Robinhood is jumping into an already crowded premium credit card market with the invite-only Robinhood Platinum Card. With a $695 annual fee and a range of perks, the card will compete with established offerings such as Chase’s Sapphire Reserve and the American Express Platinum Card, which carry fees of $795 and $695, respectively.
Expected to launch in Q2, the card will offer 5% cash back on dining and flights booked through its travel portal, along with 10% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through the platform.
Cardholders must have a Robinhood Financial brokerage account to redeem the rewards they earn. Cash back is deposited directly into that account, where it can be used through the company’s travel portal or with select online merchants.
Tough Crowd
The card is aimed at affluent, high-spending households, though that segment is already heavily targeted by established premium cards.
“Robinhood’s new card is interesting, but they certainly will need to brace themselves for some well-established credit cards in this space,” said Brian Riley, Director of Credit at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Javelin’s Card Bench indicates that the Robinhood card, issued by Coastal Bank, will have to compete against American Express’ Schwab Investment and Platinum Card, Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Premium Rewards Card, Wells Fargo’s Advisor’s Card, UBS Bankcard, and U.S. Bank’s Raymond James Reserve Rewards+.
“Entry into this space requires that the card not only meet the standards of a premium credit card, but it also must be supported by a trading account,” he said. “That goes far beyond the standards of a block and tackle general purpose credit card.”
Building on the Gold Card
The launch is part of Robinhood’s broader push into consumer-finance services following the introduction of its Gold card in 2024. The company says that card now has more than 7 million holders and about $10 billion in annualized spending. Robinhood has also introduced wealth management and private banking features over the past year as it seeks to deepen engagement within its app.
“Robinhood’s Gold Card has experienced moderate success in the market,” said Riley. “With the new fee, Robinhood will need to ensure it can attract and retain high net worth customers with more than just baseline rewards. Cardholders in this space require a broad range of financial services, whether they rely on firms like American Express or U.S. Bank.”
The post Robinhood’s Platinum Card Enters a Packed Premium Market appeared first on PaymentsJournal.
