Premium Cards Enter Everyday Life... Lifestyle Benefits Take Center Stage
Airports and Hotels No Longer Enough
Shopping, Delivery, and OTT Drive Higher Usage
Securing Everyday Payments through 'Lifestyle-Oriented' Benefits
The range of benefits offered by premium credit cards is expanding from specific spending categories such as travel and hotels to everyday sectors including shopping, delivery services, and online video streaming (OTT). As premium cards with annual fees in the 100,000 to 200,000 won range increasingly focus on practical, lifestyle-oriented benefits, this trend appears to be a strategy to boost customer usage frequency and capture day-to-day payments.
According to the credit card industry on September 15, Hyundai Card recently launched two premium cards, "The Green Edition4" and "The Pink Edition3," both with an annual fee of 200,000 won. By revamping their existing products, the company expanded the benefits to include areas frequently used in daily life.
"The Green Edition4" offers benefits for airline tickets, hotels, duty-free shops, and overseas online and offline payments. Additionally, it provides a 5% accumulation of M points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points per month, for payments made at general restaurants. "The Pink Edition3" expanded its 5% reward rate not only to department stores and premium outlets, but also to fashion and beauty brands like Olive Young and Musinsa, as well as online shopping platforms such as Naver and Coupang.
Shinhan Card has also extended the benefits of its premium cards to cover daily lifestyle spending. "The Classic Air," launched earlier this month with an annual fee of 150,000 won for international use, accumulates one Korean Air mile for every 1,500 won spent at domestic and overseas merchants, and two miles per 1,500 won for payments at restaurants, cafes, delivery apps, and online shopping.
Samsung Card is offering "The ID First," a premium card with a 150,000 won annual fee, that strengthens the reward accumulation in shopping and leisure categories. This card applies a higher accumulation rate at restaurants, convenience stores, hospitals, department stores, online retailers, and for performance bookings.
Last month, iM Bank introduced the premium card “Zenith” with an annual fee of 120,000 won. In addition to Korean Air mileage and free lounge access at airports, the card offers a 10% discount at Coupang, Kurly, Netflix, YouTube, Disney Plus, Starbucks, and Blue Bottle.
Furthermore, the 100,000 won voucher provided once annually can now be used in daily spending categories. Cardholders can choose between a Shinsegae gift certificate, SK gas station gift certificate, Baemin (Baedal Minjok) coupon, or BC Card TOP points.
This broadening of premium card benefits into everyday sectors reflects card issuers’ strategies to boost usage frequency. Instead of focusing solely on infrequent spending areas such as airports or hotels, expanding into repetitive spending categories like online shopping and OTT services enables the capture of premium customers’ everyday spending.
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An industry insider said, “Premium cards with relatively accessible annual fees are now covering everyday spending areas in addition to the traditional benefits for travel and hotels. By strengthening lifestyle-focused benefits, issuers are aiming to enhance the usability of their cards.”
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