Quick Credit Cards

Credit cards are far from one size fits all and the big names in lending know it. That’s why they’ve devised each credit card to target a specific demographic and income level. Whether it’s so you can get the most rewards out of the credit card or it’s so the credit card companies can get the most profit from you is debatable. Either way, it’s interesting to see the vast differences between luxury credit cards and plastic for the poor, unemployed and possibly even bankrupt. Check out some of these outliers on either side of the spectrum.

Luxury Credit Cards for Big Wigs and High Rollers

The American Express Centurion (aka the Black AMEX)

Centurion, literally, means an officer in the Roman army. In other words, one of the most powerful individuals amidst one of the most powerful empires in history. And that’s exactly the message that the Black AMEX means to convey. This invite only luxury credit card is the engimatic credit card of the rich and famous with numerous high bars to keep the riffraff out, including a $2,500 annual fee. To even get on the radar, you have to spend $250,000 annually on an American Express Platinum Card, another exclusive invite only card that requires you to first rack up a big bill on your American Express Gold or American Express Green card. There are approximately 30,000 to 100,000 people out there who’ve jumped through enough golden hoops to wield this monocle-dropping piece of plastic including Simon Cowell, Beyonce Knowles, Kanye West, Jerry Seinfeld and Lindsay Lohan.

Visa Black Card

Barclay’s Bank came up with this “me too” card in early 2009 and are trying to build a mystique and prestige comparable to the AMEX Black Card by stating that the card is available only to 1% of the U.S. population. However, with an annual fee of $495 and the ability to apply online, the Visa Black Card is clearly the poor man’s luxury credit card. Still, Visa goes to great lengths to make you feel like a sultan even if you’re nothing but a lowly princeling by offering 24/7 “world class concierge” service, meaning they’ll do everything for you from coaching you on business meeting protocol in Japan to booking you a tee time or hunting down a rare, out-of-print book.

Citi Chairman Card

The Citi Chairman Card was designed to pamper C-level executives of global moneymakers at the dizzyingly high standard of luxury that they are accustomed to everywhere else they go. Originally catered towards clients of Smith Barney, the Citi Chairman card offers 24/7 concierge service, sweet deals on private chartered jets and ample insurance for pretty much any little thing that can go wrong at home or abroad, all for a $500 annual fee.

Credit Cards for the Poor

Visa ReliaCard

“Just because someone doesn’t have any money doesn’t mean you can’t make money off of them” was probably the rationale behind U.S. Bank’s ReliaCard, a debit card designed for the unemployed.  For those out of work but still covered by unemployment insurance, you can choose to have your paychecks from Uncle Sam loaded directly onto your Visa debit card so you can use it just like any other piece of plastic. It’s actually kind of a win-win situation, especially for those who don’t have bank accounts: you avoid the exorbitant fees of seedy check cashing joints, the government saves on paper and the card issuer gets interchange fees.

Bank of America Secured Visa

A secured credit card is about the best route you can go when rebuilding your credit card after a bankruptcy or credit rating misstep. But they are becoming harder and harder to come by. That’s because they aren’t hugely profitable for credit card issuers since there is little to no risk of defaulting, overdrawing or incurring a late fee. For example, the Bank of America Secured Visa’s credit line is commensurate with the amount of collateral you put up and it can be as low as $300. The card only has a $29 annual fee and is really more like a credit card with training wheels for people looking to rebuild their credit.

AccountNow from Visa or MasterCard

The Visa AccountNow and Mastercard AccountNow are kind of like a payday loan joint and a prepaid credit card all rolled up into one. You can have your paycheck deposited directly into your AccountNow card and then use it like any other Visa or Mastercard. You can also wire cash to your card through MoneyGram or Western Union (making it great for Nigerian scammers, I guess). But the really whiz bang thing about the AccountNow card is the ability to get a little bitty loan from time to time. You can do so by requesting and advance by phone or online and then the money is put onto  your card. You have to borrow in $20 increments and your charged an upfront advance fee of 12.5%. After that, iAdvance automatically takes a cut of your direct deposit paycheck to pay off your debt.

Of course, you should really, really crunch some numbers before deciding if this card is right for you. In fact, iAdvances own website says: “You should carefully consider the costs of iAdvance. Alternative forms of short-term credit exist that might be less expensive and more advantageous to you as the borrower.”

Know of any outrageous luxury credit cards or credit cards geared towards low income consumers? Tell us about them in the comments.

image by infrogmation

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