The news: Mastercard launched the World Legend Mastercard, a premium card for higher-spending customers, alongside an overhaul of rewards and perks across the entire Mastercard Collection.

What’s in store? Framed as the top tier of the Mastercard Collection, the card is specially designed for customers chasing exclusive experiences across dining, entertainment, and travel.

• Priority reservations at must-visit restaurants with access to specially crafted menus
• Exclusive ticket sales access and premium seats for both sporting events and tickets booked through LiveNation 
• Expanded access to fast-track security lanes at over 30 airports and 1,350 airport lounges at major international airports, with Mastercard-exclusive dining spaces featuring locally inspired flavor profiles set to drop this year

Pivot to prestige: Mastercard’s World Legend rollout goes head-to-head with rival Visa’s Infinite premier tier, which offers similar perks for dining, entertainment, and travel. 

With the wealthiest US consumers now comprising almost half (49.7%) of consumer spending, Mastercard needs to convince issuers to select its premium tier over Visa’s as they create card portfolios geared toward higher-income customers to drive volume growth.

Our take: We anticipate that card networks will jockey for the most premium cards as issuers cater to wealthy consumers’ reward wish lists. 

Given the enthusiasm from cardholders for perks concerning exclusive travel and experiences, Mastercard World Legend sets itself up nicely with an experiential-based focus.

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