Visa Black Card

Needless to say I was a little shocked when I was reading through my March edition of Vogue (Michelle Obama graces the cover) and came across an ad for a Visa Black Card. A bit ago there was major hype over the "BLACK AMEX" and the perks of the card were supposedly amazing (such as major upgrades on flights for free, 24hr concierge service, etc.) so Visa has decided to fight back with their black card. However I do not understand why they would take out an ad in Vogue to promote the card when the ad clearly reads "The black card is not for everyone, In fact, it is limited to only 1% of U.S. residents to ensure the highest caliber of personalized service is provided to every Cardmember." If you only want an elite 1% of people, why in the world are you taking out a full page in Vogue. I suppose it could be a ploy to get consumers to call and inquire about the card to see if they are "one of the elite" and then if they didn't fit into the catagory try to sell them on a different VISA.

So after thinking over the whole Black Card idea, I decided to do a little investigation on it.

Apparently the card is made of Carbon Graphite, so not only does it come full of perks its heavy and awkward to fit in your wallet. Giving VISA the benefit of the doubt I guess the possible reasoning behind the awkward weight of the card is to imply to the consumer that all you need to carry is that card, it will do anything and everything you could ever want it to do. Moving on some of the perks include 1% cash back on purchases (So $1 is 1 point that can be redeemed for travel) not a bad perk but eventually an air miles card (which is free) will do the same thing for you the process is just alot longer. The next perk is 24 hour concierge service which hey I'm not gonna lie that is a pretty sweet perk, if you want an apple there is someone who will bring it to you. In the real world these are also called personal assistant, however a personal assistant requires a wage as well so its neither here nor there. Next perk: Exclusive Rewards Program which other bloggers have been saying that the details have not been released to the public so we really can't make a judegement call there. Another perk Luxury Gifts now I actually wonder what the luxury gifts are? A free pen a rolls royce, I need not speculate! One more perk is Priority pass -which can only be used twice a year. Now get this the annual rate is $495.00 USD! Visa is going to charge you $500 a year to charge money (which they may or may not earn interest on). Another interesting fact is the interest rate is just as high as any regular credit card. I am not seeing a ton of value in this. Maybe the concierge service has some value in it but I bet by the time you phone, they locate someone to bring you whatever you are looking for, you will have probably decided to get up and get whatever it was that you wanted! I viewed a video on another site where someone was opening their new Visa Black Card, sure it came in a fancy case and looks great but is a "pretty credit card" worth $500 a year??? The Visa Black Card, The World Awaits...... and apparently so can I!