Almost all of us have a credit or debit card. The bank cards of the super-wealthy, however, are another beast entirely, often shrouded in mystery with terms and conditions kept secret. Perhaps the most famous example is the Amex Centurion Card, more commonly known as the "Amex Black Card". Named after the company's centurion logo, the card was launched in 1999 and was only available to people who were personally invited to use it by American Express.

Rumours suggest you need to spend at least $250,000 (£184k) a year on the Amex Platinum card to qualify for the Centurion. There's a wide range of reported benefits to owning the card, including a 24/7 concierge service, but it comes at a cost. The initiation fee will set you back as much as $10,000 (£7.4k) and after that there's an annual $5,000 (£3.7k) fee.

The JPMorgan Chase Reserve card is even more luxurious. Made from palladium and 23-carat gold, this invite-only card is available to banking clients whose investments with JPMorgan Private Bank total at least $10 million (£21.8m). On average, a card holder will have a fortune of $100 million (£74m).

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