Posh Bank cards

supasaverbob

Well it's Christmas time so time to talk posh. Lets talk about the poshest bank cards we have had or seen.


I served someone the other day who had a TSB Premier VISA Debit card, very fancy but I know that's a fee paying account that's not available any more, so it wasn't exclusive when it came out but now is a wee bit more since you can't get that account. The same for Lloyds Premier AVA and BoS Premier AVA. Lovely cards but no longer available to newbies. The Lloyds Gold AVA card is also lovely and posh looking and I think it looks posher than the platinum one.


What's the most upmarket card you've seen? or got? post a pic, especially if you have the gold Lloyds one!


Does anyone remember the old RBS gold VISA debit/switch card. That had a £250 cheque guarantee function, that used to be a sign of a posh card! Barclays premier debit card is also nice but that's for real poshies.

w211

Posh bank cards will only impress if the person you're impressing (or trying to) knows about them.

The most widely known one is the American Express Centurion.

The next one down is the American Express Platinum (which I've got), which isn't that too hard to get, for a couple with decent jobs, as long as you're willing to pay the £450 annual fee (which can be worthwhile if you travel a lot).

Household income income of at least £40,000 (so two of you earning £20,000 each), which I'd imagine also puts it within reach of many self-employed tradespeople.

Posh credit cards these days, don't have the prestige it did have, looking at Barclaycards, most will have "Platinum" written on it, unless you go for one of their hotel ones.

Debit cards, in my opinion are better, since most of them need an account where you earn a decent amount, and/or have six-figure investments with that bank.

Cards issued by rare banks such as Coutts, Harrods, and the Bank of England (which I think are only available to employees), may also be seen as prestigious.

HappyMJ

w211 wrote: »

Posh credit cards these days, don't have the prestige it did have, looking at Barclaycards, most will have "Platinum" written on it, unless you go for one of their hotel ones.

I thought Platinum was a posh word....until my OH got a card from Capital One. http://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/classic-mastercard-credit-card.jsf

It's a credit builder card with a £200 credit limit.....and it'd a Platinum card.

EssexExile

The colour of the card doesn't mean much nowadays, I've got black & gold cards that are just ordinary cards. The ones that attract the most attention are the ones with pretty pictures on. Many years ago when most cards were plain we had some beautiful RSPB charity cards. The girl at the motel in remote Wyoming was very impressed, then she asked if we had different money in England & what language did we speak. She obviously didn't get out much.

supasaverbob

I definitely think that platinum has lost its shine as a few of you say it's so common place now and it's even the standard type of credit card with some banks. I'd agree that the bank account cards have a bit more status.

SnowTiger

HappyMJ wrote: »

I thought Platinum was a posh word....until my OH got a card from Capital One. http://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/classic-mastercard-credit-card.jsf

It's a credit builder card with a £200 credit limit.....and it'd a Platinum card.

Does that mean my Platinum Barclaycard and Natwest cards aren't posh?

IMO they are both quite ugly.

I think my nicest card is Santander 123, despite what appears to be a pile of steaming dog poo in the top left corner:



It puzzles me why Santander adds "WORLD" at the bottom right.

Jogle

I thought that platinum/gold etc related to the colour of the card, then I received a Lloyds Bank Platinum card

supasaverbob

That's a bit of a disappointment. Their platinum debit card is a bit nicer:
http://www.lloydsbank.com/current-accounts/added-value-accounts/platinum-account.asp


but the gold one is the nicest,
http://www.lloydsbank.com/current-accounts/added-value-accounts/gold-account.asp

eDicky

SnowTiger wrote: »

It puzzles me why Santander adds "WORLD" at the bottom right.

It's to encourage you to make the mistake of using it overseas and falling foul of their foreign usage fees and exchange rate loading (assuming that it's not a 'Zero' card, no longer available, in which case the word would be appropriate).

ratechaser

SnowTiger wrote: »

Does that mean my Platinum Barclaycard and Natwest cards aren't posh?

IMO they are both quite ugly.

I think my nicest card is Santander 123, despite what appears to be a pile of steaming dog poo in the top left corner:



It puzzles me why Santander adds "WORLD" at the bottom right.

I've had other cards with that 'World' logo on (capital one for starters) so I suspect it's actually some sort of MasterCard designation?

In any case, I'm about 20 years past the point where I'd see the term 'posh card' as anything but an oxymoron. First it was gold, then platinum, then black... What next?

The only good card is one that costs you a lot less than the benefits you get out of it. If the design isn't too garish, that's just a bonus!

Bah Humbug!

SnowTiger

ratechaser wrote: »

I've had other cards with that 'World' logo on (capital one for starters) so I suspect it's actually some sort of MasterCard designation?

So it seems.

It appears to indicate the card offers something extra, such as a rewards programme.

Mastercard's wording is a bit vague and they don't specifically mention the Santander 123 card.

http://www.mastercard.co.uk/world-mastercard.html.