Credit card cos woo uber rich with platinum offers

New Delhi: The new credo of credit card marketing is platinum. Move over plain-vanilla or co-branded options, credit card companies are doling out bundled benefits in their cards to woo the affluent Indian. Dining, health & wellness, travel and complimentary signing-in offers galore when the cardholder picks up the card, some for free, but most at a premium. Currently, the privilege card universe comprises 2% of the 22-million credit card market in India. Now, higher margins and lower operating costs (since the base is low) are enticing marketers to go platinum.

Marketers are drumming up the ‘platinum’ card to carve a piece of the growing affluent population. “With growing consumerism, this card is getting more prestigious and its utilisation is also growing,” says Vijay Mehta, chief consultant, Credit Card Management Consultancy. These cards present a higher credit limit to their patrons.

Two years after Citibank launched its super-premium card, Black, a slew of players such as American Express, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered have ventured into this territory. Platinum cards generate 60-70% higher revenue compared to their gold counterparts, and four to five times more than the classic cards. Size too matters. Also, the operating cost of platinum cards tend to be more manageable.

It’s time to think beyond privilege. Earlier, banks had super-premium charge cards to cater to its niche ultra-rich customers. But that’s changing as more and more credit card players are entering this space. Even a mass marketer of credit cards such as ICICI Bank had introduced a privilege ‘Platinum’ Visa card October last, albeit by invitation. “However, soon we plan to unleash the free-for-life card in the open market,” says Sachin Khandelwal, head, cards group, ICICI Bank.

Why open market, when the promise is exclusivity? “Well, ICICI tends to go mass even with premium offerings,” says an analyst. American Express launched its Platinum Card in November. “Between Delhi and Mumbai, 1.4 million households can accommodate these premium cards,” says Amit Datta, V-P, marketing, American Express. Mr Datta’s company charges a one-time fee of Rs 50,000 on signing up.

“The lifestyle, spending power, needs, desires, aspirations and service expectations of the super-premium customer in India are similar to that of rich and famous around the globe,” says T R Ramachandran, business manager, cards, Citibank India. Now what remains to be seen is how ICICI Bank’s free-for-life platinum card alters exclusivity. Will other marketers follow suit? Or, is it all a build-up for a new uber-premium category with offerings unknown. Time, sure, will tell.

In the midst of competition, Citibank begs to differ. Although it has a ‘platinum’ offering, it prefers to dub its super-premium top-end cards as ‘Ultima’. A company spokesperson even claims that Ultima offers more benefits than Platinum cards, further reiterating the dire need for uber-branding.