I just received the card, they waived the annual fee for me instantly. We’ll see how the benefits are over the next year.

I have had the America Express Centurion card for 6 years. I travel around the world and use it constantly. About 1 year ago I applied for the Visa “Black Card” and got approved. The spending limit was $25,000. I told them ha this wont work for me as I charge a lot and after seeing my Amex bills they agreed because of my spending habit and great credit score, they raised it to $50,000. They told me that limit is rare. I asked how do they call them a card for wealthy people if they give us such a low spending limit.

I am not here to brag about anything as it is not my style. I just want to get a point across so please excuse me. I never comment on blogs unless I really need to share a story. This is the 1st time I am doing so.

With out getting into the whole story … in a nutshell … Visa ” Black Card” stops many charges as they feel it is fraud, wayyyy to many times …. I told them I was on holiday and needed cash in a hurry. I had a $24,000 cash withdraw limit. I tried to take out $10,000 and it was so badly handled by 3 customer service people and a manager.

I cancelled my card immediately. Visa “Black Card” is nothing but a sham. The $500 a year membership is so not worth it. You can pay far less and get higher credit limits and have real customer service people help you with many other cards.

All of Visa’s “Black Card” expensive advertising and print ads with sexy people on jets is all a scam. They have NO idea how people that they want to reach travel, spend or want to be treated.

Seriously … stay away from this card. MONEY WASTED!!!

I totally agree with everything you mentioned about the Black Card. My credit limit is $5000.00. What a joke. I have written down my one year date and will not be renewing this card. The Black Card I saw a few years ago being used by one of my customers was thicker and made you stop and notice it as something special. The one issued now looks like any other credit card. I called customer service and inquired about the past card and was informed that style was no longer being issued. Waste of money. American Express Plantium all the way.

I have to disagree with the customer service. Now I will start by saying that I am an American living in Singapore. We have the Visa Black card here but we call it Visa Infinite which gives us all the same perks as the one in the US with extra bonuses. I get UNLIMITED Limo service to the airport for free, UNLIMITED VIP terminal service (Private Terminal with personal shopper, security, and immigration officer)…which if booked on my Platinum AMEX costs me $1700.00 for each flight. My credit limit is 500K and I am given a dedicated phone number when I need something. Meaning when they pick up the phone on the first ring they already know it’s me. Sorry to hear that you guys back in the US are getting the short end of the stick. Unlike the Visa Black in the US, to get the Visa Infinite just like the Centurion Card you have to be invited. Plus because of my PPS status….125K flying miles per year my membership is only $298.00 with unlimited complimentary cards available. And the great kicker to my card is that after my first year I receive 1.5 miles for every dollar spent in Singapore and 2.5 miles for every dollar spent abroad.

You are too kind in your rating!
It is $95 for one memeberof your household and another $195 for your spouse. What a rip!

Boo to Barclays!

As of December 1st, Visa Black card now longer uses Priority Pass as their VIP lounge supplier!! They are now using loungeclub and the lounges supplied are extremely limited! I purchased this card for $500 for the main reason of gaining access to these airport lounges and with this supplier I can’t even use Newark airport. There are only 16 USA airports to choose from!

you got the fees waived on the black card or Amex Plat?

Stay away, this card is a gimmick. They do not know about customer service, give you a low line of credit and then trap you. I could not get the customer service agent to allow me to speak to the credit dept. or even her manager, she totally blocked me. I told her that if this is the case then cancel my card and she did so. Surprised at this, why loose a customer over a simple request. This card is owned by Barclay’s Bank. Watch out and be careful. You will get hit with high fees and interest, foreign transaction fees, as well as a high annual fee. Even the airline lounge membership is a gimmick. Pathetic service and customer relations from Barclay’s Bank.

So you’re a centurion card holder and a Balck card holder but you needed to take a cash advance on a credit card?

You DO realize that sounds ridiculously unbelievable, don’t you?

Besides, as a Centurion card holder, you can have them deliver the cash to you and its debited from your checking account… Unless of course, you don’t have the money

My experience as a Black Card holder:

Initially the card gave me a ridiculously low credit line. After contacting their customer service (which was actually very polite and well-spoken) they managed to raise my line into the 5 digit realm. Gee thanks! All of my presumably low-class cards already gave me that with no annual fee attached…

I did get the Priority Pass for airport lounges which was nice to have and perhaps justified a fair amount of the fee the first year or so, as I traveled a lot when I applied.

I received a few gifts. I received a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, a personalized Cross pen, and a Swatch brand watch. I used the former two, the latter not so much.

While living abroad in the middle east, my card became the subject of many fraudulent purchases. Again, their customer service came through and promptly and politely credited my account with the fraudulent charges and issued me a new card and apologized for the inconvenience. No issues with them on this aspect.

As I understand, the new airport loung program associated with this card isn’t as good as before. Personally I am also no longer traveling frequently, so an airport lounge program is not that important any longer to me. THis being said, I will be closing my Barclay’s account before it renews next month.

For those of you who might be interested in image, the Black Card doesn’t really have it. For the first year or two it occasionally got me some impressed comments from a waiter or cashier to which I chuckled and said “no, I’m not rich I just have a good credit score” They obviously confused it with a Centurion, or else they’d fallen into the Black Card marketing hype!

These days, this card makes cashiers ask “credit or debit?” I am guessing they glance and think it’s a prepaid RushCard

I’m cancelling my BC before it renews next month. Until I need the benefits of the AMEX platinum I’m going to use my AMEX gold.

Thanks for this comparison, Daniel. I’ve received solicitations in the mail twice now for the Visa Black card. I currently own an American Express Delta Reserve card (also black in color, but not made of carbon) which carries a $450 annual fee and thought I would compare between the two. I rarely have a revolving balance on any of my credit cards, so interest charges are not a major selling point to me. However, the Delta Reserve AMEX gives me priority boarding on Delta (Zone 2), which is great for grabbing overhead space (if at all possible, I *only* fly Delta or Southwest). It also gives everyone on my itinerary one free checked bag (this almost pays for the annual fee if you travel enough) and unlimited access to Delta Sky Clubs worldwide as long as I’m traveling on a Delta itinerary. I don’t use the concierge services and I don’t receive any free gifts. They also gave me a pitifully small credit limit ($6000 – I had a $21,000 limit on my previous Delta Platinum AMEX – this makes no sense to me) but this isn’t my primary card, so it wasn’t a big deal. It sounds like both of the AMEX variations have better benefits than the Visa black card.

What did you do to waived the annual fee?
what is the meaning of Access to VIP airport lounges?? what kind of true benefit do you have?

I REALLY COMPARE AMEX PLATINUM (A CHARGE CARD NOT A CREDIT CARD) WITH THE OTHERS MASTERCARD BLACK AND SIGNATURE VISA AND I HAVE DEFINITLY DECIDED THAT AMEX PLATINUM IS FAR THE BEST OF THE BEST (OF COURSE NOT COMPARING WITH THE CENTURION) AMEX NO HAVE PRE SET LIMIT CREDIT AND THE BENEFITS ARE A LOT , SO KEEP YOUR PLATINUM CARD FOR EVER.

Just have a credit score significantly over 800, and a salary into the upper 6 figures. Then just make it clear you don’t want their card unless they wave the yearly fee.

This card is a scam. They set a very low credit limit of $5000 and charge $500 a year in fees. If you ask for them to raise the limit they want to pull another credit report. That would be 2 hard credit checks in 3 days. Obviously this will lower your credit score it will cost you more for all other credit and loans in the future. There is nothing exclusive or prestigious about the Visa Black card. It is just very expensive and will not replace your current high limit credit cards.

I got this card in the mail yesterday and cancelled it 12 hours later.

For some background, I’m an AMEX Platinum member and charge anywhere between $15k-$30k per month on my card. I have impeccable credit, earn close to seven figures, and… was given a $10k limit. I immidiately called their customer service which greeted me with automated services that required 4 different steps to get to a live person, then I was bounced to 3 differnt customer service reps ending with a rude account rep that couldn’t be less interested in speaking with me. I went through a number of different questions about how they handle executive account services, their benefits, and their poor attention to detail when signing up new members. I was blown away at how incredibly inept they were at dealing with my questions, even basic ones like rewards points.

I cannot stress enough how poor this company is at handling its customer base.

One shortcoming of the American Express version with regard to the airline lounges is that United Airlines doesn’t honor it. Is the Visa Black Card honored by United Airlines?

If so, I might get it. United used to be my favorite airline, but now I gravitate toward Delta.

My credit fico scores are 780+, with 840k in yearly income. I have the AMEX PLAT and Citi AAdvantage World Elite ($40,000 cl).
I decided to apply for the visa black card because of the “black card” prestige. (oops)
They started me with a 25k balance with a 10k cash advance limit. I haven’t used the card yet, but I did call the customer service number to inquire about the benefits. THATS WHEN I KNEW A MADE A MISTAKE. From the moment (after being on hold forever) I spoke with their rep, I realized this is not a high end card or company. My AMEX is like a Four Seasons Hotel type of service, as is my CitiCard.
My Visa Black Card is like a Motel 6 type of service.
I only wish I would have read the reviews on this card before I applied.

Too bad, I really expected more. I guess my ego really got me on this one.

Thanks for the review guys. I was actually thinking of applying for this card. I’ll just stick with my Amex Plat.

Do not get this card, the customer service is horrible and I am still waiting for a problem to be cleared up and its been six months. The American Express card whether Platinum or Black is a much bigger bang for your buck and more well regarded than the Visa Black. Maybe one day the Black Visa will get my problem resolved and if so I will post it.

I agree that Amex has one of the best concierge services worldwide.

All Credit Cards or Charge Cards issued by banks are literally crap with dirt poor service, never touching even 10% of their marketed hype.

Whether we are talking Barclay’s Black Card, UOB’s Platinum Amex, DBS’s Altitude Card, HSBC’s Infinity Card, StanChart Infinity Card, UOB Infinity Card….

After a few years from launch, their services and benefits start dropping, initially it’s the 30-mins wait and call on holds, then the merry-go-round the mulberry bush, followed by dropped calls…

Nothing beats Amex in Concierge Services n Value for money.

One day after using the card for very nominal purchases, it was blocked for $19.00 for potential fraud. Called customer service and their response was, “Sorry! Call back tomorrow during normal business hours to speak to the Security Department.” Are you kidding me? Visa Black doesn’t have a department to deal with these issues? No Black status here! Stay away! Low lines of credit too! $10k and I make over 750k a year. Blah!

I stubbled upon the Visa BC this AM, which peaked my interest; however, the reviews above has convinced me to not apply for this card. I will stick with my AMEX as some things are not worth having in your wallet.

In summary, one needs to think about the annual fee versus the service (ie, perks/customer service/etc).

The Visa Black card is for ppl who can never get the Centurion card. They pay 500 a year to say ‘I have a black card.’