Credit Card Insider is an independent, advertising supported website. Credit Card Insider receives compensation from some credit card issuers as advertisers. Advertiser relationships do not affect card ratings or our Editor’s Best Card Picks. Credit Card Insider has not reviewed all available credit card offers in the marketplace. Content is not provided or commissioned by any credit card issuers. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information, though all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on any ‘Apply Now’ button, the most up-to-date terms and conditions, rates, and fee information will be presented by the issuer. Credit Card Insider has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Credit Card Insider and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. A list of these issuers can be found on our Editorial Guidelines.
The Mastercard Black Card is a premium metal travel card with a $495 annual fee but meager rewards, offering an equivalent of 1% to 2% cash back. Perks include a $100 travel credit, Priority Pass Select membership, and a VIP hotel and travel benefits program.
Credit Card Insider receives compensation from advertisers whose products may be mentioned on this page. Advertiser relationships do not affect card evaluations. Advertising partners do not edit or endorse our editorial content. Content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when it's published. Learn more in our Editorial Guidelines.
While some people may want this card for the perceived prestige of having a black card that’s made of metal (stainless steel to be exact), it comes with some great benefits that can go a long way toward justifying the annual fee. But you can likely get the same or better perks with other cards, with smaller annual fees. (Check out other metal credit cards.)
securely on the issuer's website
The Mastercard® Black Card™ is a metal rewards credit card for people with excellent credit, clearly designed to provide a top-notch credit card experience.
If you’re looking for a thick, black, metal credit card this is one of the most impressive card designs out there.
It has a hefty annual fee, and while the rewards program is not the most valuable, this card comes with high-end benefits like airport lounge access, a concierge available for live chat via the Luxury Card mobile app, and thousands of dollars in credits at hotels.
This card is part of the Luxury Card family of cards, which includes:
Card | Annual Fee |
---|---|
Mastercard® Titanium Card™ (Review) | $195 |
Mastercard® Black Card™ (This review) | $495 |
Mastercard® Gold Card™ (Review) | $995 |
This card earns the equivalent of 1% to 2% cash back on all purchases, depending on how you redeem your points. Unlike many travel-focused cards, this card does not have a signup bonus.
Spending Rewards |
---|
|
When considering the annual fee, a maximum value of 2 cents per dollar spent is somewhat low compared to other cards, but if you just want to earn a flat rate on all expenses 2% is not bad. You can easily get a cash back card with no annual fee that earns 1.5%–2% on all purchases, but the main value you get from the Black Card will come from the benefits rather than the rewards.
There are three possible values you’ll get when redeeming points:
When redeeming for statement credits you can apply points in increments of $1.
When redeeming for airfare, you can redeem in increments of 50 points and there’s no limit to the price of the ticket you can purchase. If you don’t have enough points to cover the cost of your airfare you can pay the difference.
You can redeem points at myluxurycard.com or by calling 844-724-2500 and selecting option one between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Eastern Time.
And for some added peace of mind, you won’t have to worry about your points expiring. As long as your card is open, active, and in good standing, your points will always be there for you to redeem. However, with this card you won’t be able to transfer points to airline or hotel partners. In other cases, like with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review), you can transfer your points to find a higher per-point value.
Arguably, the true value of the Mastercard Black Card lies in its benefits. Some of them work to make the annual fee more manageable, and the rest aim to make travel more comfortable. These include luxury travel benefits such as credits for travel expenses, exclusive access to VIP discounts, and airport lounge entry.
The Black Card has a few other benefits that are a bit ambiguous and hard to value, so I put them all together in this section. These benefits might be nice add-ons, but to me the real value of this card comes from the benefits mentioned above.
Besides the high-end perks above, the Luxury cards also come with some World Elite Mastercard benefits:
Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
---|---|---|
14.99% Variable | 0% for 15 months, then 14.99% Variable | 25.24% Variable |
Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee |
---|---|
$495 | 0% |
Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
---|---|
5% ($5 min) | 5% ($10 min) |
Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
---|---|---|
None | Up to $39 | Up to $39 |
If you travel frequently and make good use of the benefits, the annual fee may be worth it to you. If you want to add authorized users to the account, each one will cost you an additional $195 per year.
There’s no foreign transaction fee, which I think is a must for cards marketed as travel cards.
Interest rates are not very high, although we recommend you avoid interest completely. The balance transfer intro APR offer could be nice, but it’s probably not something people in the market for this card would need. The other fees are all pretty standard for what you’ll find on similar cards.
The Mastercard® Black Card™ is a sleekly designed, stainless steel card which offers strong, high-end benefits. While it does come at an annual cost of $495, the benefits, which include multiple credits, can lessen that blow.
The rewards are quite poor for a premium card, with a notable lack of point transfer partners. There’s no signup bonus, either, which you often find on travel cards like this.
In the world of elite travel cards, the Black Card doesn’t really match up to the competition. Other cards in the same price range offer larger credits and more exciting benefits like hotel memberships with their own sets of top-tier perks.
One thing which sets the Black Card apart, however, is the unlimited free guests it allows in airport lounges with its Priority Pass membership. Most cards limit the number of people you can bring in with you for free at two, and after that guest fees apply. If you’ve got a lot of people traveling with you, this would be a pretty handy benefit to add some extra comfort to your trip.
The other thing the Black Card has going for it is its clean aesthetic and striking metal design.
So if those two points are things you appreciate in credit cards, this could certainly be the one for you. Otherwise, we have some strong contenders listed in the alternative section below for you to check out.
The card issuer is Barclays, so if you apply it will be the bank evaluating your credit to determine if you’ll be approved. Barclays usually pulls information from your TransUnion credit report.
The Black card is intended for people with good or excellent credit, so if your credit doesn’t meet the requirements you may not be approved. You can apply now securely on the Luxury Card website.
securely on the issuer's website
Not a fan of the Mastercard Black Card? Never fear, we have a few different options lined up for you to take a look at.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review) is popular, and a relative newcomer in the high-end travel card market.
It has a slightly higher annual fee of $550, but its annual travel credit is $300, which is three times the travel credit of the Mastercard Black Card.
If you spend a lot on travel and dining, the Sapphire Reserve can provide much higher rewards than the Black Card. It earns 10X points on Lyft rides, with 3X points on travel (after the travel credit is used up) and dining expenses.
Depending on how you redeem the points, your effective rewards rate will usually be quite a bit higher with the Sapphire Reserve than the Black Card.
The Sapphire Reserve also has a big signup bonus of 50,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months after account opening, which the Mastercard Black Card lacks.
Spending Rewards |
---|
|
|
|
Introductory Bonus Offer |
---|
|
You’ll also earn an additional 50% point bonus when redeeming for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, which would give you 1.5 cents per point.
Point transfers to partner airlines and hotels could provide an even better value, potentially giving 2 cents per point or more.
The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) is the card that established this travel card tier, with a high annual fee and great benefits.
It comes with an annual fee of $550, but also has a $200 airline credit through 2021 and $200 Uber credit, plus a $100 hotel credit that can be used over and over again. They’re much more valuable than the $100 travel credit offered by the Black Card.
The Platinum Card also features a 5X point multiplier for certain travel expenses, which the Black Card can’t come close to keeping up with. And in those categories, you’ll have the opportunity to earn 5X points on air travel and eligible hotel, 2X on other eligible travel expenses. It also has a solid welcome bonus, whereas the Black Card offers nothing.
With typical travel spending you can easily get more out of the Amex card, with its perks and intro bonus, than the Black Card.
Spending Rewards |
---|
|
|
|
Introductory Bonus Offer |
---|
|
American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
Brendan has been writing about personal finance for over eight years, and is now taking on the challenge of bringing high quality credit education to the masses. He makes sure that Credit Card Insider is covering the most important credit topics transparently and precisely, and that we have up-to-date reviews of credit cards so you can find cards that are right for you.
Do you have a correction, tip, or suggestion for a new post? Contact us here.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by bank advertisers. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by bank advertisers. It is not the bank advertisers' responsibility to ensure all posts are accurate and/or questions are answered.