American Express Titanium and Black Card Found on a Vendor List
Everything We Know: Optio, Titanium, and Black Card
During a finance conference in November 2019, American Express' Group President of Global Consumer Services Doug Buckminster slipped a bit of knowledge about a potential new American Express card product with even more perks than the Platinum Card from American Express, but not quite as exclusive as the Centurion Card. Since then, we have not heard anything about the new American Express card, rumored to be called the American Express Optio Card. Excitingly enough yesterday, a Reddit user named u/Drwaz99 accidentally uncovered an American Express credit card manufacturing vendor list. This list shows two place holders, without card images, for an American Express "Titanium" card and an American Express "Black Charge Metal 2020" card. It should be noted that the Centurion Card is also listed on this catalog, so the "Black Charge Metal 2020" card could potentially be a new and different product. Could this “Titanium” card be the American Express Optio Card we've heard rumors about? Will there be a "Black Charge" card between the American Express Optio and the American Express Centurion Card? First, let's dig a little deeper into what this vendor list is.
If you would like to follow along, you can find the American Express GNB Vendor list PDF here. If you scroll down to page number 51 out of 65, you can see a section for a company called CompoSecure out of Somerset, New Jersey. CompoSecure appears to be a compliant manufacturer of metal and metal hybrid credit cards, which include magstripes, contact chips, and dual interface for American Express Cards. On the CompoSecure website we found that they are an award-winning credit card design and manufacturing company that is responsible for designing most of the popular metal card products on the credit card market today. Their product list includes the Platinum Card from American Express, American Express Rose Gold, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the JPMorgan Reserve, and the Capital One Venture.
Circling back to the 2019 increases in American Express Centurion Card's benefits, which caused an annual fee increase from $2,500 to $5,00, we can undoubtedly see American Express strategically widening the gap between the Platinum Card from American Express and the Centurion Card. This widening creates a perfect space for a product such as an American Express Optio Card, with an annual fee of $1,500 or so. If you have not read our American Express Optio Card rumor article, catch up with this on-going chronicle here. The puzzle pieces seem to be coming together now after seeing CompoSecure, an American Express metal card compliant manufacturer, who has designed all the most known metal cards on the market, cataloging the American Express Titanium card and American Express Black Charge Metal products on an American Express vendor list for 2020.
Final Point
The possibility of a single new product, such as the American Express Optio Card, is exciting enough, but now seeing two placeholders on a vendor list for 2020 brings even more questions and anticipation. Will there be two new American Express Cards? Will these new American Express cards create devaluation of the Platinum Card from American Express? Due to the rising popularity of the Platinum Card from American Express, we have seen a drastic increase in overcrowding at most Centurion Lounges. Although they are adding more locations, the more crowded they become, the less exclusive they seem. Could these two new, more exclusive, and increased annual fee, American Express products, take Centurion Lounge access away from the Platinum Card members to cope with overcrowding? Hopefully, we will find out soon enough. Luckily, the vendor list labels the American Express Black Charge Card as a 2020 card, so that news may come sooner than later!
What do you think about the possibility of an American Express Titanium and American Express Black Charge Card? Do you think the American Express Titanium Card will be the rumored American Express Optio Card? Comment down below, DM us on Instagram, or message us on Facebook to let us know!
