that. We all have the internet though.
I really believe that you can jump on Twitter and ask any travel bloggers for better recommendations. They’ll also be extremely excited and share some real personal touches to it rather than an operator with some city guides on their computer.
Airfare Redemption Points
2% value for airfare redemptions and 1.5% value for cash back redemptions.
This means that for every point you have, it can be traded in for 2% of that value in dollar amounts for a flight. For example, 100,000 points would get you $2,000 credit for flights or $1,500 cash sent to your credit card.
You earn points by spending money on the card. With the above example, you’d spend $100,000 to get that $2,000 credit.
$100 Annual Airline Credits
Every year you’ll get $100 travel credits that you can use towards air travel. This would include airline tickets, baggage fees, in-flight purchases. The card automatically applies the credit to your account which is pretty convenient.
So we take this and now the annual fee is technically $395
$100 for Global Entry or TSA Precheck
$100 for Global Entry or TSA PrecheckIf you don’t have these by now, I’m upset with you. They are so worth it if you fly out of any of the airports that accept either. That’s another issue I’ll write about later.
TSA Pre-check membership is valid for 5 years after being accepted and costs $85. Global entry is also 5 years, but this one costs $100. It also comes with Pre-Check so you don’t have to double pay.
That $100 is only good once every five years for you then.
Black Card Airport Lounge access with Priority Pass Select
This is a pretty cool perk, but might not be worth the huge annual fee to get it. The Priority Pass Select is a membership that you can get through some banks and credit cards that give you access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide.
There are ways to get this membership on its own for as little as $99. The Select deal is equal to the unlimited package which is $399 per year. It’s only $249 if you plan to use the lounges 10 times or less.
Bonus Points
Zero. Wait, zero? Yes, that means no signup bonus. That also means there are no bonus categories to earn more than 1 point per dollar spent.
MasterCard Black Card Compared to Other Similar Cards
Look at this fancy credit card comparison table I figured out how to make.
Mastercard Black Card | |  Platinum Card -American Express |  Citi Prestige Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $495 | $450 | $550 | $450 |
| Sign up bonus | None | 50,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months | 60,000 points after $5,000 spend in 3 months | None |
| Point Value | –2% towards airfare -1.5% cashback | 1.5% to book any travel (hotel, flight, rental car, etc.) through Chase Ultimate Rewards *Points can also be transferred to select airline and hotel partners rewards at different rates | 1% to book through Amex travel *Points can also be transferred to select airline and hotel partners rewards at different rates | 1.5% to book any travel (hotel, flight, rental car, etc.) through Chase Ultimate Rewards *Points can also be transferred to select airline and hotel partners rewards at different rates |
| Bonus Categories | None | 3x Points on dining and travel | 5x Points on airfare and hotels | -3x Points on air travel and hotels -2x Points on dining and entertainment |
| Airport Lounge Access | Priority Pass Select Membership | 3x Points on dining and travel | Access to Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs and Priority Pass Select lounges | Priority Pass Select Membership |
| TSA Pre-check / Global Entry Credit? | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Additional Perks | $100 airline fee credit | $300 in travel credits every year | –$200 airline fee credit -$200 in annual Uber credits -Gold elite status with Starwood Preferred Guest and Hilton Honors | –$250 airline fee credit -Comped 4th night free on any hotel stay booked through the Citi Thank You program |
| Card Material | Metal | Metal | Metal | Metal |
I always hear people recommending the Chase Sapphire credit card if you can qualify for it.
The MasterCard Black Card costs about the same as Chase Sapphire and Citi Prestige but has no signup bonus and no bonus categories to earn more miles/points. I did some quick math and the extra 0.5% you get for the point redemption pales in comparison to the bonus points you are missing out on from Chase Sapphire and American Express Platinum.
All of these travel credit cards offer the Priority Pass Select lounge access, so that isn’t even a real selling point for MasterCard. It looks like American Express is hands down the best credit card for airport lounge access.
If you’re really just in it for the sleek black metal credit card, (1) that’s a bad idea and (2) there are other options for metal cards with better benefits. My Amazon Prime credit card is metal and I just need to have an Amazon Prime membership.
Disclaimer that I think is legally required: I’m NOT a financial advisor. I’m just a guy who likes to travel and got a credit card application in the mail. I got curious about what the best credit card for travel rewards was and decided to write a post while I was researching the differences. Nothing here is financial advice. It’s just some information I found and some thought I had regarding it.
Leave a Reply