Mastercard® Black Card™ review: High price tag for low rewards
“Mastercard Black: a high annual fee luxury travel card designed for the person who values unique concierge services” – Erica Sandberg
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Snapshot
2.9
Bottom line
This luxury card aims to embody the mystique of exclusive, invitation-only cards, but misses the mark. While it comes with some luxury perks, the card’s price tag is too high considering its limited rewards.
Balance transfer intro APR
0% intro APR for the first 15 billing cycles following each balance transfer that posts to your account within 45 days of account opening. After that, the APR will be 20.74% to 28.74%, based on your creditworthiness. There is a fee for balance transfers.
Regular APR
20.74% to 28.74%
Rewards rate
1X - 2%
Annual fee
$495 ($195 for each Authorized User added to the account)
Bankrate Score
Rewards value
APR
Rewards flexibility
Features
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Mastercard® Black Card™ Overview
The Mastercard Black Card is part of the Mastercard Luxury Card trio, including the Mastercard® Titanium Card™ and Mastercard® Gold Card™. These luxury cards are packed with travel perks and access to numerous upgrades. And while this luxury travel credit card is impressive to feel — it weighs 22 grams and is made from patented black-PVD-coated metal — its annual fee is just as substantial, amounting to $495 per year (plus $195 for each authorized user).
However, the rewards rate offers minimal everyday value, placing a large incentive on airfare redemptions. Even if you maximize the value of your redemptions, you’ll find it challenging to offset the nearly $500 annual fee. Average cardholders will almost certainly be better served by a travel card with a lower annual fee, especially if you take advantage of airline and hotel transfer partners.
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Rewards
- 1 point for every $1 spent
Expert Appraisal: Weak
See our expert analysis -
0% intro APR offer
- Balance transfer intro APR: 0 percent intro APR on balance transfers made within the first 45 days for 15 billing cycles
- Regular ongoing APR: 20.74 percent to 28.74 percent (variable)
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- Annual fee: $495
- Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5 percent of the amount of each transfer (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Global Entry and TSA PreCheck® application credit
- Annual airline credit
- Priority Pass™ Select Airport Lounge access
- Luxury Card Travel® program
- Comprehensive travel insurance
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
Mastercard Black pros and cons
Pros
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It offers attractive travel perks, such as an annual airline credit, extensive airport lounge access and concierge services.
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This card’s intro APR might be ideal for high-earning debt reducers.
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You'll have access to elite experiences, such as exclusive PGA TOUR® events, private dining and meet-and-greets.
Cons
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Given the low rewards rate on this card, it will take longer to accumulate significant earnings compared to other travel cards.
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The high annual fee may be impractical for the everyday spender.
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The intro APR offer doesn’t apply to purchases, so the regular APR is immediately applied to any new purchases and carried over each month.
Why you might want the Mastercard Black
Not many high-end travel cards come with introductory APR offers, making the Mastercard Black a great choice for debt consolidators. Plus, you can take advantage of numerous luxury perks that can enhance your travel experience.
Intro balance transfer APR: Good option to help manage debt
Frequent travelers who would like temporary relief from interest charges while enjoying exclusive travel perks might consider this card. The Mastercard Black Card offers a 0 percent intro balance transfer APR for the first 15 billing cycles. Afterward, the variable APR is 20.74 percent to 28.74 percent. Balance transfers must be made within the first 45 days, and a balance transfer fee applies, but the APR length is reasonable if you need some time to pay down debt.
Not many luxury travel cards offer intro APR offers, so it’s a welcomed feature on the Mastercard Black. However, the card’s annual fee and balance transfer fee will increase your total payoff amount, impacting how much you save consolidating debt with this card. It can still be an option for high-earners who want a card that holds value after they pay down their debt.
Luxury perks: Access to Priority Pass Select lounges and World Elite program
Luxury cards wouldn’t be luxurious without cardholder perks. Several travel benefits and gifts are worth noting with the Mastercard Black. Some of these perks carry real value, while others complement the unique lifestyle of people who seek luxury.
Why you might want a different travel card
The Mastercard Black Card's biggest drawbacks are its high annual fee and low rewards rate. Rival cards offer faster ways to earn rewards at a significantly lower yearly cost.
Rewards: Low rate for a luxury travel card
You might expect a luxury card to have a superior rewards program. But the Mastercard Black earns rewards at a remarkably low flat rate for a card in its class: For every $1 you spend on purchases, you will earn 1 point. You can stretch your points’ value by redeeming them through the Luxury Card rewards site. Notably, when booking airline travel, the rewards value increases to 2 cents per point, surpassing the value offered by most travel cards.
However, even though you can get double the redemption value for airfare, this is unlikely to be enough to compensate for the card’s low rewards rate. Many top flat-rate travel and cash back cards offer higher rates and better value. You could fare even better with a tiered rewards card. Cards like the no-annual-fee Bilt Mastercard® earn elevated rewards for dining and travel, as well as a flat rate on rent. Also, according to Bankrate's latest valuation, Bilt reward points are worth on average 2.1 cents with the right transfer partner, even more than the Mastercard Black’s points.
Rates and fees: High annual fee might be too costly
Travel perks and rewards are going to come at a cost with this card. The Mastercard Black has a pricey annual fee of $495 and a $195 fee for each authorized user. Due to the card's low rewards rate, offsetting the annual fee might be a struggle, even with its travel perks.
Some luxury black cards have annual fees in the thousands, so this may sound like a bargain to some cardholders, but the average consumer might find this cost hard to justify.
How the Mastercard Black compares to other travel cards
While the Mastercard Black Card technically falls into the luxury card category, we've compared it to other premium travel cards since the card’s numerous travel benefits make it similar to a travel credit card. Plus unlike most luxury cards, you need to apply for it instead of receiving an invitation.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
2% value for airfare redemption with no airline or seat restrictions and no blackout dates. Flat-rate redemption value of 1.5% for cash back. Earn one point for every one dollar spent.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.
Rewards rate
5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠. 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries. 2x on all other travel purchases. 1x on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Rewards rate
Earn 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. Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Best cards to pair with the Mastercard Black Card
If you hold the Mastercard Black Card and want to maximize your rewards strategy, you might pair it with a no-annual-fee card that offers a 0 percent introductory APR on purchases. This way, you’ll have the best of both introductory worlds — intro APR on purchases and balance transfers. You might also consider a card with a more lucrative rewards rate to complement the Mastercard Black.
Who is the Mastercard Black right for?
This card is ideal for frequent travelers, especially those looking to travel in style or needing help managing existing credit card debt.
Bankrate’s take — Is the Mastercard Black Card worth it?
You’ll have the best chance of getting your money’s worth from this expensive card if you travel to one or more of its featured 3,000 properties throughout the year and take advantage of the estimated up to $500 in upgrades with each stay. Using the card’s travel credits can also help offset its cost.
That said, this card's value stems from its unique perks and luxury benefits. If you can’t use these benefits, it might be wise to consider other travel or luxury cards.
How we rated this card
We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.
Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:
Frequently asked questions
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.