Welcome to the high life of credit cards. Flaunting annual fees north of $350, ultra-premium rewards cards pack a lifetime of luxury into a small rectangle that fits inside a Prada wallet. Holding one makes you part of a special club of cardholders.
Exactly how exclusive? Barclays' Visa Black Card is limited to only 1 percent of the U.S. population, according to its website.
And it's rumored only 17,000 people carry the card of cards, the American Express Centurion Card, which is informally known as the "black card."
"These cardholders have a higher level of income, higher credit rating and higher spending," says Thomas Hobbs, director of Discover Network product management, which includes the issuer's Premium and Premium Plus cards.
"Most of the time, the issuer acquires the customer through a traditional rewards (card) and based on the behavior on that card, the issuer may offer a premium (card)," he says.
So what does it feel like to hold one of these cards? Bankrate dives into the high-class world of elite credit cards and charge cards.
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