<p>ebeeeee, it’s nice to know that a parent is taking advantage of the concierge benefit from the younger generation! I’ve been on the receiving end of those phone calls a few times…“Mom, can you look up directions for me, I’m not really sure where I am!” “Hey, Ma, could you check my email for me. My professor changed our class location and I don’t remember the room number!”…Such a modern world!</p>
<p>Merchants actually like for you to pay with cash because it saves them the transaction fee.</p>
<p>If I could have put my son’s tuition on the credit card, I could qualify for that black AmEx. Although- I hate AmEx and if my employer doesn’t require it as a company card I won’t have one. My war with them goes back to the 1970s.</p>
<p>We took the platinum Amex, for 2 reasons 1. because of my business I could write it off for tax purposes. 2. We were going to Italy and that is when we used the coneirge service, as an example, we only had to buy 1 first class ticket, we bought 4 coaches with points, but they immediately upgraded us to all 1st class without charging us. The same for the hotels, we went from std rooms to 2 bdrm suites at the same price as the std. When you travel for 2 weeks, that cost savings alone was in the thousands…and no I would never have paid for a 2bdrm suite, because it isn’t worth the cost on my dime. On theirs, oh yeah I am taking it and we worked directly with the concierge. We even went on line to see if we could do it without them…I swear I heard the internet sites laughing at me! The one hotel in Venice we stayed at cost us $330 a night, a yr later my MIL tried to book at the same hotel for a 1bdrm suite it was $900 a night.</p>
<p>I think you got lucky. The typical deal for the Platinum Amex is 2 for the price of 1 business or first international ticket on certain airlines internationally. Never heard of them upgrading the rest of the party. The hotel upgrades are as available and going from a standard room to a 2 bedroom suite at most high end hotels doesn’t generally happen.</p>
<p>MOWC makes a good point. Sometimes you can ask for a cash discount and get a better price from a merchant. I know I definitely offer a better price for a cash customer.</p>
<p>I was listening to some of the Senate hearings about the new regulations dealing with credit cards and was astounded to hear that Sen. McCain carries a $100K balance- AT AN INTEREST RATE OF 0%- on one of his cards! I’m not picking on anyone because I’m certain that there are folks on both sides of the aisle who get the same perks, but the banks’ rational in this was that they “give this to their best customers so that they can sell them on other, more profitable, services, such as investment advice”!! And the law makers now want to try to “help” us ?!</p>
<p>[Visa</a> Black Card, The Black Card Made of Carbon Graphite | The Black Card | Centurion Card | Visa Black Card | Luxury Credit Cards](<a href=“http://www.luxuryplastic.com/visa-black-card/]Visa”>http://www.luxuryplastic.com/visa-black-card/)</p>
<p>My son is having a combined graduation party. I was just thinking about having the graduates come in riding Arabian Horses. I’ve been wondering where to find the Arabian Horses. Can someone send me their Visa Black application so I can sign up for the card.</p>
<p>Thanks
-JK</p>
<p>PS: I thought this was going to be a discussion on Visa trying to be PC.</p>
<p>My Visa card renewed this year and my new card was Black! I had no idea why the color changed. My annual fee gets charged this summer and if it’s more than usual I guess I will have to call to be downgraded!</p>
<p>Nice scam VISA is running - isn’t it?</p>
<p>That 1%? That’s the percentage of people who will FALL for this marketing ploy, not who got “invited.”</p>
<p>LOL, katliamom! </p>
<p>I just shredded one such “invite”. Visa must have ran out of rich suckers if they are sending this stuff to CC members who are broke by definition - we are college tuition-paying people!</p>
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<p>Is it a truly an “interest rate of 0%” or does he simply have that a large balance and pay it off every month? If the latter, that doesn’t surprise me at all. He’s a well-to-do man with multiple houses; it would make tons of sense for him to have a large balance, and to pay it off every month. Basically, treat the card as just a convenient-cash-substitute, to get miles and the like.</p>
<p>Personally, I have no clue what credit card interest rates are, because to me, a cc is indeed simply a cash-substitute – nothing would get put on it that isn’t sitting in my bank account and that I wouldn’t fully intend to pay for. I put everything possible on it so I can rack up frequent flyer miles. It wouldn’t even occur to me that this was something where I should defer payment at the end of the month. And I don’t get the purpose of a debit card, either – why would I want money taken out immediately as I go versus in one lump sum at the very end of the month?</p>
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<p>Hey, I have a black Starbucks card that I reload instead of having to carry the cash! Does that count?</p>
<p>D waited on a customer with a Black Amex card at the Charbonel et Walker cafe in Saks Fifth Avenue (kindly use your best “Thurson Howell III” accent when saying that). She noted the name, David Remnick, which we later looked up, the editor of The New Yorker Magazine. He purchased a lot of hand picked chocolates and left a generous tip.</p>
<p>Hmmmm, we are not helicopter parents, we are concierge service parents;) My kids and I call each other all the time for convenience services.</p>
<p>Sheesh, if I paid of my mortgage on a credit card I still wouldn’t qualify for that black AMEX</p>
<p>Gee, so far no offer for a black credit card that I noticed or paid any attention to (they go immediately into the shredder). If you got one of these offers dadII, you have several months of $4k+ credit card bills that, if memory serves me from earlier threads, you pay off in full to avoid any interest charges or finance fees, then they probably consider you (a) a good credit risk and (b) likely to have expendable cash. “Poor people” don’t usually get offers for high end credit cards.</p>
<p>^^ You would have noticed this invitation. The way you get tricked into opening it is because it looks like a wedding invitation or something.</p>
<p>My H got one too. The funny thing is that he actually never buys a thing - I am the “purchasing manager” for home and office. I can’t imagine ever getting value out of the fee. I know the platinum amex, which I have turned down, also would not be worth it. One first class ticket costs way more than two coach tickets - I will just go squeezed in. The bonus is not worth it to me.</p>
<p>Actually AmEx platinum perk is to be able to use airline lounges for free. I fly Continental often, with AmEx and continental ticket, it lets me use their lounge for free. Another perk is if you ever get sick abroad, they have a service to get you home (according to my husband).</p>
<p>Anything for the banks to make more money especially with the new law that Congress is passing!</p>