Platinum credit cards are top of the line

Perks such as celebrity golf outings, free travel insurance, priority reservations at top restaurants and emergency access to a doctor in a remote area can be yours with a platinum credit card.
Introduced by credit card innovators American Express as a charge card and now offered by most financial institutions, platinum has taken over from gold in the premium credit card stakes to become the essential wallet accessory for the well-to-do and upwardly mobile.
And it's never been easier to go platinum as many financial institutions no longer apply annual income limits, to the point where the average Joe is likely to qualify if his credit rating is up to scratch.
But with annual fees ranging from $89 to $395 a year (or $900 a year in the case of Amex's platinum charge - as opposed to credit - card), are these credit cards good value for money or simply a piece of plastic with which to stroke one's ego?
VALUE FOR BIG SPENDERS WHO USE CREDIT CARDS
The best way to assess whether it is worth upgrading to platinum is to weigh up the value of the perks on offer against the annual fee being charged. Interest rates vary, but it's the "extras" that make platinum credit cards different.
But comparing perks isn't that easy. How much you spend on your card each year and the lifestyle you lead have a huge bearing on whether you can take full advantage of the rewards or benefits on offer.
The latest credit card survey by financial researcher Cannex shows the best value-for-money platinum cards for big spenders (categorised as those who spend up to $60,000 a year on their credit card but are able to pay off their balance each month) are offered by StGeorge, Citibank, Commonwealth Bank, HSBC and Westpac.
LOW FEES SUIT LOW SPENDERS
If your annual expenditure is unlikely to exceed more than about $12,000 a year or $1000 a month, then it may be better to choose a low-fee, service-oriented card where you don't have the pressure of having to rack up points to take advantage of a reward program.
While it also rates well for high spenders, the low-fee platinum card offered by St George offers a concierge service (see breakout), free international travel insurance and other benefits, but little in the way of a rewards program. Consumers weighing up the benefits of this card have to ask themselves if they are prepared to pay $89 a year to access a concierge service and the other benefits.
For many the answer is yes, says Sabina Zeljko, senior manager, credit cards, for StGeorge, who says its platinum concierge service is the same as most concierge services because MasterCard and Visa mandate a level of service that all card issuers have to meet.
Zeljko says while only a small percentage of St George platinum cardholders have taken advantage of the concierge service (the card was only launched in December), she expects numbers to grow.
Madeline O'Connor, head of cards marketing for Citibank, says those that have used the Citibank's concierge service once tend to become regular users.
WITH PLATINUM CREDIR CARDS
Compared with weighing up the merit of a concierge service, it's a much more tricky exercise to work out the true value of the rewards-based programs. "You need to know yourself and know the product," says Cannex financial analyst Harry Senlitonga.
He agrees that this is more easily said than done. For a start, the amount you need to spend to gain frequent flyer points varies, as does the value of frequent flyer points with different airlines.
Moreover, Reserve Bank reforms allowing merchants to apply surcharges to credit-card transactions have diluted the value of some programs, and some point systems have expiry dates.
But, importantly for those considering upgrading to platinum from gold, some platinum programs are more generous than the gold and the extra points you earn may compensate for paying a higher annual fee.
Cannex figures show American Express offers the most generous platinum reward program for free air travel. Not only do holders of an Amex platinum credit card qualify for a free domestic flight each year, but they (and holders of the Westpac Altitude Platinum Amex card) also need spend only $10,667 to qualify for a Sydney or Melbourne return trip to London on Qantas.
This compares with an annual expenditure of about $16,000 required by most gold cards, as well as most of the other platinum cards for free domestic Qantas flights.
Meanwhile, Amex platinum cardholders wanting to qualify for a free overseas trip need only rack up an annual expenditure of $85,333, compared with more than $120,000 for most of the other cards.
INSTANT GRATIFICATION WITH PLATINUM CREDIT CARDS
When it comes to "instant" benefits, such as free travel insurance, going platinum starts to look like a smart move for those who travel overseas at least once a year.
A recent study by Cannex found that cardholders could save hundreds of dollars a year by using the travel insurance packages on offer. "Most people used to assume that the travel insurance offered by credit card companies was inferior to the stand-alone product, but we found that the platinum cards were very competitive in this area," Senlitonga says.
That said, there are significant differences between the travel insurance offered by the various platinum cards. Senlitonga says to carefully read the fine print.
So what card does Senlitonga carry? "For me, gold is good enough until I spend more than my current expenditure of about $1000 a month."
You can see the cannex web site for a more detailed comparison of credit cards.
$900 a year gets jacket from Paris.
Despite forking out about $4500 in fees since he became an American Express platinum charge card holder in 2002, Giang Nguyen (pictured) is convinced the card offers excellent value for money.
An IT executive who frequently travels overseas, he uses the card's complimentary concierge service at least once a week.
The 34-year-old single Melburnian has called on the service to arrange tickets for a Cirque de Soleil performance in Las Vegas, ringside seats at the Australian Tennis Open, entry to London nightclubs and flower deliveries to overseas hotel rooms.
"There doesn't seem to be anything the concierges can't do," says Nguyen, who has come to rely on the service in the same way many executives rely on their personal assistants.
Nguyen uses the concierge team for personal shopping - they recently organised for a Hermes jacket to be sent from Paris when his size was unavailable in Australia. Nguyen says these services coupled with the Amex rewards program means he can justify paying the card's annual fee of $900.
He carries other credit cards to overcome the problem of the Amex card being less widely accepted than MasterCard and Visa.
And he isn't fazed when some merchants charge him an additional transaction fee (which on occasions is as high as three per cent).
"This is a small inconvenience," he says.
Source: The AGE