петак, 23. април 2010.

Premium Credit Cards Explained


If you have worked hard to improve your credit score, earn a good salary and fly or otherwise travel or even dine out a lot then a Premium Credit Card would be worth your while enquiring into.

So what makes premium credit cards different from a regular card? Well for starters there is usually fairly tough criteria to meet before you can apply. As mentioned your credit score or rating needs to be at the top of the scale and you need to be earning a salary above what is usually considered to be the "normal".

The annual fees for a premium credit card can be exceedingly high, in some cases as much as one thousand dollars! Now before you scoff at such outrageous figures let's take a look at what you get in return. While these perks are not universally applicable across all cards, each card and it's provider is different, there will be a number of cards that feature one or more of these benefits on the one card.

The first thing to consider is that they usually have no preset spending limit and some offer credit lines of up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars! The next thing to consider is that the travel rewards associated with the card will go far beyond the usual frequent flyer points. Receiving a complimentary same class airline ticket for a companion is not unusual, as is a personal travel counselor to handle all of your travel arrangements and needs.

And consider these perks also, access to private, semi-private and high-end public gold courses around the world, extra perks and upgrades at hotels and the frequent flyer rewards are of course a lot bigger and better than what a regular credit card rewards program will offer.

These are just a small sample of the benefits of owning a premium credit card. Obviously they are more geared to people that travel a lot and enjoy being pampered and looked after well but it must always be kept in mind that in effect you are paying for these privileges. The ideal card is one that offers rewards and perks that far outweigh the extra costs associated with the card.

Sure there will be people that can easily justify having a Premium Credit Card and they more than likely can't or don't want to do without the added benefits that come with owning such a card but if you can't see yourself actively taking advantage of these added bonuses you need to think twice. This card may end up costing you more than you get back!