7 Best Metal Credit Cards (Sep. 2023)

Metal credit cards first hit the market in 1999, when the invitation-only Centurion Card from American Express (a.k.a. the Black Card) was introduced.

Invitees were required to pay a $7,500 initiation fee and a $2,500 annual fee to add the ultra-premium card to their wallets. The Black Card still ranks among the world’s most exclusive credit cards, if not the most exclusive credit card to this day.

Just about every other card issuer today has followed suit by ditching the plastic in favor of metal for their best card offers. Below, we’ll break down every metal credit card available we could find — most of which don’t require an invitation to apply.

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The following credit cards offer cardholders generous rewards that include lucrative cash back, points, and air miles, as well as purchase protections and other perks that can make a metal card a worthwhile member of your financial portfolio.

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

at Chase'ssecure website

BEST OVERALL RATING

★★★★★

4.9

OVERALL RATING

4.9/5.0

Our Review »

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, and 2x on all other travel purchases, and $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, plus more.
• Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024.
• Member FDIC

• See application, terms and details.

Intro (Purchases)	Intro (Transfers)	Regular APR	Annual Fee	Credit Needed
N/A	N/A	21.49%-28.49% Variable	$95	Good/Excellent

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is our top choice and one of the best rewards card offerings on the market. The annual fee for this 13-gram card is pretty low relative to the perks it provides.

Aside from its lucrative welcome bonus offer, this card offers Chase Ultimate Rewards bonus points on travel and dining and the ability to get 25% more value for your points when you redeem them for travel deals. Cardholders can also transfer their Chase Ultimate Rewards points to many popular airline loyalty programs to get them on their next trip faster and more affordably.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card weighs 16 grams but is much lighter on your wallet with a low annual fee and great travel rewards possibilities.

Cardholders earn unlimited rewards miles that they can use to erase all, or part, of recent travel-related expenses. Since you use your miles to cover previous charges, you do not have to worry about blackout dates or carrier restrictions.

3. Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card

This card is currently not available.

Best Overall Rating

★★★★★

N/A

OVERALL RATING

N/A

Intro (Purchases)	Intro (Transfers)	Regular APR	Annual Fee	Credit Needed
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Additional Disclosure: Information for this card not reviewed by or provided by Capital One.

The Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card is one of the most affordable — and lucrative metal cards on this list. This 17-gram card can unlock one of the highest cash back rewards rates on the market for dining and entertainment purchases.

The card offers several perks for foodies who want to dine out or flex their culinary skills in their own kitchens. The cash back alone makes this card well worth the price of admission.

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card is a 13-gram beauty that can supercharge your Amazon Prime account by adding extra perks and discounts beyond those already available to members. Without a Prime account, though, this card is mostly good looks without much utility.

With the card, Prime members can earn bonus cash back on purchases made on Amazon.com or at Whole Foods Market, and a higher-than-average cash back rate on restaurant, gas station, and drugstore purchases. Prime members can also unlock massive cash back savings on rotating Amazon quarterly categories.

The 15-gram American Express® Gold Card heaps on plenty of food-based rewards in a credit card sector that normally focuses on travel. But even if you are not a foodie, this card has plenty of power under the hood.

Cardholders can earn bonus points on dining and groceries as well as extra points on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. All other purchases earn competitive points rates as well as monthly statement credits for dining charges.

The U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card is a 12-gram card offering from a quickly-growing bank in the credit card industry.

Just about every credit card — either a metal card or a plastic card — with this type of reward structure charges an annual fee, but not this offering. The Go Visa Signature® Card helps you earn bonus points while enjoying an introductory APR on new purchases and balance transfers. After that, the ongoing variable APR starts much lower than the industry average.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card helps cardholders get on their next Delta flight much faster, thanks to the bonus miles possibilities on qualifying purchases. You can also take advantage of a $100 Global Entry or TSA Pre✔ Fee Credit as long as your account remains active.

And unlike other co-branded cards, this offering is not all about Delta. The card also offers elevated miles earnings on restaurant, dine-in, take out, and delivery as well as grocery store spending.

Mac and iPhone enthusiasts love the Apple Card for more than just its sleek design, 15 grams of titanium weight, and lack of an annual fee. This card can also unlock cash back rewards at an elevated rate when you shop through Apple or one of its partners — including Nike, Panera Bread, T Mobile, and Walgreens.

You can also use the card to pay for all of your Apple and iPhone hardware purchases over time, without interest — a much better deal than through Apple Pay. That means you can stay up to date with the latest tech without having to come up with a big payment each time a new device comes to the market.

Verizon customers are well-served with the Verizon Visa® Card — a 17.28-gram offering from Synchrony Financial that provides great savings for Verizon Wireless customers.

As a new cardholder, you can earn a statement credit that is spread over your first 24 months with the card when you use your card to pay your monthly bill. You can also earn another monthly statement credit as a new enrollee to Verizon’s Auto Pay program. Eligible purchases can also earn Verizon Dollars rewards to use toward your monthly bill, a new phone, or accessories.

The Luxury Card™ Mastercard® Titanium Card™ specializes in travel perks. You’ll get the most value from this card by redeeming your rewards for airfare.

Luxury Card also supplies cardholders with 24/7 card concierge services on this 22-gram brushed stainless steel front and carbon-backed card. The design is part of 64 patents owned by the issuer that focuses on cutting-edge metal credit card construction.

The following metal credit cards are for well-heeled consumers with excellent credit. These cards charge high annual fees and come with the very best perks you can get from a credit card, especially when it comes to travel benefits.

Chase is known for its high end luxury card options and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is no slouch in that department. At 13 grams, the Sapphire Reserve card is worth more than its weight in rewards.

Frequent travelers will appreciate the annual travel credit, bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel and dining worldwide, and 50% more value when you redeem points for travel.

The Platinum Card® from American Express is a 17-gram credit card that charges a competitive annual fee. Depending upon your shopping habits, you can make up for that fee in just a few months.

Amex Platinum cardholders can earn statement credits each month to cover the cost of certain U.S. streaming subscriptions and wireless phone services that are charged to the card. You can also earn monthly credit to spend toward Uber rides or Uber Eats deliveries and even more annual statement credits for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue of Saks.com.

Weighing it at 17 grams, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card allows you to quickly earn your annual fee back through the annual travel and anniversary credits.

This Capital One card makes for a compelling offer in the premium card market.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is a 15-gram premium travel card that especially benefits fans of Marriott hotels, where they’ll earn the most points on purchases. In addition to lucrative rewards, cardholders also receive an annual travel statement credit, a free night award after each account anniversary, and an annual property credit.

Jetsetters may be happy to hear they’ll also receive Priority Pass Select lounge access, fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck, and baggage insurance with his card, among other perks.

The U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card checks in at 16.25 grams. You can earn nearly twice the amount of the card’s annual fee as a new cardholder if you reach certain spending thresholds within your first 90 days with the card to earn a welcome bonus travel credit.

After that, you can earn bonus points for travel booked through the Altitude Rewards Center and an annual credit for travel purchases made through the card.

At 15 grams, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card helps cardholders rack up Delta SkyMiles in a hurry — including bonus miles on every dollar spent on select Delta purchases.

This card offers complimentary seat upgrades and admission to the Delta Sky Club®, as well as a Global Entry or TSA Pre✔ fee credit that can help you breeze through security.

The City National Crystal® Visa Infinite® Credit Card from City National Bank is a rare luxury card that is issued by a consumer-based bank. The 14-gram card definitely has perks that few bank plastic card options can match.

Start with City National Rewards® Points for every dollar spent, combined with an airline incidental fees statement credit and a complimentary lounge club membership fee statement credit, and you can quickly recoup your annual fee through the initial perks.

American Airlines loyalists will have no problem carrying on the 18-gram Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®. But the perks aren’t only available in the air, as this credit card also provides American Airlines Admirals Club® membership.

As you’d expect, most of the card’s benefits revolve around American Airlines — including bonus miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, priority boarding on American Airlines flights, and a free first checked bag on all domestic American Airlines itineraries.

Eligible HSBC Premier account holders may qualify for the 17-gram HSBC Elite Credit Card, which offers pretty hefty perks.

As with many other cards on this list, the World Elite Card’s rewards focus heavily on travel, with bonus points on travel-related purchases, an annual air travel credit, discounts on reservations made through Expedia, Agoda, or OneFineStay, as well as airport lounge access to more than 1,000 locations around the globe.

The Luxury Card™ Mastercard® Black Card™ features a black PVD coated metal surface. As a Luxury Card issued credit card, you get the perks you would expect from this prestigious brand.

Rewards are most valuable when redeemed for airfare. Cardholders also receive an annual airline credit and 24/7 Luxury Card concierge service.

The Luxury Card™ Mastercard® Gold Card™ is a 24K gold-plated credit card that weighs in at 22 grams. While you’d expect a high-end rewards card for that fee, this card is actually quite light on the rewards, but heavy on the perks.

The card includes enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select with access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide with no guest limit, an annual airline credit toward qualifying airline purchases, and a Global Entry application fee credit, among several other perks travelers can get excited about.

The following credit cards are for business owners who wish to tout their business success with a metal credit card. There aren’t many metal business credit cards available, but at least one charges no annual fee while the others could easily fit in with the premium cards above.

American Express is known for its great rewards cards and exclusive cardholder experiences — and Business Platinum Card® from American Express is no exception. This card requires that you pay your balance in full each month. Certain purchases could qualify for additional pay-over-time privileges.

Cardholders also receive an annual Dell Technologies statement credit and further monthly statement credits for U.S. purchases for shipping and wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers. All purchases qualify for bonus rewards points and every cardholder receives an annual airline credit and access to 1,200 airport lounges with the American Express Global Lounge Collection™.

Business owners may enjoy the attention the 14-gram Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card receives — but they like the fact that they can earn big time rewards for purchases they make even more.

For starters, cardholders can choose between cash back or 90 days of interest-free financing on U.S. purchases made at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com, or Whole Foods Market. An Amazon Prime membership is required to take advantage of the extended financing or bonus cash back offers.

The American Express® Business Gold Card weighs a solid 15 grams and helps business owners maximize their rewards in the categories their business spends the most in. This card offers a pay over time option that gives cardholders the flexibility to pay for their purchases over time (with interest). This is a new feature, as all premium Amex cards used to require cardholders to pay their balance in full each billing cycle.

As with most business cards, you’ll get employee cards, year-end spending summaries, account alerts, and online statements, among other features that make managing business finances easier.

Metal credit cards work exactly like the plastic card options that populate the wallets of most consumers. They offer contactless payment options and EMV chip capabilities for the highest security. These cards are typically made of some type of metal — be it titanium, carbon, or brushed stainless steel — but they are more than just a pretty display piece.

Most banks save their metal cards for high-end offerings with the best rewards and perks. The high cost of manufacturing these cards, as well as the cost of the rewards, often means that you will have to pay a larger annual fee for the card.

Many metal cards have annual fees of between $300 and $500, but a few toward the top of our list have no annual fee at all.

Most consumers shy away from cards with an annual fee, thinking that they can get similar value from a $0 annual fee card, but that certainly isn’t always the case.

For example, a card may charge a $400 annual fee, but it also gives every cardholder a $325 annual travel credit that nearly pays back the annual fee. Add in the potential rewards and other perks, and you can usually come out ahead with these cards when you pay your balance each month and avoid interest charges.

Some metal credit cards — including the infamous Amex Black Card and J.P. Morgan Reserve® cards — only accept applications from consumers it invites to apply for the card. The “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” mentality is part of what makes these cards so exclusive and sought after.

Thankfully, plenty of other metal credit cards accept online applications through their website or over the phone. By following the links to each card listed above, you can find application information for each card.

Just keep in mind that most metal rewards credit card products require a very good to excellent credit score for consideration. That means a FICO score of at least 740 with no recent late payments or other negative items that could impact your credit score.

While the Amex Black Card gets all of the press and adulation, you can get similarish rewards from a metallic credit card with far fewer spending requirements and annual fee payments.

We like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which gives you access to one of the best redemption portals — Chase Ultimate Rewards. The card also provides travel and purchase coverage protections, partner benefits, and a very competitive interest rate.

Many of the cards on this list are co-branded credit cards, meaning that they are issued by a bank in partnership with another company. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, for example, is issued by Citi in partnership with American Airlines.

As you’d expect, this card rewards you for purchases with American Airlines. You won’t get the top rewards if you book a flight with Delta using this card.

But the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has no co-branded partnerships. Instead, you can use your earned miles to pay for all or part of a recently charged travel-related expense, so you don’t have to worry about blackout dates or carrier restrictions.

The U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card is the no-annual-fee version of the Altitude card series. But don’t let the lack of an annual fee distract you from the rewards you can earn.

With the potential to earn generous rewards and a 0% introductory APR on new purchases and balance transfers, it’s quite surprising this card doesn’t charge some type of fee for membership. And even after your introductory period ends, this card still charges one of the lowest ongoing interest rates of any card on this list.

Metal credit cards have a striking look. Some people enjoy taking out a heavy credit card that draws attention and using it to pay for a purchase. A plastic credit card doesn’t draw that same kind of attention.

Aside from their appearance, metal credit cards also typically provide some of the best rewards credit card benefits and access to exclusive clubs, including airport lounges and other member-only areas.

That said, several plastic credit card options on the market have lower annual fees and similarly lucrative rewards programs. And, since a plastic credit card costs less to produce than a metallic credit card, you will not have to worry about paying higher costs to add the card to your wallet.

But if you are a frequent traveler — be it for personal or business purposes — and prefer to vacation in style, you may find that a metal credit card can give you tremendous rewards options and lounge access that you simply cannot get with a traditional credit card.

Since American Express issued the first metal credit card in 1999, several banks have jumped on the bandwagon and released their own premium credit card.

Among the banks that issue metal credit cards are:

• American Express
• Capital One
• Chase
• Wells Fargo
• U.S. Bank
• Luxury Card
• Citi
• City National Bank
• HSBC

We will continue to update this list as banks revamp their credit card offerings to adapt to the competition and the demand in the marketplace. That means new premium card options will eventually reach the public — with some even going beyond the standard metal credit card.

The Luxury Card™ Mastercard® Gold Card™, for instance, is a 24K gold-plated credit card. If consumers take to that kind of card, you can bet that other banks will jump on board — and try to find something even more extravagant to attract new customers.

The JP Morgan Reserve card weighs in at a whopping 27 grams. To put that in perspective, the average plastic credit card — with an EMV chip — weighs approximately 5 grams.

The card, formerly known as the Palladium Card, is minted out of brass and plated with palladium — a metal that currently is valued at almost twice the price of gold. That even beats a platinum credit card made of platinum.

The premium credit card also features laser engraving throughout the card, giving it a truly unique presentation and ensuring the card will certainly stand out.

The card is not for everyone though. This is an invitation-only offering (hence why it’s not on our list) for clients of JP Morgan Private Bank who have at least $10 million in investable assets. After all, palladium is not cheap.

(Non-Monetized. The information related to J.P. Morgan Reserve® was collected by CardRates.com and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product. Product details may vary. Please see issuer website for current information. Product details may vary. Please see issuer website for current information. CardRates.com does not receive commission for this product/card.)

When a new credit card comes in the mail, you typically reach for some scissors or a shredding machine and make confetti out of your old card.

That is a little more difficult when you have a credit card made of metal. You may want to hold onto any card that is plated in precious metal, such as gold or palladium. But if you have a standard steel or titanium card, you have several options for disposal.

• Send it back to the card issuer: Most banks will accept expired or closed credit cards and recycle the metal to make new cards.
• Return it to your local bank branch: If you do not want to send your old credit card through the mail, you can hand-deliver it to your local bank for safe and secure destruction.
• Tin snips: This handy little tool can make short work of most metal credit cards. You can easily cut through metal with some tin snips just as you would cut up a plastic credit card with scissors.

However you decide to dispose of your metal card, just remember that you should keep it out of the paper shredder, or you may be buying a new paper shredder. On the bright side, that purchase will get you closer to a welcome bonus with the new card.

What this list has shown is that metal credit cards are available for every budget, as more issuers get in on the trend and start making their own metallic offerings. Whether you want to avoid paying an annual fee altogether or you’re okay with coughing up $1,000 a year for a fancy credit card, you have a lot of options, and those options are only going to become more plentiful.

We hope this guide “7 Best Metal Credit Cards (Sep. 2023)” has been a helpful resource for you in learning more about your financial options. In this guide, we’ve covered:

• Best Metal Credit Cards
• Best Premium Metal Credit Cards
• Best Business Metal Credit Cards
• What is a Metal Credit Card?
• How Do I Get a Metal Credit Card?
• What is the Best Metal Credit Card?
• What is the Best Metal Credit Card with No Annual Fee?
• Are Metal Credit Cards Better?
• Which Card Companies Issue Metal Cards?
• What is the Heaviest Metal Credit Card?
• How Do You Properly Dispose of a Metal Credit Card?
• Metal Credit Cards Are Becoming Increasingly Common

To learn more about options not mentioned here, be sure to check out other popular reviews from our team of experts:

• Air miles credit cards
• Balance transfer credit cards
• Cash back credit cards
• Prepaid debit cards
• Secured credit cards

We also encourage you to check back at this URL regularly, as we update the offers listed in “7 Best Metal Credit Cards (Sep. 2023)” and other guides on a daily basis.