As the tabloids and TMZ want to display, celebrities are just like you and me. They go shopping, they eat ice cream and they have jury duty – among many other things. And how do they pay for it all? Having lots of money certainly doesn’t hurt, but like the rest of us, famous people pay for their purchases with a combination of credit cards, debit cards, gift cards and cash.
But which particular cards are the stars packin’? You’d probably guess there would be plenty of black cards, but it seems their popularity is based far more on legend and hip-hop braggadocio than reality. WalletHub scoured the web for information about celebrity credit card preferences in order to compile the following list of the cards used by famous actors, athletes, models, musicians and politicians.
Check out the list below, and make sure to also read about what we can learn from celebs’ wallets.
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What We Can Learn From Celebs’ Wallets
There are a number of takeaways that one can glean from our peak inside the wallets of the wealthy. Below, we’ll share our biggest observations in order to help people learn from our entertainment icons.
- Stars Love Amex, But Not The “Black Card”: 19 of the 27 celebrity wallets we examined contain an American Express credit card. The Amex Green Card and the Gold Rewards Business Card are the most popular, by far. None of the celebrities on our list have the American Express Centurion Card (American Express is a WalletHub partner), better known as the “Black Card.”
- Celebrity Is A Small Business: A number of the celebrities on our list have business credit cards. Given the diversified revenue streams of contemporary celebrities and the size of their teams, this should come as no surprise. Let’s just hope they’re not using these cards for financing purposes!
- Got Debt? The Slate Card, the best balance transfer credit card available, popped up in a couple of famous people’s wallets. This indicates that they either have credit card debt they’re working to pay off or are simply taking advantage of the card’s 15-month 0% intro term and lack of fees to leave would-be payments invested for longer. The first scenario would be worrisome given the net worth of these individuals, while the second would be indicative of savvy financial management.
- Coffee, Movies & Sponsorships: The celebs on our list show their affinity to certain brands, particularly the ones that pay them, by carrying store credit cards and gift cards from these retailers.
- Bad Credit Blues: One of the most surprising things learned from our review of celebrities’ wallets is that a couple of them contain credit cards from Orchard Bank – a sub-prime issuer known for very high fees. In other words, its cards are targeted to people with bad credit and few other options – a description most people would not associate with a pair of celebrities who have an average net worth of $27 million.
- We All Love A Payment Mix: Famous people, like most consumers, prefer to use a variety of different payment methods – typically including credit, debit, cash and affinity cards – to meet specific spending needs. Each type of payment method has its own role in one’s payment arsenal, emblematic of the famous employing the Island Approach. This is one celebrity example that is good to emulate.
Sources: US Magazine, CelebrityNetWorth.com and news reports.
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