If you're like us, you've seen the slick ads promoting the new Barclays Bank Black Visa Card as "the world's most prestigious" credit card.

But prestige doesn't come cheap, starting with a $495 annual fee.

That's more than the $450 annual fee on some of the most expensive personal charge and credit cards from American Express, including its Platinum and Delta Reserve cards.

The terms aren't anything special.

Barclays charges a variable interest rate of 13.24% APR (prime plus 9.99% for purchases) and 19.24% for cash advances (prime plus 15.99%), and imposes just about every fee you can imagine, right down to 3% for currency conversion.

Nor are the rewards out of the ordinary.

Cardholders can earn 1% cash back on purchases or get one point for every dollar they spend to be used for travel on any airline at anytime. That's routinely available, too.

So it's got to be the exceptional benefits such as the big credit limit, access to more than 500 airport lounges around the world, luxury gifts "from some of the world's top brands" and the 24-hour concierge service "to assist you with all your travel, leisure and personal needs."

But American Express offers similar perks. Even cards such as the Visa Signature and World MasterCard from Chase Bank come with travel benefits, gifts and concierge service -- oh, and a considerably lower annual fee. (None for Signature card and $65 to $85 for the World card.)

Bottom line: The Black Card is just another prestige card vying for the well-to-do and image-conscious consumers who think a credit card can make them as important as the well-to-do.

Barclay's certainly plays up that angle, claiming, "The Black Card is made with carbon, creating a more unique card, guaranteed to get you noticed."

But think about it: Is that really a good reason to spend nearly $500 a year for a credit card?