Credit cards used to be made of plastic, except for a few ultra-exclusive exceptions. For example, the invite-only American Express Centurion Card has always been made of metal. But for the most part, when you got a credit card in the past, it was probably going to be plastic.
That's no longer the case. While many credit cards are still made of plastic, there are also quite a few metal credit cards available.
If you're thinking about getting a new card, you might be wondering if you should be looking for a metal one. Are metal credit cards better than plastic cards? Not exactly -- but they do tend to offer more benefits to cardholders.
For the most part, card issuers use metal for their premium credit cards. These cards normally provide more valuable features. For example, they often have larger sign-up bonuses, earn more rewards on purchases, and some also offer spending credits on certain types of purchases. The trade-off is that these cards have higher annual fees.
Plastic credit cards, on the other hand, tend to be less expensive and have fewer benefits. Most no annual fee credit cards are made of plastic. There are also plastic cards with annual fees, usually under $100. Many of them still offer sign-up bonuses, cash back or points on your purchases, and other useful features. They just generally don't offer quite as much.
Keep in mind that there are exceptions. There are no rules set in stone on which cards are metal and which are plastic. It's something the card issuer decides. Even though it's uncommon, there are some metal credit cards with no annual fee, including:
- Prime Visa
- Apple Card
So in terms of benefits, metal credit cards aren't better or worse than their plastic counterparts. If you want a credit card with lots of benefits, and you don't mind paying a large annual fee, then a metal card will be better for you. This is especially true with travel cards. Most of the top travel credit cards, particularly the luxury options with high annual fees, are made of metal.
Not everyone needs a high-priced credit card. If you don't want to pay a fee for a credit card, or you don't spend enough for an annual fee to be worth it, then you're better off with a no annual fee card. And as mentioned, most of those are plastic cards.
Physical differences between metal and plastic credit cards
Metal credit cards and plastic credit cards both work equally well. But the difference in materials also leads to a few pros and cons for each type of card.
Here are the advantages of metal credit cards:
- They're more aesthetically pleasing. Metal credit cards look and feel a lot nicer than plastic cards. When you compare the two, plastic credit cards feel much flimsier and cheaper.
- They're more durable. Wear and tear is less of an issue for metal credit cards, and they're less likely to get damaged. This usually doesn't matter much, unless you're really putting your cards through the wringer.
Plastic credit cards have a couple of their own advantages:
- It's easier to dispose of them. You can cut up plastic credit cards with scissors or shred them with certain types of paper shredders. Metal credit cards are much harder to destroy. You may need to mail yours back to the card issuer for disposal.
- They won't set off metal detectors. While I've never had this problem, some people have reported that their metal cards set off metal detectors.
Want to make sure your next credit card is made of metal? Thanks to the number of metal cards that are available, this is easier than ever.
If you haven't picked out a card yet, look specifically for metal credit cards. The Ascent has a list of the best metal credit cards you can use to compare your options, down to the weight of the cards.
If you have a card in mind and want to check if it's metal, search online. Odds are that someone has already asked this question. If you don't find the answer, you could also try calling the card issuer.
It's worth reiterating that metal credit cards aren't better than plastic ones. If you've found a credit card that you really like, don't let the material convince you not to get it.
