There once was a time I was rich, but never famous as I traveled internationally four times a year for business. Each destination hosted loads of other folks who wanted to learn about the next money making idea in the global financial markets.
With me was an American Express corporate card where I could expense relatively freely to the tune of ~$50,000 a year. The card provided travel insurance, access to airport lounges, concierge services, and more. 50K may sound like a lot, but that’s nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands in expenses I hear from some Black Card spenders!
I don’t have as much coming in anymore given I’m just a personal finance blogger, but I do have a lot of freedom. It’s a tradeoff many will take at some point in their lives. Given my desire to simplify things, I’ve only got one personal credit card, which is the Citi ThankYou Card. There’s no annual fee and all my spending is concentrated here to maximize my rewards points.
Since we live in the land of consumerism where we want things and we want them now, I thought it’d be a good idea to do a post for all you Black Card aspirees out there. Some get Black Cards just for its status symbol. Meanwhile, other people are a little less vain and use their Black Card for better access and service. Whatever the case, I’d like to introduce my guidelines for those who can and should not get a Black Card.
I was having lunch with a buddy of mine when he whipped out his foot long man wallet to pay the bill. “Whoah!” I said. “Where do you keep that thing?”
A reader asked on my post, 
I don’t discuss too much about credit cards on Financial Samurai because I’ve only got three (a travel rewards card, a generic rewards card, and a corporate card) and nothing much happens except for racking up rewards points. Definitely use a credit card for convenience, safety, rewards points, and insurance protection if you can control yourself. But if you’re not careful, thanks to the ease of use and absurdly high interest rates, problems may ensue. 
FICO gave a small peek behind the curtain at how their scoring model works and showed just how much mortgage delinquencies affect your credit score. The example they gave drew attention to three different FICO scores on the higher end of the spectrum (680, 720, and 780) and how one late payment of 30 days affected each score.
I am an opponent of consumer debt because the interest rates that credit cards charge are usurious when compared to the government bond yield of ~2.8%. If you are going to use a credit card, please pay it off in full every month or you’re just lighting your money on fire. This ain’t Vegas where everybody is making it rain in the clubs you know!
Several years ago, I put around $35,000 on my one and only credit card thanks to a home remodeling project and a new watch purchase. My “reward” was a 1% rebate towards my home mortgage, which is not bad considering $350 paid to principal is thousands in interest savings over the life of the loan.
