Highlights include American Express Co. (AXP), Visa Inc. (V), Barclays Plc (BCS) and Capital One Financial Corp. (COF).

In recent months, the Visa Black Card was introduced. We would view this as a Wile E. Coyote “Super Genius” move.

For years, the holy grail for social climbers has been to be deigned worthy to be invited to keep in your wallet the American Express (AXP) Centurion credit card, more commonly known as “The Black Card.” As rare and mysterious as the coelacanth, this elite credit card remains only for the super-wealthy, with limits and perks, and a 24 hour a day concierge that mere mortals could not truly fathom.

However, the holders also must have pristine credit, spend more than $250,000 annually on their other American Express cards and be willing to pay a $2,500 annual fee for the privilege.

Now enter Visa (V) and Barclays (BCS) with The VISA Black Card. This carbon graphite card’s focus is one the more mortal 1% of the US population for a more lordly price $495 per annum. For which the card holder receives 1% cash back on purchases or $1 = 1 points that can redeemed for travel anytime, 24-Hour Concierge Service, Exclusive Rewards Program, Luxury Gifts, and a Patent Pending Carbon Graphite card (ooh, pretty).

To receive a Visa Black Card with a $20,000-25,000 limit, the focus demographic customer is a 27-35 year old male with income of $175,000-300,000 or more, with a 740-765 average for the 3 credit scores or better, and a $50,000 limit Chase Freedom Visa Signature card or American Express Centurion. Clearly individuals that values status and fees — More cents than sense.

By moving away from the “Joe The Plumber” type client, Barclays exposes itself to big profits from higher merchant fees as a percentage of purchase. (See here for a related article.)

For the truly wealthy as well as for mere mortals, the way our credit card looks is not as important as the limit on it. If you don’t have the nearly $500 per year to spend on a piece of frivolous fluff, we have a low cost alternative — Capital One (COF) is potentially the answer. Capital One allows you to create your own credit card.

So instead of uploading a picture, upload a picture that matches the Carbon Graphite card and voila! — you have a black Visa credit card to fool your friends and dear enemies.

Read the full analyst report on “BCS”
Zacks Investment Research

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