In this article, we will be discussing the hardest credit cards to get or attain. for many people, credit cards may simply be a means to an end, used for the occasional purchase.
But for a select group of people with strong credit scores and a lot of spending money, a variety of exclusive credit cards may be available sometimes by invitation only.
These exclusive credit cards come with larger-than-life perks, such as personalized concierge service and luxurious gifts, but they also come at a cost.
Many of these exclusive credit cards have high annual fees, and they may not even be available to the general public.
The credit card market is full of bursting with different types of credit cards, so there’s no “best” credit card for everyone.
The best card for you will depend on things like your spending habits and the type of rewards you want to earn.
Happily, when you have excellent credit, you can take your pick of just about any credit card you want.
This includes credit cards for good credit, as well as premium options reserved for those with the best credit scores.
Keep reading this article to know more about the hardest credit cards to get;
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Platinum Card from American Express
Platinum Card from American Express offers great travel perks and Uber rides and it is the first of the seven hardest credit cards to get we will be discussing in this article.
American Express is known for offering some of the most exclusive cars on the market. Aside from its “black card,” it also offers the Platinum Card from American Express, which provides cardholders access to an array of perks.
Members can use the American Express Global Lounge Collection℠, which includes access to more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries.
Other benefits include
Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber credits each year for Basic Card Members
Five Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 spent per calendar year, then one point per $1), and on prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com
But it has a high annual fee ($695).
Find a credit card that works for me
Centurion Card from American Express
It offers cardholders luxurious perks and benefits and it’s also one of the hardest credit cards to get out there.
Centurion Card from American Express, also known as the “black card,” has started some of the greatest urban legends in credit card history.
And to this day, it’s still shrouded in mystery. The American Express website provides little information about the eligibility requirements or the card benefits.
The perks of the card come at a hefty cost currently, there’s a $10,000 initiation fee and an annual fee of $5,000.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a mid-tier travel rewards card that earns bonus points on travel and dining purchases.
Users earn Ultimate Rewards points, valuable rewards that can be transferred to Chase travel partners.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the best credit card for Travel rewards and perks and is also one of the hardest credit cards to get.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a premium travel rewards card that earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on travel and dining purchases.
The card also comes with a plethora of travel perks, including an annual travel credit, airport lounge access, and trip insurance.
Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
The blue cash preferred card from American Express is best for U.S. supermarkets and streaming rewards.
The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express is one of the best everyday rewards cards around, offering 6% cashback on up to $6,000 in U.S. supermarkets purchases each year.
You’ll also earn 6% back on select streaming services, as well as 3% back on transit purchases and at U.S. gas stations. Terms apply.
The Platinum Card from American Express
The platinum card from American Express is the best credit card for Travel rewards and lounge access.
The Platinum Card from American Express is a top-rated travel card that offers high rewards rates on select hotel and airline purchases, as well as a ton of travel perks.
Users get annual credits with Uber, access to more than 1,300+ airport lounges, and hotel elite status. Select enrollment required, terms apply.
American Express Gold Card
The American Express Gold Card is the final on the list of hardest credit cards to get we will be discussing on this article. This card is best for restaurants and U.S. supermarkets rewards
The American Express Gold Card is ideal for foodies of all kinds, offering 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in eligible purchases), as well as 4x points per $1 at restaurants.
Users also get annual dining and Uber credits. Select enrollment required, terms apply.
What is an excellent credit score?
In general, you can consider your credit score to be excellent if it falls within the top 10% of the range for the scoring model being used.
That said, the exact definition of an excellent credit score can vary based on the model and lender.
The majority of lenders will use some version of a FICO Score when evaluating your credit. Most FICO Score models use a range of 300-850, with 850 being the highest possible score.
So, a FICO Score of 800 to 850 would definitely be considered an excellent credit score. However, in practice, any score over 780 will likely qualify you for most credit products.
Benefits of having an Excellent Credit Score
An excellent credit score comes with a ton of benefits, many of which can save you money. These benefits can include:
Easy approval for credit products: With an excellent credit score, you’ll likely be approved for most credit products, including premium credit cards and loans.
Of course, lenders look at more than just your credit score, so there’s no guarantee you’ll be approved, but it probably won’t be your credit that holds you back in these cases.
Lower interest rates and fees: Your credit score has a huge impact on the interest rate you’re charged by various credit products, including Credit cards and Mortgage loans.
The better your credit, the lower the interest rate you’ll be charged. This can easily save you thousands of dollars over the course of a loan, especially long-term loans like home mortgage loans.
Low or no down payments: Although we often associate credit scores with products like credit cards and loans, lots of places will check your credit before doing business with you. This can include apartment complexes, utility companies, and cell phone providers.
With excellent credit, you’re less likely to have to put down a deposit to open an account or obtain a rental; even if you do need to still make a deposit, chances are good that deposit will be much lower than required for applicants with lower credit scores.
Larger credit limits and loan amounts: Although your income certainly plays a role in how much credit you can get, having an excellent credit score will go a long way towards being approved for higher credit limits.
This can mean higher credit limits on your credit cards, as well as the ability to get approved for larger loans.
Some high-limit credit cards have been known to offer limits of $50,000 or more. Similarly, improving your credit score can go a long way towards increasing your credit limit for existing cards, too.
For example, if you want to earn travel rewards, you could choose one of the top-tier travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Platinum Card from American Express.
On the other hand, folks who want to maximize their everyday purchases would likely enjoy the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express or the American Express Gold Card.
With an excellent credit score, you can likely get approved for any of the best rewards credit cards on the market. Keep in mind, however, that your credit isn’t the only factor in approval.
A low income, too many recent new accounts, or too many cards with a single issuer could all lead to being denied a new card.
How to Get An Excellent Credit Score
Building an excellent credit score takes several years of responsible credit use, including paying your debts on time every month, keeping low balances, and being conscientious about opening new credit.
To get a better idea of what’s involved in understanding your credit score, let’s look at the five factors that go into your FICO Score calculation:
Payment history: Making your debt payments on time is the most important part of your credit score, and it is worth 35% of your FICO Score.
Any credit card or loan payment more than 30 days past due can be reported to the credit bureaus as delinquent, which will damage your credit scores.
To get full marks, be sure to make every credit card and loan payment on time, every single month. You can set up automatic payments on your debts to help ensure you never miss a payment.
Amounts owed: This is worth 30% of your FICO Score and it considers both how much total debt you have, as well as your credit utilization ratio, which is the combined credit limits of all your cards compared to how much in total you owe on your cards.
Your credit utilization ratio is calculated by dividing your balance by your available credit. For example, a credit card with a $1,000 balance and a $5,000 credit limit has a utilization rate of 20%: $1,000 / $5,000 = 0.2 = 20%.
Ideally, you want your utilization to stay below 10%. At the very least, avoid maxing out your credit cards, as that will cause your utilization to skyrocket and your credit scores to drop.
Credit history length: How long you’ve been building credit plays a big role in your credit score, weighing in for 15% of your score calculation. The longer your positive credit history, the better you’ll do in this factor.
Building credit early and keeping older credit card accounts open when possible are the best ways to improve this factor. Outside of that, it just takes time.
Credit mix: The entire point of your credit history and score is to show lenders you can responsibly handle credit.
One way to show this is with a healthy credit mix of different credit types, such as having both loans and credit cards.
Even having multiple credit cards can contribute to your credit mix, as it shows you can handle several lines of credit at one time.
New credit: Each time you apply for a new credit product, the lender will perform a hard credit check. These credit inquiries are logged on your credit report, as are any new accounts you open.
Having too many hard credit inquiries or too many new accounts on your report can indicate you plan to take on a lot of new debt, which makes lenders nervous.
The best way to keep this factor in good shape is to wait at least a few months between applications.
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CONCLUSION
Are the hardest credit cards to get worth it? While most of these hardest credit cards to get are unattainable for regular folks, they are available for wealthy individuals at the higher echelon of society.