How to get Discounts and upgrades with credit cards?

Many companies will offer discounts or upgrades for users of credit cards.  There are a number of different reasons for this. Credit cards will often have a user base that either do a lot of travelling or earn an above average income.  This is a very desirable group of people for many credit cards to aim for.  Many credit cards, by aiming at a certain demographic, will have a group of people who are remarkably similar in their spending habits.

This is a good set of potential customers which many companies would like to be able to market to.  Many companies, for example hotels and airlines during off peak periods have a large stock of unused goods.  It is therefore often a cost effective way to market to these consumers by offering the surplus stock.  This can be done by using upgrades or discounts.  This will mean that surplus stock is sold off without lowering the ticket price.  It can also boost both brand loyalty and profile among this sought after group of customers.

Some credit cards are particularly likely to offer discounts or upgrades.  Often these are tied to petrol stations or stores.  They will also often offer signing up bonuses through a particularly sharp discount on goods, sometimes these goods have already been bought when the discount has been offered.

Bank issued credit cards also offer rewards, upgrades and discounts.  Sometimes they are discount programs for no frills credit cards and now there are also airline and other luxury offers for high end cards.  These are often provided by companies rather than the banks, because the companies wish to use this as an opportunity to build their brands.

Entertainment programs run under the same principle.  Many concert and sport promoters realise that there the people who register for these programs are the sort of people who it is good to advertise to.  This means that they will allow advance booking and discounts on mid week concerts.

The entertainment programs are run by the credit card processors VISA and MasterCard and are open to almost all card holders.  However they do not register all their card holders automatically and require that card users who wish to benefit from these programs register themselves.  This means that the people who register are pre-qualified, which makes them a very good set of prospects for a concert promoter.