Mastercard® Black Card™ review: High price tag for low rewards

The Mastercard Black Card offers an annual airline credit of up to $100 toward qualifying airline purchases. You also receive a credit of up to $120 for Global Entry, making you eligible for TSA PreCheck. Additionally, you can rest easy at a Priority Pass Select lounge, providing access to over 1,500 airport lounges in more than 500 cities worldwide.

The card provides 24/7 access to the Luxury Card Concierge — a service that assists you with tasks ranging from booking your travel and vacations to locating a must-have, hard-to-find gift for someone. If you’re traveling to one of the 3,000 featured properties, you’ll be treated to upgrades and services worth an average of up to $500. These properties include renowned brands such as Waldorf Astoria, Ritz-Carlton, Montage, The Peninsula Hotels and several others.

You might be able to offset the annual fee with these upgrades, but only if you plan to use them at one of its eligible hotels.

As an added bonus, you can download the Lyft app and link your Luxury Card. Lyft will automatically add a $5 Lyft credit to your account once you take three rides in a month and pay with your Luxury Card (one Lyft credit per calendar month). 

With the Mastercard Black Card, you have access to Mastercard's World Elite program and its exclusive suite of elite offers and partnerships. Popular retailers include ShopRunner (terms and conditions apply), Instacart, Peacock and Priceless Golf®. On top of that, you can book members-only experiences like unique sightseeing tours, spas and private dinners.

You'll also receive Mastercard Black's exclusive publication, LUXURY MAGAZINE, so you can stay updated on the latest in travel, fashion, real estate and more. These publications feature cover art from various artists, making them limited-edition collector’s items.

This card offers excellent travel protection: travel cancellation and interruption insurance, auto collision waiver, travel accident insurance and travel assistance (including medical and legal referral services). As a result, travel can be less stressful if something unexpected occurs.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers bonus rewards for dining, streaming services, online groceries, Lyft rideshare and travel with a relatively affordable annual fee. Unlike the Mastercard Black Card, you may easily offset the annual fee through rewards and its annual hotel credit. 

The Sapphire Preferred doesn’t have an introductory APR on purchases or balance transfers, and it lacks luxury perks like lounge access, However, it does come with a valuable welcome offer and account anniversary bonus points. If you’re the type of cardholder who values upfront rewards, prefers an affordable annual fee and can do without luxury, the Sapphire Preferred card may be the better choice for you.

If you are looking for a great travel card to accompany you on trips — whether they’re luxury getaways or casual escapes — the American Express Gold Card outshines the Mastercard Black Card in nearly every aspect.

The Amex Gold boasts an impressive 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year (then 1X points for the rest of the year) and 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year (then 1X points for the rest of the year). Plus 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or through AmexTravel.com.

It also comes with a lower $325 annual fee and a great welcome offer. While Amex points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for flights with Amex Travel, Bankrate values Amex points at around 2.0 cents each on average if you redeem with a high-value travel transfer partners. This gives Amex points a competitive value while earning about four times as many points as the Mastercard Black for select purchases.

In addition to its stellar rewards rates, the Amex Gold also comes with plenty of travel perks and other cardholder benefits that, if used, can easily offset the card’s annual fee. 

If you don’t mind keeping track of rewards tiers, the Chase Freedom Unlimited offers some of the best rewards rates for travel and other popular spending categories, all without an annual fee. This card also offers intro APRs for both purchases and balance transfers.

If you prefer a flat-rate card, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card boasts one of the highest rates with 2 percent cash rewards on purchases. You can take advantage of its purchase and balance transfer APRs , as well as some Visa Signature benefits. 

If you’re a traveler who flies often, you may find this card useful to keep in your wallet. With lounge access and opportunities to upgrade at select hotels, you can enjoy high-end experiences whether traveling for leisure or business. 

If you are looking for a luxury card and need to reduce debt, then the Mastercard Black may be an ideal choice. You can avoid interest for over a year without sacrificing elite perks and exclusive cardmember benefits. 

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Based on this data, we determine a “chargeable” spend (which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards). This includes the following spending by category:

• Groceries: $5,200
• Dining out: $3,000
• Entertainment: $2,500
• Gas: $2,100
• Apparel and services: $1,700

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 23 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 4 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

No, you do not need an exclusive invitation to apply for the Mastercard Black Card. For the best chances of approval, you will primarily need a positive credit history and a recommended credit score of excellent (800 to 850 on the FICO scale).

Cardholders are not permitted to request credit limits, but the minimum credit limit is typically high on a Mastercard Black card. Credit limits depend on your creditworthiness.

Yes, the Mastercard Black card is made of patented black, PVD-coated metal and weighs approximately 22 grams, giving it a satisfying “plink” factor that some consumers may appreciate.

No. While the Mastercard Black card offers some quality luxury benefits, it is not the most prestigious option available. The title is reserved for the Centurion® Card from American Express, also known as the Amex Black card.

Information about the Centurion Card from American Express has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.