The USA loves a metal credit card, with consumers hunting them down to add a little bit of luxury to their wallet. But do we have any metal credit cards in the UK? Or are metal cards about to storm the market? Maybe our card providers are missing a trick…
Are there any metal credit cards in the UK?
The short answer to this is not really, unless you are an American Express Centurion Card holder. Also known as the Amex black card, this exclusive credit card requires you to spend an estimated £200,000 a year on your Platinum American Express before you are eligible to receive an invitation for the titanium credit card. But unless you have an annual income of around £1 million, it is unlikely that you have come across a metal credit card in this country.
Why would I want a metal credit card?
That is a very good question. In reality a metal credit card is nothing but a status symbol. In terms of what you are getting as a consumer, there isn’t anything different in terms of the rates or introductory offers you receive. The only difference is that, previously, metal credit cards were the more expensive cards that carried hefty annual fees but also offered generous rewards and travel perks.
However, the tide is turning in the USA, with metal credit cards becoming more widely available. As of 2018 there were three no-annual-fee metal credit cards available, with the popularity of such cards soaring among millennials. In a world where what you have and can show off on social media drives a substantial number of purchasing decisions (there are 67,900+ views on The Points Guy’s YouTube video of him unboxing the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card), style and luxury are becoming key selling points for credit cards. Providers such as Wells Fargo, Amazon, Capital One and Chase all have metal credit cards on the market in the USA, not forgetting the original pioneer of metal credit cards, American Express.
Are metal credit cards making their way to the UK?
Currently you can get metal cards from prepaid card brands such as Revolut and N26. The newly launched Curve, from a financial company offering one card that will combine all your existing credit card accounts and store your card numbers in a mobile app, provides customers with a ‘beautifully brushed metal card’. Other than that, none of the major credit card providers have taken to metal cards.
The reality is, unless there is an appetite among consumers for such a card, it’s unlikely we’ll see one on the market. It could be that new card providers looking to shake up the industry and offer something different will use metal credit cards as a way to make a statement. However, as consumers are looking to streamline their lives, and more and more of us are using our mobiles to store our credit card information, are metal credit cards really going to take off? All they are is something to show off in your wallet or on Instagram. As a credit card user you have to ask yourself, does the material your card is made of really matter to you?
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