Metal Credit Cards You Can Get Right Now
The American Express Centurion Card (or “black” card) was one of the first metal credit cards. Unfortunately, it’s invitation-only and costs $2,500 per year.
Banks have started offering more metal credit cards in recent years, and the annual fees are much lower.
Some people like the feel of a metal credit card and the reactions they get when making purchases. Metal credit cards are usually heavier than regular plastic cards. Personally, I like the practicality: I’ve used my Chase Sapphire Preferred to scrape ice off a car window in the winter, and to open a locked door when I forgot my keys.
Here’s a list of our favorites that you can actually apply for directly, followed by a full alphabetical list of 20 metal cards.
Best Metal Credit Cards of 2019
- Heaviest: Mastercard® Gold Card™
- No Annual Fee: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
- Biggest Travel Credit: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Most Airport Lounge Access: The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Food & Entertainment Spending: Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card
Did I forget any? Leave a comment and let me know.
Metal Credit Cards (Alphabetical)
Write a ReviewThis is a great card for business owners who have Amazon Prime or Business Prime and spend a lot of money on Amazon.com or Amazon Web Services. It also provides the option to have more time to pay off the card without interest fees instead of getting rewards.
If you’re a Prime subscriber, there’s pretty much no reason not to get this card. You’ll get 5% back on Amazon purchases and there’s no annual fee for the card.
This is probably cheapest option if you’re trying to get a metal card without paying a high annual fee as long as you’re subscribed to Prime. Read our full review of both Amazon Visa cards here.
The Business Gold Card from American Express is unique because it provides 4X Membership Rewards points in the two categories you spend the most in, out of six possible categories (up to $150,000 in combined purchases per year, then 1X).
The Gold Card is a charge card designed for frequent travelers and people who spend a lot of money at restaurants. In 2018, this card replaced the plastic Premier Rewards Gold Card with the new metal design available in gold or rose gold, although the rose gold version is no longer available for new applicants.
The Platinum Card is a high-end charge card designed for frequent travelers. This card’s been around for a while, but was refreshed in 2017 and changed to a metal design.
It includes many travel benefits, like airport lounge access, Uber credits, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. It earns travel rewards. There’s a $550 annual fee, but if you use all the benefits the card can be well worth it. Read our full review here.
There’s also a business version of the Amex Platinum card, which costs $595 per year.
The Savor card is designed for foodies, with bonus categories that include dining and grocery stores. Capital One began issuing metal versions of this card in January of 2019; current cardholders will receive metal versions when their cards expire, or when they request replacements.
The Savor now has a stainless steel veneer front, produced with 75% recycled materials. The back half of the card has a layer of plastic.
This card has a $95 annual fee, waived the first year, making it one of the less expensive metal cards you can get.
Learn more in our full review of the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card here.
This card is designed for travelers, but it doesn’t have the same benefits as some of the other premium travel cards listed on this page.
Like the Savor card above, this card has a $95 fee that’s waived for the first year.
See our full review of the Capital One Venture Rewards here.
The Sapphire Preferred is a metal card with a blue finish. It earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, with 2X points on travel and dining purchases.
This card has a much lower annual fee than the premium Chase Sapphire Reserve, but does not have all the same benefits and rewards. You can see our full review of the Sapphire Preferred here.
This card is loaded with benefits like airport lounge access and travel credits. It’s made of metal and has a dark blue and black design. When you look at benefits and cost, it’s in the same category as the Platinum Card from American Express. The Sapphire Reserve offers 3x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on travel and dining, compared to 2X on the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
It has a relatively high annual fee of $450 compared to most credit cards, but you can easily make up for the annual fee if you use all the benefits, credits, and rewards. Read our review of this card here.
There’s another fancier-looking version of this card called the JP Morgan Reserve, but it is only available to JP Morgan Private Client customers. Rumor has it you need to have $10 million in assets with Chase to be able to get the JP Morgan Reserve.
This premium travel card for flying American Airlines is made of metal, and offers 2X miles per dollar spent with its co-branded airline.
It also provides Admirals Club access for the primary cardholder as well as up to ten authorized users, a better airport lounge offer than most other cards. But you’ll need to pay $450 per year for the Executive World Elite Mastercard.
The Citi Prestige® Card (Review) is an excellent card for travelers who book long hotel stays thanks to its 4th night free benefit. It also provides a $250 travel credit and a Priority Pass Select membership.
This card is designed for people who frequently stay at IHG hotels and want to earn lots of rewards points for spending at those hotels.
Unlike the Centurion card, this is a credit card instead of a charge card and anyone can apply for it. If you’re looking for a heavy, thick, metal credit card, it’s hard to beat the card construction of this one and the other two cards from Luxury Card: the Mastercard® Titanium Card™ (Review) and the Mastercard® Gold Card™ (Review).
It has a $495 annual fee, and comes with a set of high-end benefits, like valuable hotel discounts, but its rewards value doesn’t stack up well compared to other premium cards in this price range, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review). See our review of the Mastercard® Black Card™ card here.
This card is designed for people who frequently travel on United Airlines. There’s also a business version of the card.
It has a $450 annual fee, with benefits you’d expect, like United Club lounge access and the ability to check some bags for free. If you purchase United airfare frequently, you may be able to justify the annual fee, since it earns 1.5 United miles per dollar spent on all purchases and 2 miles on all purchases of United airfare.
Like several other cards on this page, it’s a premium card designed around travel benefits.
The unique feature of this card, which I’ve never seen on any other card, is a 3X reward point multiple for mobile wallet purchases. Many rewards cards offer a multiple on a certain category of purchase, but I’ve never seen a multiple based on how the transaction is processed. Maybe U.S. Bank pays lower fees to mobile wallet providers than when you swipe or dip your card, so they’re passing the savings along? Or maybe they’re just trying to be different.
Read our full review of the Altitude Reserve here.
This card offers 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants, gas stations, travel, and eligible streaming services. Points can be redeemed for 1¢ each, so that’s basically like 3% cash back in those categories.
Heaviest Metal Credit Cards (by Weight)
Weight source: US Credit Card Guide
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