Qualifications for platinum/gold cards?

[Nuprapture]

I've had credit cards for about 3 years now and I've always been in good standing. I've never paid bills late and I never carry a balance. What do credit card companies look for to get a platinum card? Why would one go for a platinum card over a regular card? is it just the higher credit limit?

[mystical2003]

Platinum will ussually have benefits such as covering insurance for rental cars, travel insurance etc. The main factor in being able to get them is income level. You are required to have a higher income to get gold/platinum cards from most companies.

[phd1969]

Every company has different criterias, ie I was approved for the Amex Aeroplan card but got rejected for the RBC Avion. Not too sure why because I heard the Avion was one of the easier platinum cards to get and Amex is almost impossible.

[Feneant]

If you want good benefits from platinum, you would probably have to pay for them. I used to have a no fee platinum card from RBC with next to nothing on it in terms of benefits, the 120$ a year Avion seemed better all around.

[ALsat]

Best Platinum is the one with all the benefits and no annual fee! :lol:

Look for pre-approved invitations in the mail... (not pre-approved "to be eligible", but pre-approved, period. You mail back the application, they send you the card without any further questioning.)

Within 3 years of credit use, esp. if you have excellent record, they should start coming.

That's how I got my platinum. :D

[ilfsoy]

Yeah, the free ones don't really have any benefits over a regular credit card. Shop around for some perks for not to much of an annual fee. I got a Platinum MC over the phone even after I told them I only made $22k per year and the min was $35k, this was a while ago, though I don't think things have changed much. I got the min $5k limit and had other cards at the time with over twice that limit.

[BadDrafter]

Say you were making $60,000 one year and became unemployed or semi employed for the next 4 years, could they take your premium card away from you?

Also same question but with a $25000 line of credit.

[ALsat]

Say you were making $60,000 one year and became unemployed or semi employed for the next 4 years, could they take your premium card away from you?

Also same question but with a $25000 line of credit.

Very unlikely in both scenarios, unless they perceive you as a HUGE credit risk - but then they wouldn't have issued the CC or opened the LoC in the first place if that were the case.

So long as you don't violate their rules (ie. start skipping payments, go delinquent on them etc.) they won't even notice you. Remember there're millions of CC users, they can't keep an eye on everyone - but can only chase those who grab and run with their money. :lol:

[700mb80min]

i had one with RBC but gave it up . the benefits didn`t outway the $125/yr fee and went back to my regular visa.

[excel]

I had my RBC visa and canadian tire mastercard for 3 years now. The canadian tire card increased the limit 2 times automatically but my RBC is still at $1000 limit only. What's up with that?

[Hellfire]

I've got the Citi Enrich Platinum card. No fees and 1% cash back.

All you need to get it is a $5000 credit limit.

[Prospero]

The benefits of a premium card over a basic card are the insurance and rewards. The insurance is almost never really worth it if you are not a frequent traveller as you will likely never even use it. If you only rent a car only once every two years when you go on holiday, why pay $120 a year to the credit card company just to have car rental insurance? Same goes for lost/stolen baggage, flight delay, trip cancellation, etc. These benefits are only really worthwhile if you're on a plane often enough. They were originally designed for business travellers, not for everyday consumers.

The best insurance for everyday purposes is the automatic purchase protection/extended warranty, but many standard cards carry this at no cost anyway.

On the rewards side, these do tend to be better on premium cards than on standard cards. Although, not always. Some standard cards (like the Ultramar card) are pretty good on their own and will often beat premium cards in value for dollar (especially if those premium cards carry an annual fee.)

As for credit limit, many standard cards can be raised to $10k or higher depending on the issuer, which negates any advantage from the premium card in this respect. For example, when I first got my TD Gold Elite card it had a $5k limit but my wife's plain CIBC Classic card had a limit of $6600.

The real reason that so-called premium cards exist is because we are all vain suckers. It is a purely psychological ploy by the credit card issuers to get you to spend $120 on annual fees just so you can feel like you're special because your card is gold or platinum, and not a non-metallic colour like the rest of the riff-raff. It isn't quite a scam, since there are benefits for some people when it comes to the insurance and rewards (I use the TD Gold Elite because of the 1% caschback with no ceiling, the various insurances because I travel a lot, and the free deluxe auto-club because I drive a 20-year old car, but only because TD does not charge me a fee for it. If they did charge me a fee, I'd likely start shopping around for a new card immediately) but it is entirely in the bank's benefit, not yours if you're paying the annual fees on one of these cards. No-fee gold and platinum cards typically have little benefit over standard cards other than thier colour. There are exceptions, of course, but you should really read the fine print for cards that are both premium, give you rewards and have no annual fees. These might have higher interest rates, shorter grace periods, extra fees on foreign currency transactions, very limited insurance coverages, etc. You may not be paying any fees, but the bank will find a way to make its money off you one way or another. Remember that you can't really get something for nothing, and that the banks and credit card issuers would not be giving out no-fee platinum cards if it was not in their favour to do so. Credit card companies always have their own best interests in mind, so just be a little suspicious when something looks too good to be true.

I don't mean to be all doom and gloom. Some cards are actually really good deals, but they seem to me to be more often of the standard variety (like the Ultramar and Enrich cards) than of the gold or platinum variety. Premium cards just seem to be about getting an ego-boost more than anything else.

If you really want a gold or platinum card, I've found that the easiest way is to just call the issuer of the card you already have and ask them to upgrade you. Provided that they offer a premium card you want. If you have the income and a good history with them, they'll be more than happy to upgrade you. Heck, frequently enough you don't even need the income. If your standard card already has a limit around $4k-$5k and you have good credit, there's pretty much no reason they wouldn't upgrade your card to a gold or platinum with a basic $5k limit, even if your income is not quite at $35k. They'll do anything to get you to pay annual fees or a higher interest rate.

[tkyoshi]

I had my RBC visa and canadian tire mastercard for 3 years now. The canadian tire card increased the limit 2 times automatically but my RBC is still at $1000 limit only. What's up with that?

Depending, some card issuers do not automatically increase your credit unless you want to. This is because some people do not want higher available credit (e.g. you know the too much credit and stuff when applying for a mortgage).

Anyway a lot of times too they will pre approve you for an increase, all you have to do is call in and they will let you know, if you want more than the pre approved amount then you will go through the standard review. The Pre-Approved credit increase will take effect right away.

[st7860]

if you have consistently reported the same employer when applying for credit, and you have a few credit cards already, your actual income is not a real issue when applying for more credit cards, the banks usually won't check.

If you have a CIBC credit card,

you can call 1-800-465-4653, then log into your account balance the usual way. on the main menu push '2' for credit limit increase. It will ask you how much you want. Enter 15,000 for an increase, and 150,000 for annual income. the computer will give you a yes/no answer IMMEDIATELY. depending on how clean you are, you will get between $2,000 to $15,000. The average person will usually get about $4,000. If you're the type to always pay off the card each month, you'll probably get more.

YOU CAN DO THAT EVERY 90 days.

[eliteblaze]

the system never asks me for income but rather job level. I duno.

[MegaNaut]

Say you were making $60,000 one year and became unemployed or semi employed for the next 4 years, could they take your premium card away from you?

Also same question but with a $25000 line of credit.

They have no way of knowing if you are unemployed as long as you make the payments. Your pay cheque could be being deposited at another bank.

I was off work for a few years doing a post secondary degree and I kept my $50k line of credit and CIBC Aerogold card w/ a $15k limit.

[wookie]

most of these types of card that i have been looking at require min $35,000 annual income and $5000 credit limit... citi seems to have some good choices as well as bmo... none of the other cards really seemed to have anything special to offer... capitalone had a good card but i have heard bad things about them from friends/family.

[st7860]

As long as you have been reporting the SAME employer on every credit application for at least a year or so, the actual amount of income you make doesn't matter since most banks will NOT check.

How to get a Gold Credit Card in about a year, with a 'bum' job.

Suppose you are 19, fresh out of high school. Get a job that pays about $15,000 per year. apply for a couple of credit cards and hopefully you get at least one or two.

After about a year, ask the credit card company to switch you to their gold card. If they ask, say your annual income is $37,000. BINGO, it should work *if* your credit score is good(thats why you need to get at least ONE card to begin with.

Basically, the KEY THING IS, every time you apply for a credit card, USE THE SAME EMPLOYER and DON't change it, even if you did change the employer. If you get a couple of cards, then after 1 or 2 years you should be able to get a total of between $15,000 to $30,000 of credit on various cards EASILY. the key thing is always overstate your income. The banks will not check as long as you have been reporting a consistent employer on the credit applications from DAY ONE.

[Prospero]

As long as you have been reporting the SAME employer on every credit application for at least a year or so, the actual amount of income you make doesn't matter since most banks will NOT check.

How to get a Gold Credit Card in about a year, with a 'bum' job.

Suppose you are 19, fresh out of high school. Get a job that pays about $15,000 per year. apply for a couple of credit cards and hopefully you get at least one or two.

After about a year, ask the credit card company to switch you to their gold card. If they ask, say your annual income is $37,000. BINGO, it should work *if* your credit score is good(thats why you need to get at least ONE card to begin with.

Basically, the KEY THING IS, every time you apply for a credit card, USE THE SAME EMPLOYER and DON't change it, even if you did change the employer. If you get a couple of cards, then after 1 or 2 years you should be able to get a total of between $15,000 to $30,000 of credit on various cards EASILY. the key thing is always overstate your income. The banks will not check as long as you have been reporting a consistent employer on the credit applications from DAY ONE.

Some of this is true, and some of this is not true. Employment consistency is good, so the longer you are employed by one company the more the financial insititution will be willing to trust you, and the less checks they will bother to do. Eventually you'll just be pre-approved for a bunch of their products which they'll be happy to issue pretty much on the spot.

However, lying on any application for credit is fraud and against the law. This is a legal document, which you sign and thus are liable for if you give false information. Will the banks call you on it, and get you arrested? No. However, banks and people who work at these things are not idiots. They know the system and all the tricks people use to exploit that system better than you or me. They know when someone is lying to them and working the system for what they think is their benefit. Consistent lying about your income may get you through a couple of credit card applications, but when the time comes to apply for that mortgage or car loan your dishonesty may come back to bite you in the a$$. The thing to remember is that the banks always act in their own best interest, not yours. Whenever you think they are doing you a favour, even by looking the other way when you lie to them on a credit card application, think about what is really in it for them and decide who's really getting the better end of the deal.

[st7860]

for a mortgage, a high income is only important if your credit isn't the best and/or you are trying for a high ratio mortgage.

for the average joe making a 25% down payment on a condo, the bank won't care that much as long as you don't have any collections on your credit report.

[Prospero]

for a mortgage, a high income is only important if your credit isn't the best and/or you are trying for a high ratio mortgage.

for the average joe making a 25% down payment on a condo, the bank won't care that much as long as you don't have any collections on your credit report.

They will care that you've consistently acted dishonestly and dishonourably in your dealings with them. They may not care about your income, as you say, but they will care about that. An honest person will always do better than a dishonest one.

[st7860]

I don't know which financial company Mr/Mrs P is dealing with, however

in Vancouver BC, to get a mortgage you need

1. one or two credit cards and NO collections on your credit report
2. a 25% down payment.

or

If your credit report has a collection or two on it, you will probably have to go with a mortgage broker, who may either save you some interest vs the bank or charge 1 to 2% more. They can do mortgages based on a stated income basis, which means no verification unlike what Mr/Mrs P says.

thirdly, if you plan to make a 5 to 20% down payment, known as a High Ratio Mortgage, the bank will be quite picky about your annual income.


And as for Credit cards, again, stating a consistent employer AND a high enough income is the most important in general, but it does vary by bank.
CIBC and TD bank tend to be the least picky. They'll give a card to anyone with a blank credit history if you have a job. If you have reported a job for a while, CIBC and TD bank also easily give you huge credit limits.

Scotia Bank is picky with income verification. American Express IS picky with income verification only if you haven't reported an employer recently. But if you have been reporting an employer for a year or two, they will likely give you a $3,000 to $6,000 credit limit with no problems on your 'stated' income. Citibank is picky , but if you have been reporting an employer OR if your credit is well established, they don't care what you report.

I do not know about Royal Bank. HSBC is generally the most picky of all of the Canadian Banks. Canadian Tire Financial is rumored by many to be an 'easy' card, but I don't have personal experience with it. Presidents Choice Financial isn't picky about income verification BUT they are picky about a consistent credit report(ie: same address and same employer for a long time)

And as for a car loan, Ensign Pacific Leasing(and i'm sure other companies too) don't care about what you say about income. If your credit history is good, you can get a car loan. Ensign Pacific is NOT one of those "bad credit no credit no problem" types of auto lenders.

[tjuzer]

Do citibank platinum have traveller insurance :?:

[st7860]

Do citibank platinum have traveller insurance :?:


http://www.citibank.com/canada/cards/english/pdf/dept_ben.pdf

purchase price protection, some loss protection stuff, 2% rebate for buying a car, and up to $500,000 of injury protection while travelling on a common carrier.

[Aske001]

You can get all the same benefits and high credit limits on a regular card that you do on gold and platinum cards "vanity" cards. But the vanity cards make you feel important (for an extra fee), and they have the added bonus of attracting unwanted attention from credit card scammers and thieves, and everyone wants that, right? :D