American Express Membership Rewards - Charter Member

I have seen some American Express Gold Cards here in Hong Kong with the "Charter Member" Lettering on the card.

What does this mean ? I called AMEX in Hong Kong and they claim not to know even though they issued the card

AMEX lists "Charter Member" on the card of anyone who has had the card since the year it was introduced - aside from the statement on the card there are no additional perks. While its nice to see a Gold, Platinum or Centurion card with the "Charter Member" statement - its really impressive when you see a Green card that says "Charter Member".

Sorry, that cannot be true. I had a Platinum Card with "Charter Member" on it, but I definitely didnt have it when it was issued. On the other hand, I have a Centurion Card now right from the beginning, and this card doesnt have a Charter Member on it. Must be another meaning here... ;-)

Yes, that is not true, I can agree with joergi´s opinion.
Joergi, do you have to enrol in the SPG-program separately (e.g. by call) or will you get the benefits automatically (when you book your travel with Centurion Card Service)? Thanks in advance.

Hey Everyone - Thanks for the replies. Greatly Appreciated

Ben, you have to Call Amex Centurion to enroll to SPG Platinum by phone, they will forward you to SPG Plat Desk. (Be prepared to speak englisch, the clerks who speak German dont know much about the Enrollment). It takes 5 Minutes, not more. SPG Plat works great, I used it 3 or 4 times, good to be upgraded to a Suite. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif As a Centurion, you bet upgraded to Club Level at all Interconto by booking code, so you donot need to be enrolled in anything. At the German Hyatt, you even get an upgrade to Regency Club (with very low rates!) at time of booking. This works great, too. I love the upgrades at the Grand Hyatt Berlin and Park Hyatt in Hamburg. Worth it. Now, new deal, we get upgrades at all 19 Mandarin Oriental Hotels in the World (one class upgrade, late checkout, Breakfast) AND -- very special -- one free nite in combination with a paid nite per year. That allone can be worth 500$ or more...