American Express Executive Card, 1968
Through aggressive marketing and the mass mailings of unsolicited credit cards, companies were able to sign up millions of customers in a short amount of time. American Express carved a niche in the saturated market when it released the gold-colored version of its executive credit card in 1968. It was one of the first in a line of color-coded luxury cards geared toward the affluent market—a low-risk, and often heavy-spending, group. The card was simultaneously a status symbol for those high-rollers who wanted everyone to know it.
