Pros and Cons of Australian Gold and Platinum Credit Cards

If you've received application forms through the mail for gold and platinum credit cards then chances are the credit card company already knows roughly what your income is and that you have spending power!

But what are the pros and cons to be on the look out for with these cards aimed at higher earning Australians?

The Pros

These cards were essentially designed to give you the warm fuzzy feeling that you've made it into the excusive "elite" club! You earn enough to receive a high credit limit to match your spending power! While it may be a trivial feature to many, the status symbol element is not to be under-estimated.

The perks can also be pretty impressive with a platinum or gold credit card. Offers such as free domestic or international travel insurance, a concierge service, airport lounge access, purchase insurance, free home contents insurance, refund protection or a cost match guarantee are quite normal with these cards.

Depending on which way you look at it, another plus with these cards is that the credit limit is high. If you're not very disciplined this may be a negative, but for most people it gives them great spending power which they appreciate. Sometimes there may even be no credit limit.

Often the interest rates are relatively low with gold and platinum credit cards, as you are perceived as low risk, being a high earner with a good credit history.

The Cons

Qualification with these cards doesn’t come easily. Your credit history has to be almost perfect and you'll usually need to earn a salary of $40,000 or more – the requirements are usually made quite clear before you submit an application.

The annual fee is often very high with gold and platinum credit cards. This may be around $250, but can be even higher.

There are a lot of perks with these credit cards – as listed above – but they are only perks if you actually use them. It's no good having great free services unless they are useful for you.

Overall with platinum or gold credit card you will need to balance the higher fees with the applicability of the perks if you want to choose well. For example, if you’re a frequent traveler who can use the concierge service and free international travel insurance then you may not object to the high annual fee, but why pay a high fee if you will seldom use your card and you rarely travel outside of your home town?

For more information regarding gold credit card, Australian credit cards and credit card applications, please visit: www.lowerbills.com.au