Value-Seekers Warm to a $450 Annual Credit Card Fee – New York Times.
This is really interesting to me. Not because I’m going to run out and spend $450 on a credit card – but as a product manager.
Many product people assume a price sensitivity which is greater than the market actually feels. Chase now has three price points on their rewards cards – free (Chase Sapphire), $100/yr (Chase Sapphire Preferred) and now $450 (Chase Sapphire Reserve). The $450 price is on par with the MasterCard Luxury Card (formerly Black Visa) promoted by Barclays, and significantly lower than the Amex Centurion ($2500/yr). Even more interesting is the fact that Chase has not heavily promoted the card – it has gone viral through word of mouth. And in a world where consumers are saturated with messages, the ability to successfully use word of mouth marketing is gold. Or should I say Sapphire? 
