It offers 50,000 points as a sign-up bonus after spending $1,000 in the first three months. “This card is one of the better hotel reward cards,” he says.
Ben Woolsey, president of, a review site for credit-card users, recently signed up for Chase’s Marriott Rewards Premier card ($85 annually after the first year and 15.24% APR) with metal inlay. Double points are offered for travel and restaurant purchases.ĭespite the high costs, some experts say they like the metal cards. The Sapphire Preferred card ($149 annual fee after the first year and 15.99% APR or annual percentage rate) offers valuable points in Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program that can be instantly transferred to points or miles with several different airline and hotel programs, and Amtrak, Steele says. There’s a concierge service, and, as part of its travel rewards, it gives 35,000 bonus points once the customer spends $100,000. The Palladium card includes a laser-engraved signature for security it has a $595 annual fee, but no foreign-transaction or cash-advance fees, and no over-limit or late fees. Has several metal cards, which, while expensive, are loaded with perks. “When you have the Lamborghini and the watches, the card doesn’t do as much,” he says. And these days, he says, his peers are less impressed. The opposite is true too: A burger bar in Hollywood, Fla., once refused the Centurion because the cashier didn’t think it was real. “When you’re in that crowd where other people have these kinds of cards too and notice yours, it serves a purpose,” he says. Don Sabatini, managing director at, a luxury lifestyle website, started using the American Express Centurion six years ago and would use it in a conspicuous fashion when he socializing (and networking) with a high-net-worth crowd, but he says he uses it less often now. Like many things in life that double as status symbols, metal cards may have a shelf life. An American Express spokeswoman declined to disclose the details of the terms and services as they’re customized, but she says reports of a $250,000 minimum monthly spending requirement are “a myth.”
It’s an “ultra-high-end product” with concierge services and a complimentary first-class companion airplane ticket on selected airlines with each first-class ticket bought, Steele says. “American Express will do anything for a Centurion customer, who will think nothing of charging a private jet on their card or buying $100,000 worth of jewelry,” says Jason Steele, credit-card expert for financial-advice website. It has a one-time initiation fee of $7,500, in addition to a $2,500 annual fee for the first and subsequent years. Some, like the titanium American Express Centurion, are both pricey and secretive (it has no website).
“Credit-card issuers want to provide their high-end customers with something that’s different and unique,” he says. The number of metal credit cards in circulation has grown to 10 million from just 15,000 cards back in 2005, according to CPI Card Group. Despite their cost, there’s been a surge in popularity over the past decade. A titanium, palladium or stainless steel card could cost up to $300 each to manufacture, compared with just 15 to 50 cents for a plastic card, according to Steve Montross, CEO of CPI Card Group in Littleton, Colo., the largest manufacturer of payment cards in the U.S. The metal cards carry much higher annual fees, the companies say, to match their material, the higher-net-worth individuals who carry them, and the perks they offer.
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