The super-rich pay with black credit cards. Hundreds of millions can be transferred with the Centurion, Infinite and Ultima.

The employee had to swipe the credit card through the reader 24 times. Only then was the amount paid. Liu Yiqian had just bought a porcelain cup that was 500 years old and had been used by the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Now he had to pay the auction house Sotheby’s the sum: 38 million dollars. The art world was horrified – not because of the amount, but because Liu Yiqian immediately had tea served in the cup.

According to the Wall Street Journal, it was necessary to split the sum into several partial amounts in spring 2014 because the auction house has a limit of $1.6 million per payment. The auction house – not the credit card. After all, it wasn’t just any old model, but a Centurion from American Express, one of the most exclusive in the world. Customers get two versions – one made of titanium and one made of plastic, because the readers do not accept the titanium alloy.

The piece of plastic, all black, is only given to select customers, and by invitation only. Almost all credit card providers have comparable cards in their portfolios – whereby the following applies in all cases: black beats gold and platinum. What American Express calls Centurion, Visa calls Infinite and Citibank has the Ultima, at least in some regions of the world.

Sotheby’s does not want to comment on Mr. Liu’s specific case. It is confirmed, however, that the purchase of such extremely expensive works of art is also possible with a credit card. The buyer only has to register at least 24 hours before the first purchase at an auction and deposit his card for verification. “As long as there is coverage and the respective bank cooperates, the customer can pay the respective purchase price with the credit card,” said.