Top perks
To its credit, the Mastercard® Black Card™ does offer some decent features.
Up to 2% back
The rewards structure on the Mastercard® Black Card™ is a little confusing. It earns 1 point for every $1 you spend, which is extremely low. Most good rewards credit cards offer either a higher flat rate or bonus categories.
You can, however, redeem rewards for $0.02 per point toward airfare or $0.015 per point toward cash back. If you go with airfare, you’re effectively getting 2% back on your spending. If you choose cash back, you’re getting 1.5% back. That’s still not great, but it’s at least better than a flat 1% return on your spending.
$100 annual airline credit
This card offers a $100 annual credit toward flight-related purchases, including airline tickets, baggage fees, upgrades, and more. Statement credits are automatically applied to eligible purchases.
Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit
A membership fee to either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck is covered by the Mastercard® Black Card™. When you pay with this card, you receive an automatic statement credit of up to $100 (the cost of Global Entry, which is more expensive). You’re eligible for the credit once every five years, coinciding with when you need to renew your membership.
These are both expedited security programs that save you time at the airport. Global Entry is the superior option, because a membership to that includes a membership to TSA PreCheck.
Airport lounge access
The Mastercard® Black Card™ comes with a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership that includes access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. The membership allows for unlimited visits for you and your guests, so if you travel frequently, it’s a nice benefit to have.
Luxury concierge service
Cardholders have 24/7 access to a Luxury Card Concierge that can assist with travel bookings, personal requests, and much more. Here are some of the many requests the concierge can handle:
- Making restaurant reservations
- Purchasing tickets to an event
- Booking an appointment at a spa
- Researching an area where you plan to live or visit on vacation
Mastercard offers
The following special offers from Mastercard are available with this card until Sept. 30, 2022:
- Three complimentary months of DashPass. To get this monthly subscription service from DoorDash, just use your Luxury Card to sign up as a new member. After the three months end, the membership will auto-renew at $9.99 per month, plus any applicable fees unless you cancel first.
- 5% back on HelloFresh. Enroll and use your Luxury Card to purchase a HelloFresh meal kit delivery plan and you’ll get 5% back to use toward your next HelloFresh delivery.
- Perks from ShopRunner. Get free two-day shipping and free returns on eligible purchases when you enroll for a complimentary ShopRunner membership with your Luxury Card.
- Fandango discounts. For every eligible Fandango purchase of $20 or more (excluding taxes and applicable fees) made with your Luxury Card, you’ll get a $5 reward code for a future eligible Fandango purchase.
- Lyft credits. Download the Lyft app, enroll your Luxury Card, and use it to pay for three eligible rides in a month to receive a $5 credit.
Purchase and travel protections
This credit card offers the following protections on eligible purchases:
- Cellphone protection against damage or theft when you pay your phone bill with your Luxury Card
- Baggage delay insurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Auto rental damage collision waiver
No foreign transaction fees
Like most travel credit cards, the Mastercard® Black Card™ doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee. You can use it outside the U.S. without paying extra.
What could be improved
There are several areas where the Mastercard® Black Card™ falls short of other card competitors.
$495 annual fee
The Mastercard® Black Card™ carries a $495 annual fee. That’s in line with what other high-end travel cards charge. The problem is that this Luxury Card doesn’t offer nearly as many benefits as its competitors do, so it doesn’t provide anything close to the value you could get from a better credit card. Make sure to browse other credit card reviews to see what else is out there.
No sign-up bonus
Many credit cards offer sign-up bonuses for new cardholders. A sign-up bonus is an introductory offer, such as 50,000 points if you spend $3,000 in the first three months. These types of offers are common among all cards, and expensive travel cards often have some of the most valuable sign-up bonuses you can find.
You won’t find any such offer with the Mastercard® Black Card™, and that’s a huge drawback. It’s one of the most expensive credit cards we’ve seen without a sign-up bonus. While the bonuses on other cards can be worth $500, $1,000, or more, you miss out on that kind of upfront value if you get this Luxury Card.
Low rewards rate
A rewards rate of just 1 point per $1 on every purchase isn’t even competitive for no annual fee credit cards anymore. For a card that costs $495 per year, it’s shockingly low.
The Mastercard® Black Card™ partially makes up for that by offering higher redemption values than most other cards. But it’s not enough to catch up to travel cards that have bonus categories where they earn anywhere from 3 to 5 points per $1. You’d almost certainly get more value from your everyday spending with a different credit card.
Few ways to redeem points
There are only two ways to redeem points with the Mastercard® Black Card™: airfare at $0.02 per point and cash back at $0.015 per point.
These are decent options, but they don’t measure up to the more versatile redemptions offered by other credit cards. Several cards earn points that you can either redeem for travel at a fixed rate, like you can with the Mastercard® Black Card™, or that you can transfer to different airline and hotel partners. This gives you much more flexibility, and it can also help you get more value for your travel rewards.
Here are a few of the top credit card rewards programs offering more ways to redeem rewards:
Limited spending credits
The spending credits on the Mastercard® Black Card™ are effectively worth $120 per year. You get $100 annually toward air travel and up to $100 every five years for a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck membership, which breaks down to $20 per year.
While that may seem good at a glance, it pales in comparison to what other cards in this price range offer. Cards that cost this much usually include $250 or more in yearly spending credits.
To give a couple examples, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a $300 annual travel credit and a $550 annual fee. The U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card has a $325 annual travel and dining credit for a $400 annual fee.
