The current premium card trend was set off by Chase when it launched its widely lauded Sapphire Reserve product. However, its space has gotten crowded lately, with cards like the Capital One Venture X joining in. In a bid to potentially capture more business, rumor has it that Chase is working on a new premium card.
There are several “mainstream” premium cards on the market today. The grand daddy of them all, at least in my opinion, is the American Express Platinum. However, that card has always been a bit more expensive and feature-filled (with worse rewards and insurances) than the newcomers. However, it and those newcomers have become incredibly popular, especially with the meteoric rise of travel hacking.
This card trend was, undoubtedly, set off by the too-good-to-be-true, explosive introduction of the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Things aren’t what they used to be, though, with savvy consumers debating the merits of carrying the Sapphire Reserve versus the Capital One Venture X, Citi Strata Premier, and Amex Platinum, among others. So, it seems that Chase is working on a new premium card to better differentiate/segment its card products, while potentially driving more businesses to their other divisions.
Chase is Working on a New Premium Card
As reported by Doctor of Credit, Chase is working on a new premium card product under the code name Project Emerald. That already hints that this is going to be a more premium card, as emeralds are rarer than sapphires. It’s also why oneworld elite tiers go Ruby -> Sapphire -> Emerald.
Anyway, virtually no information about Project Emerald exists in the public domain. However, we know that Chase already has a super-premium card product – the JP Morgan Reserve card, which was formerly known as the Chase Palladium card and was, in fact, made out of palladium. Little information is available about this card, too. That said, we know it’s very similar to the Sapphire Reserve, but comes with a dedicated customer support team and United Club membership. Oh, and you need to have at least $10 million invested with JP Morgan to be eligible for the card. That said, from what I’ve heard, it doesn’t have the insane initiation and annual membership fees the Amex Centurion does.
Yeah, the above info doesn’t really give us any insight into what we’ll from the supposed new card. However, if we extrapolate what we’ve historically seen from Chase, then, perhaps, we can assume that the Project Emerald card will be yet another variation of the Sapphire Reserve. If I had to guess, it might come with its own dedicated customer support team, too. Though, one that doesn’t have as good a ratio or level of service as the JP Morgan Reserve card. It may also come with some other perk from another card product, such as Marriott Bonvoy Gold or Platinum status.
Final Thoughts
I find it intriguing that Chase is working on a new premium card. That said, to maintain exclusivity, it’s rumored that this card will be available only to Chase Private Client customers, which usually requires to you have $150,000 in investible assets. I’m nowhere near this, and don’t think I’d invest with Chase even if I had that much. Plus, would it even be worth it? That question is harder to answer right now, but based on what we know about the JP Morgan Reserve card, perhaps not? Though, I must say, if I could easily afford the annual fee, I wouldn’t mind having my Amex Platinum back. Just for the concierge service.
What do you think? What features do you think the alleged Project Emerald card will come with? What combination of features, ownership costs, and qualifications would make the card worth it to you?