Credit cards, prestige and snobbery

reehsetin

i didnt before but was very chuffed when i got my amex, purely because no one my age has one, helps its a cashback card too (main reason i got it),
granted its not actually in my name but im still chuffed
would like a nice looking card but would definitely go for one with the best deal only thing i'd consider is the customer service

have to admit at work i still say 'oooohhh' when someone brings in a black amex (very pretty) or can't remember what is called coates or something (royal bank)

Redbedhead

Its all about the money to me I am afraid! I couldn't care less what colour the card is provided I get decent cashback / points.

*srjp*

Funny old world.. I work with some people from wealthy families and they do sometimes comment on my cards, eg "how did you get one of those?" but it just shows how good the marketing is. I'm mid 20s, in my first real job, and hold 3 Platinum cards..

I started with a basic credit card when I was 18, back in the day when a Barclays gave you a VISA and a MasterCard with separate credit limits.
After a year or two in which I paid off every month, bought a PC and went abroad for a few weeks, both had become Gold cards, and when I rang up to moan about the rate on them compared to new customer deals they offered me Platinums as a replacement (as these carried a lower rate).

So at the age of around 22 I was a student holding two BarclayCard Platinum cards but was earning so little (from part-time bar work) that I didn't even pay income tax!

Although cashback, rewards and the wry smile when someone comments on the colour of a card are nice, I've decided that customer service is really the most important, and once I find a good one of those that's who I'll stick with - suggestions welcome!

MABLE

I suppose then we are probably judged by the card we hold. After all are we not judged on how well we are doing by the car we drive.

Stompa

I find it hard to believe anybody is bothered about the colour of their card. After all, who sees it? Just yourself and some shop assistants - it's not the sort of thing you go round showing people!

Mozette

CopperPlate wrote: »

Mmmm. There's also the little requirement of usually earning over 70 grand a year in order to even qualify for applying for these 'nice black cards' :rolleyes:

My nice black M&S card was obtained on a hell of a lot less than £70,000 pa! I'm fairly sure I've had gold & platinum cards too. They are so not exclusive! :rotfl:

*srjp*

Stompa wrote: »

I find it hard to believe anybody is bothered about the colour of their card. After all, who sees it? Just yourself and some shop assistants - it's not the sort of thing you go round showing people!

Depends on your circumstances, my colleagues tend to eat out a lot after working late so everyone sees the cards when they get thrown in the pot to divvy the bill up. There is always a bit of ribbing about the ones with amusing/terrible pictures on the front or foreign banks as issuers.

The one that got most people commenting this week was a friend's Red AMEX which donates to Africa/HIV/Poverty/something, so it works both ways really.

gt94sss2

I like having 'nicely designed' cards - or what I think of as nicely designed anyway.. the 'type' (gold, silver, platinum, Amex etc.) doesn't really bother me.

To that extent its a shame that Capital One have phased out their old 'black' Circle card design and replaced it with a bog standard Capital One design - not because its no longer black but as it just doesn't look as nice and feels more mass produced/flimsy - though its the same card re: cash back etc

However, I always use the card that is best for the individual purchase (Egg Money, GE Card etc) rather than worrying about what others might think about its design or what they think it might say about my credit status..

I do think at one stage lots of people in the UK would have been 'impressed' if you had a gold/platinum card and they had a certain 'cachet' but as they are so common now, most don't notice at all..

However, in other countries - especially somewhere like Asia where credit card use is only now just increasing and where credit cards are only now being seen as not as exclusive as they once were, the colour/brand of the card can still make a difference in peoples minds - just look at this article from the Indian equivalent of the FT

Regards
Sunil

Stompa

*srjp* wrote: »

Depends on your circumstances, my colleagues tend to eat out a lot after working late so everyone sees the cards when they get thrown in the pot to divvy the bill up.

How does this throwing in the pot business work? Does this mean that you end up letting the card out of your sight at some point? (presumably not because of C&P)

CopperPlate_2

Although not directly related per se to the topic this article is quite interesting and I think it reflects the fact that we are, to one degree or another, influenced by those around us when we are looking to choose something even as bog standard as a method of payment!

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/007/2005/00000039/F0020001/art00003