SA’s most elite credit cards: High salaries, high perks, and high costs

South Africa's most exclusive credit cards, offered by banks like Discovery, Nedbank, and Investec, demand high salary requirements—up to R2.5 million annually. These cards provide elite benefits, including travel discounts, complimentary airport lounge access, and dedicated banking services. The most prestigious card, Discovery Bank's Purple suite, costs R644 per month. While these cards offer prestige and perks, they also come with hefty monthly fees and require significant income to qualify..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..By Myles Illidge.South Africa's most exclusive credit card accounts come with hefty salary requirements, with some requiring clients to earn as much as R2.5 million a year or R208,000 a month..These give clients various benefits, including travel discounts, complimentary airport lounge visits, and dedicated banking teams to meet clients' needs. They also provide the prestigious status of an elite credit card..The most exclusive credit card accounts in South Africa come from banks like Discovery, Nedbank, FNB, Standard Bank, Investec, RMB, and Absa. Depending on the financial institution, customers must earn at least R62,500 per month..Discovery Bank's Purple suite is the most expensive at R644 per month, with the highest earnings requirement at over R2.5 million a year. This works out to R208,333 per month..The next most expensive account comes from Investec. It charges R635 per month and requires clients to earn at least R800,000 a year, or R66,667 per month..Despite matching Standard Bank's Signature Banking account on the monthly maintenance fee at R630 per month, Nedbank's Private Wealth account has the second-highest earning requirement at R2 million annually..Read more: 🔒 Your bank loves your rewards cards more than you do: Paul J. Davies.Standard Bank's Signature Banking account requires an annual income of R1.1 million. These clients must earn at least R92,000 per month..RMB's monthly maintenance fee for the Private Fusion account is relatively high at R620 per month. However, it has one of the lowest earning requirements at R750,000 per annum..Absa's Wealth Infinite account has a similar earnings requirement, which works out to R62,500 per month. It charges a R575-per-month maintenance fee..All accounts listed, excluding Investec's Private Banking account, offer an interest-free period of at least 55 days. Investec's is significantly lower at 45 days, while Absa Infinite Wealth's interest-free period is the highest at 57 days..The table below compares salary requirements, interest-free periods, and monthly fees for the most exclusive credit card accounts in South Africa..The benefits associated with each credit card account are listed further below..Bank accountAnnual salaryMonthly salaryInterest-Free periodMonthly feeDiscovery Bank PurpleR2.5 millionR208,33355 daysR644Nedbank Private WealthR2.0 millionR166,66655 daysR530FNB Private WealthR1.8 millionR150,00055 daysR595Standard Bank Signature BankingR1.1 millionR92,00055 daysR530Investec Private BankingR800,000R66,66745 daysR635RMB Private Fusion AccountR750,000R62,50055 daysR620Absa Wealth InfiiniteR750,000R62,50057 daysR575.Discovery Bank Purple.Up to 75% back on HealthyFood items at Woolworths and Pick n Pay*Up to 50% back on HealthyCare items at Clicks or Dis-ChemUp to 20% back on Uber ridesUp to 20% back on fuel purchases at BP and ShellUp to 40% off when the customer spends Discovery MilesUp to 75% off one return or two local one-way flightsUp to 75% off an international flight with British Airways, Emirates and QantasUp to 75% off fitness devices and Nike performance gearUp to 50% off Technogym home gym equipment rental.*Pick n Pay will no longer be a supported HealthyFood partner from 1 September 2024..Nedbank Private Wealth.Free Bidvest Premier airport lounge access when departing South Africa.Ten international airport lounge visits, plus one guest per visit with Visa Signature.24-hour concierge service for personal travel and lifestyle needs.Travel and lifestyle benefits, including discounts and special rates on accommodation, car rental, and airport meet-and-assist services.Travel insurance up to $2.5 million.Automatic enrolment in the Greenbacks programme.Private banker.Team of specialists to help with wealth management needs.Access to the Nedbank Private Wealth App.FNB Private Wealth.R20,000 yearly discounts to use on flights, car hire, bus tickets and the eBucks Shop:Up to 40% off selected local flightsUp to 40% off international selected flightsUp to 40% off domestic car hireUp to 40% off bus ticketsUp to 36 complimentary domestic and international SLOW Lounge visits annually.Up to 24 additional SLOW Lounge visits a year when booked through eBucks Travel.Up to R3,000 back monthly on our Smart Spend category.Up to R8/litre back in eBucks every month at Engen, with the FNB Private Wealth Virtual Card, WesBank & FNB Car Insurance.Up to 15% back in eBucks on everything at Shoprite Checkers and SPAR.Up to 15% back in eBucks on everything at Clicks.Up to 15% back in eBucks on the latest Apple products at iStore.Up to 30% back in eBucks on everything at ARC store.Up to 40% back in eBucks on Netflix and Spotify subscriptions..Standard Bank Signature Banking.Unlimited free visits to Standard Bank's OR Tambo Library Lounge, including one guest and kids under two.Unlimited free visits to the Standard Bank Fluent Lounge at Lanseria International Airport.Unlimited free visits to over 1,300 international lounges through the MasterCard TravelPass App.Up to 20% off Emirates flights booked through Leisure Desk.Up to 35% off car rentals with Avis for international rentals.Up to 10% off local car rentals with Rentalcars.com.Up to 15% discounts on IHG Hotels & Resorts in Europe, Maldives, India, Middle East and Africa.Up to 15% cash back when booking accommodation on Booking.com.15% off when you spend more than R500 through the Wine-of-the-Month Club.Up to 15% off luxury serviced apartments..Investec Private Banking.A debit rate of up to prime.A Visa platinum credit card with up to 45 interest-free days on card purchases.Unlimited free ATM withdrawals locally and internationally.Interest on credit balance.Up to 60-month budget facility option for unexpected purchases.Complimentary local and international lounge access.Get an extra card linked to the account at no extra cost or a stand-alone Private Bank Account at a reduced monthly fee for spouse/life partner. Open an Investec Youth Account, a transactional account with a Visa debit card, for no additional monthly fee. Open a linked Cash Management Account and earn a higher interest rate through active management of short-term surplus funds.Open a tax-free investment or a local unit trust for the customer and children through My Investments.Open a sterling-based transactional account in the UK (for an additional fee). Enjoy preferential exchange rates on foreign exchange whether investing internationally, making international payments or receiving funds from abroad into an Investec Account.Get access to emergency funds with Western Union Money Transfer if your card is lost or stolen while travelling abroad.Access to Investor Rewards.Access to Investec Digital.Access to Investec One Place..RMB Private Fusion.An exclusive metal card.Full transactional capability with a linked credit facility.One view of transactional account.One interest rate.Up to 30 days' interest-free on card purchases.Linked additional cards.Maximum rewards.Account for spouses.FNBy for kids, teens and young adults.Global Travel Insurance.SLOW Lounge access.Cash@Till.Exclusive VISA offers..Absa Wealth Infinite.Black metal credit card that comes with the Absa Wealth Bundle Account:Single monthly fee that includes current, credit and overdraft accounts.Most major transactional fees also form part of the monthly fee.Automatic subscription to Absa Rewards and up to 30% in cash back.Access to a dedicated Wealth Banker, Wealth Investment Manager, and Fiduciary Specialist, among other experts.50% discount on monthly service fee for Spousal account.Up to 57 days interest-free on qualifying credit card transactions.Unlimited access to domestic and international Bidvest Premier Lounges in South Africa, as well as unlimited international lounge access through the Visa LoungeKey benefit, which includes one free guest per visit..Read also:.Your credit score and your financial well-beingCrypto coming to your credit card … soonDon't be crippled by credit – On the Money with Jarryd Neves.This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission

SA’s most elite credit cards: High salaries, high perks, and high costs

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