What does a premium credit card really offer?

                                                                                         

I can’t get my head around premium credit card offers. Take the RBS Black credit card as an example. As a credit card it’s a very good offer, don’t get me wrong the services on offer for the annual fee are very reasonable indeed, plus RBS are offering a free trial for the first 3 months.

First, let’s take a look at the benefits;

• Worldwide usability through MasterCard
• An automatic minimum credit limit of £15,000
• Up to three additional cardholders free of charge
• 24-hour, multi-lingual, personal assistant service
• Extensive travel insurance cover for you, partner and any dependent children
• Enjoy access to over 500 executive airport lounges as a Priority Pass™ holder
• Round-the-clock travel service to make all your travel arrangements for cardholder
• 24-hour home or roadside response cover for cardholder’s main car, be this in the UK or Europe
• 24-hour support service for emergencies involving plumbing, electrics, drains, windows and doors
• Card protection for all credit cards – whether at home or overseas
• Exclusive offers including RBS Black Card invite-only events throughout the year

Very nice indeed, and for an annual fee of £250. Now here comes the ‘but’…

‘But’, you have to be earning over £75,000 per year to be eligible!

I’ve got nothing against people earning over £75,000 a year but surely someone earning a salary like that would not really be particularly bothered about ‘Free’ travel insurance, travel assistance, or roadside response services because they’ll already be using these kind of services elsewhere..?

As for personal assistant services, I’d imagine that someone earning £75K a year would also have a secretary or PA already?

Not only do ‘premium’ credit cards immediately shut out a huge percentage of the UK population, because the average salary is something like £22,000 a year, but they also don’t seem to be offering anything really above and beyond standard services you could, and probably are, using through other companies. Companies that specialise in services like travel insurance or roadside response are likely to be offering a far more comprehensive product than a ‘free’ service available through your credit card provider.

About the author:
Simon Duffy writes for the Financial Blog a UK Finance Blog talking about all aspects of personal finance.

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