American Express Membership Rewards - German Centurion card upgrade

Received the pre invitation phone call today. New Product including Titanium card will be launched by end of may 2009. Membership fee will double to 2000 Euros per year. Hotel Programs will expand to Kempinski, Steigenberger and Relais & Chateaux. I was also told airport valet Parking and meet & Greet at some airports including Limo Service would be provided. Amex is sending out the books with the written invitatiion sometime mid may.

CFG911

Received the pre invitation phone call today. New Product including Titanium card will be launched by end of may 2009. Membership fee will double to 2000 Euros per year. Hotel Programs will expand to Kempinski, Steigenberger and Relais & Chateaux. I was also told airport valet Parking and meet & Greet at some airports including Limo Service would be provided. Amex is sending out the books with the written invitatiion sometime mid may.

CFG911


Steigenberger... Kempinski.... Valet parking... maybe Amex is trapped in a time loop around 1989...? :o

Other benefits will probably include private shopping events at Thierry Mugler and Iceberg and a special ticket contingent for the 1990 FIFA world cup in Italy! ;)

Received the pre invitation phone call today. New Product including Titanium card will be launched by end of may 2009. Membership fee will double to 2000 Euros per year. Hotel Programs will expand to Kempinski, Steigenberger and Relais & Chateaux. I was also told airport valet Parking and meet & Greet at some airports including Limo Service would be provided. Amex is sending out the books with the written invitatiion sometime mid may.

CFG911

Thank God my €1k membership fees were just debited this month.
Can't see myself opting for the €2k version, especially with Steigenberger and Kempinski benefits.
I guess I will tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine and see what they will do?
When Platinum was enhanced from €395 to €500 p.a. a nasty phone call resulted in the old fee being continued...subject to one's spend probably.

Mine is due in June, but I won't pay the higher fee without experiencing the "enhancements" first. I seriously do hope that they leave the pricing at the current level to a "trial year".

Perhaps we should draw up a list of "enhancements" over the last year to argue that a fee REDUCTION should be in order:

- SPG Plat gone
- PriorityClub Plat replacement useless
- MO benefits enhanced year by year: no more 241 at NYC, LON, HKG, etc
- Plat insurance actually now better than Centurion since the Plat re-launch
- concierge useless (Can't book the simplest itins...missing ticketing deadlines, etc, etc)
- TSC introduced for online bookings
- TSC increased for phone bookings
- Additional card (A.C.) recently removed thus I HAD to take a PLUS card (new CC number)
- IAP (Int'l airline program) a joke

Please feel free to add to the list of enhancements.

The more I think about it, the more they can get stuffed.

Well - for 2000 Euros - I really wonder are the additional benefits - my card is due for renewal in August. Well will be waiting - anyhow will get it with two months delay since i live in singapore.

but the only really useful benefits are the care upgrades with Sixt which are very consistent, I had really some good ones and the Mandarin Oriental Benefit which this year i am using a bit more, but the rest is pretty much crap...

End if they offer Steigenberger and Kempinski --> well Kempinski is marginally useable as they still have some decent hotels also abroad, although not so much, and Steigenberger with their mostly stuffy old hotels in germany wow this is like offering Holiday Inn Platinum status instead of Starwood Platinum...

and if the card is Titanium or Plastic I couldnt care less - makes my wallet only heavier....

I am missing meaningful hotel membership as well as good airline membership program --> if they would bring back Starwood Platinum or give Hilton or Hyatt Diamond then it would be no brainer for me - but with this... hmmm this will be a tough call - I already find the Platinum card for 500 Euros expensive but they have enhanced it quite nicely but for 4 times the prices I expect also 4 times the benefits ... dont see it from the poster yet....


well lets wait...

Agree to the Sixt perk! I rareley rent cars so I'd never get Plat or Diamond status the normal way! The cent 2x upgrade does work nearly always and collecting cars @ MUCs diamond lounge is very, very nice.

(...)
and if the card is Titanium or Plastic I couldnt care less - makes my wallet only heavier....
(...)

A good point for the Titanium card is that it is very stable, it can't be destoyed if I wear it in a light wallet in the pocket ;)
The plastic card is dark black and shiny, the Ti card isn't ... almost nobody cares in Europe, except because of the higher weight sometimes.

All this is of course not worth the higher fee, we all agree about this. My IEC Centurion fee is € 2,800 with stupid benefits like 19 ( in words nineteen :rolleyes: ) free supplementary Platinum/Gold/Green cards.

Wheres the sixt diamond lounge in Muc?
I always collect my cars at the normal sixt counter...

Wheres the sixt diamond lounge in Muc?
I always collect my cars at the normal sixt counter...

On the first floor, there's a spiral staircase about 10m away from the Sixt counter.

Thank God my €1k membership fees were just debited this month.
Can't see myself opting for the €2k version, especially with Steigenberger and Kempinski benefits.
I guess I will tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine and see what they will do?
When Platinum was enhanced from €395 to €500 p.a. a nasty phone call resulted in the old fee being continued...subject to one's spend probably.

Boy, we would love to just have a EUR2k fee per year here in Australia. My guess is that your phone call will not do anything and they will only throw in a few points to soften the pain. All the new benefits will be available to you even with your "cheap" annual fee.

Just curious since it's end of may... any update yet? Has anyone received anything?
Thanks,
z

Wait...what Sixt perk? Is the the DE card only?

received last week my written invitation. When logging in on my amex account I´ve recognized a new credit card number!

I think the new card should arrive this week.

received last week my written invitation. When logging in on my amex account I´ve recognized a new credit card number!

Thanks for info!
Since you mentioned "invitation", is it optional? Could you say "no thanks, don't want it, I'd like to keep my, well, ordinary cent card"?

yes you can keep your "ordinary" card. You have to confirm your agreement by phone. By the way there is a new hotline number for "titans"!

This "invitation" shows no special "goodies" but perhaps if the booklet arrives...
It is written that you have been "chosen".....:rolleyes:

I´ll keep you informed.... Card hasn´t arrived yet, although having new numbers (online).

My account shows a new number as well. I called amex and after the agent talked to a supervisor I was told that the first batch of titaniums is on its way and that indeeed I could keep my present card and not upgrade to Titanium.

CFG911

new card and booklet has arrived. It looks very valuable- that´s all!:rolleyes:
Insurances are now better- for example CDW with no limit

Hm, there must be some hidden super benefit... otherwise probably no one would keep the Titanium with doubled fee just because of the card material and improved insurances?

update: you cannot keep your "normal" card! Your membership will expire after three months if you don´t agree!

On the one hand you are "chosen" on the other hand you have to agree with??:rolleyes:

got mine as well today. To me the valet parking seems to be the biggest enhancement. I am seriously considering the downgrade to Platinum. I do not see the benefit other than for the shareholders. Meet and greet is useless for me as it s not available for US destinations which are my regular ones.

CFG911

got mine as well today. To me the valet parking seems to be the biggest enhancement. I am seriously considering the downgrade to Platinum. I do not see the benefit other than for the shareholders. Meet and greet is useless for me as it s not available for US destinations which are my regular ones.

CFG911

I don't have mine yet nor any info. What exactly does the valet parking and meet&greet offer?

Could somebody post a summary of the "new" benefits ?

Does the german Titanium Centurion have a chip like the UK Centurion ?

My account shows a new number as well (...)

Where did you notice the new number, the last 5 digits ( "XXX-12345" ) in the account overview?

@ahrz: no chip!
@zzoba: yes, last five digits

new benefits are ridiculous:

e.g : -access to DB lounge! I hate DB!
- goldpoint plus gold elite- never heard of that!
- Club 5c- Relais&Chateaux
- Steigenberger and Intercity:D:D:D hotel- help!
- Kempinski-PC
-valet park service

the only real benefits are the insurances thats definetely all!

Where did you notice the new number, the last 5 digits ( "XXX-12345" ) in the account overview?

About 2 months before my ICC Centurion card was upgraded, I noticed online the new card number. Amex didn't change the basic account number, only the card's sequence number "S" :

37XX-XXXXXX-XSYYC

S = sequence number : starting from 1, incremented when a new card is issued (after a loss for instance)

YY = 00 for main card. 01, 02 etc. for supplementary cards

C = check digit (using the LUHN-10 algorithm) . Changing the sequence number changes of course the check digit also.

I hope I don't get "chosen" with these benefits ... :rolleyes:

The valet parking option is now on the German centurioncard.de homepage.
To be honest it is a real joke, as the service is only free of charge if you travel in First or Business Class AND the trip has been booked via the Centurion desk !

Otherwise the charge (e.g. for DUS) is €30 - which is exactly the standard rate Apcoa charges in DUS !!

"VALET PARK-SERVICE AN DEUTSCHEN FLUGHÄFEN

Sparen Sie sich die Parkplatzsuche und lange Wege bis zum Check-in. Als Centurion Card Mitglied genießen Sie an 8 deutschen Flughäfen die Annehmlichkeit, Ihren Wagen direkt am Terminal zu übergeben bzw. zu parken und dort auch wieder abzuholen.
Die Abwicklung erfolgt jeweils durch spezialisierte Partner vor Ort.

SO NUTZEN SIE DEN VALET PARK-SERVICE AM FLUGHAFEN DÜSSELDORF (DUS)


- Übergabe Ihres Fahrzeugs direkt am Terminal bzw. in Terminalnähe
- Abholung des Fahrzeugs bei Ihrer Rückkehr am Terminal bzw. in unmittelbarer Terminalnähe
- Außen- und Innenreinigung Ihres Fahrzeugs (auf Wunsch)

Der Valet Park-Service steht Ihnen gegen eine Servicegebühr zur Verfügung, dazu kommen die regulären Parkgebühren sowie Kosten für Fahrzeugreinigung, falls gewünscht. Diese werden einfach und bequem über Ihre Centurion Card abgerechnet.

Wenn Sie First Class oder Business Class fliegen und über Ihren Centurion Card Reise-Service buchen, entfällt die Servicegebühr.

SO NUTZEN SIE DEN VALET PARK-SERVICE AM FLUGHAFEN DÜSSELDORF (DUS)

1. Anmeldung.
Melden Sie sich mind. 30 Minuten vor Ihrer Ankunft am Flughafen an, wenn Sie den Valet Park-Service nutzen möchten.
0800 410 4000 – OPTION 3
Aus dem Ausland: + 49 69 588 099 888 – OPTION 3

Für die Anmeldung benötigen wir folgende Angaben:
– Fahrzeugtyp und -kennzeichen
– Flugnummer
– Voraussichtliche Ankunftszeit

2. Fahrzeugabgabe. Legen Sie am Übergabepunkt einfach Ihre Centurion Card in Titan vor und teilen Sie Ihren Rückkehrtermin mit.

3. Rückbestätigung. Übermitteln Sie mind. 30 Minuten vor Ihrer Rückkehr telefonisch die folgenden Angaben:
– Flugnummer und Airline
– Voraussichtliche Ankunftszeit

Bitte beachten Sie: Ohne telefonische Rückbestätigungist die Bereitstellung Ihres Fahrzeugs am Rückgabepunkt nicht möglich.

4. Fahrzeugrücknahme. Nehmen Sie Ihr Fahrzeug am Rückgabepunkt entgegen. Kosten und Gebühren bezahlen Sie bequem mit Ihrer Centurion Card.

Anmeldung und Rückbestätigung mindestens 30 Minuten vor
Ankunft bzw. Rückkehr unter: 0800 410 4000 – OPTION 3
Aus dem Ausland: + 49 69 588 099 888 – OPTION 3

Gebühren
Valet-Servicegebühr: EUR 30,–
Parkgebühren: EUR 29,– pro angefangene 24 Std.
American Express
Fahrzeugreinigung: EUR 37,–"

new benefits are ridiculous:

e.g : -access to DB lounge! I hate DB!
- goldpoint plus gold elite- never heard of that!
- Club 5c- Relais&Chateaux
- Steigenberger and Intercity:D:D:D hotel- help!
- Kempinski-PC
-valet park service
the only real benefits are the insurances thats definetely all!

OMG !!! :eek: :confused:
I believed to have the worst Centurion card on earth... but the german one wins :D
Starwood, Hilton, MO ...? None of these ??
For our US friends, who don't have the luck to know the Intercity hotels: they are located in the main railways stations in Germany. A real nice benefit all FlyerTalkers dreamed about :eek:

(...)
Starwood, Hilton, MO ...? None of these ??
(...)

SPG Gold, Hilton Gold and MO free night are benefits of the existing german cent card. citationvultra pointed out the additional features of the titanium card, AFAIK SPG, Hilton and MO are still aboard.

The Valet Parking is available to the general public, only the extra fee is void if the Titanium card owner is on a biz or first flight that is booked through cent service, the general parking fees are still to be paid. The limo service is offered through some airlines in certain classes without paying through centurion as well. The loyalty programmes are almost unchanged. so it is an extra 1000 Euros for a piece of metal that still creates problems during payment process as some vendor machines cannot read the magnetic stripe properly. Unless they come up with something really cool I will downgrade as soon as my new membership fee is due.

I will give them one more task to get me a tee time at Pebble Beach between august 13 and 15 which they were never able to come up with in the past........

CFG911

I hope I don't get "chosen" with these benefits ... :rolleyes:

:D


But since the chosen ones have no option to keep the regular card, it's probably just a matter of time when the rest will be chosen as well.

The new benefits are outragously ridiculous! The Valet parking - what a joke - and of no interest to those who come by limousine, taxi, train, rental car, etc.

AmEx kept talking about the possibility of getting airline status with the relaunch. Cent Cards in other countries come along with gold and platinum status in a number of airlines, for example in Italy, the USA, Mexico, Singapore.

Time to say goodbye to the German AmEx Cent ... I have made up my mind.

AmEx kept talking about the possibility of getting airline status with the relaunch. Cent Cards in other countries come along with gold and platinum status in a number of airlines, for example in Italy, the USA, Mexico, Singapore.


Is there a (documented) list of the Centurion benefits per country?

Found it: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/361021-centurion-platinum-benefits-comprehensive-listings-country.html

it really seems, that there are no real advantages.
Downgrading for me is easy - my old platinum card is still on my account...
Wonder, whether they come up with the real benefits, when half or 3/4 of existing cent members have cancelled
Does any of the other (beside Amex Platin) cards, i.e. Master or Visa platinum have a similar travel service like Amex?
hok

wow, this "enhancement is really a joke......

The valet service - really weak i was more hoping of something which LH offers to their F-Class passengers and a real meet and greet service which speeds things up when you arrive e.g. in FRA... but i guess a dream...

The hotel benefits - well Intercity hotels - they must be joking why not adding Best Western or Forumule 1 hotels to the list......

The goldpoints plus benefit is a bit better as carlson hotels also include regent hotels but for redeeming the points most current regent hotels are not included as some regent hotels are being managed by Four seasons, but they are new openings..... the point earning is ok, and the gold status in particular in europe, ME and Africa offers some nice benefits, but nothing earth shattering and the upgrades are very limited..... why cant they not add to the benefits a mainstream program such Starwood or Hyatt... ridiculous....

the 5 C Club i get without centurion... and kempinski not really better....

so what now - until now i havent been invited yet to upgrade - and they better do not.... to say in German - "ich komme mir etwas verarscht vor" for this to double the fee really a joke... once they invite me i will talk to customer service.... will see what they say.

B

I hope I don't get "chosen" with these benefits ... :rolleyes:

I got "chosen" today. What a mess. I already spent 150k this year. What a mistake. But the points went to M&L. Do you consider to downgrade?

:td:
GOT the package today. The invitation is a "hassle to pay 2.000,00 Euro plus improvement fees".

Valet parking and better insurance combined with getting problems when paying with the metal card for this improvements?

Lousy... That are realy ALL improvements? American Express: Please doublecheck for real improvements and don´t send a Steigenberger reminder...
Even the Steigenberger Flagship-Hotel in Frankfurt is a hotel making my grandparents feeling good...

:td:

We have to write to Werner Decker - beeing the last Titanum user and last employee working for Amex after the next/last improvements?

Good day
FIP

5 C membership you get without staying there. ONE Call is enaugh. Got the card today. - Thats all you need to do. No 2.000 Euro improvements are to be invested.

NICE

I was lucky - I was NOT chosen - got today my monthly bill and only charged the usual Euro 1.000...... great.

But on the flip side it also shows that now there seems to be a two tier Centurion one with Titanium and 2.000 Euro and one with Plastic and 1.000 Euro.... policy of AMEX in this case very intransparent as usual - well not that i am unhappy - but just a remark

NICE

I was lucky - I was NOT chosen - got today my monthly bill and only charged the usual Euro 1.000...... great.

But on the flip side it also shows that now there seems to be a two tier Centurion one with Titanium and 2.000 Euro and one with Plastic and 1.000 Euro.... policy of AMEX in this case very intransparent as usual - well not that i am unhappy - but just a remark

Interesting, but one thing doesn't make sense to me: If there's a two tier Centurion, why can't "chosen ones" choose to keep their non-titanium then?

Interesting, but one thing doesn't make sense to me: If there's a two tier Centurion, why can't "chosen ones" choose to keep their non-titanium then?


Well I dont think you have the choice, it depends if you get chosen or not.... look also at my name it starts with W - at the very end of the alphabet or they choose first the biggest spenders i have no idea - maybe it has to do with the fact that i live abroad in Asia, no idea.... but i am very happy - and if you look on the Centurion Website nothing is being mentioned there that there are changes... so still an informal program?

Well I dont think you have the choice, it depends if you get chosen or not.... look also at my name it starts with W - at the very end of the alphabet or they choose first the biggest spenders i have no idea - maybe it has to do with the fact that i live abroad in Asia, no idea.... but i am very happy - and if you look on the Centurion Website nothing is being mentioned there that there are changes... so still an informal program?

There's a small reference on the website about airport valet parking service and that it's only for titanium card holders (Travel -> PDF-Broschüren/Informationen).

But IF the titanium card really is a "new product" placed above plastic centurion, like cent above plat some yrs ago, and they want to keep plastic cent on the long term... then IMHO members would have the choice to stay with the plastic program, if they'd like to. It really doesn't make sense that they force some top members to titanium and the only options for them is to pay doubled fee or to drop to plat, while some other members can keep their plastic cent forever... just my two cents.

Very interesting....and i agree

as usual the communication policy of AMEX is lousy and very intransparent...

I personally don't think that there will be a two tier Centurion Product - it will be just a matter of time until they will offer the enhancement to all Centurion Card Holders with the increase of the fee, anyhow they can do it at any time and then bill the fee pro-rata for the first year if needed and or credit the fee for the "plastic" Centurion.

Maybe it is also an issue, that they cannot produce so many Titanium Cards at a time and it is a slow gradual process - in particular if they would change all the numbers which would be a pain in the ........

I honestly dont know - but for 2000 Euros i don't think i would be keeping Centurion - yes they are some good benefits for me which i use a lot - but they are not worthwhile 2000 Euros - and the new reported benefits - a joke...

anyhow... I am happy with my plastic card....so i wont be pushing it.

After all this negative reviews:

Anybody out there whos happy with the 2,000 Euro
TITANIUM ? Enaugh benefits for additional 1,000 Euro?

:confused:

After all this negative reviews:

Anybody out there whos happy with the 2,000 Euro
TITANIUM ? Enaugh benefits for additional 1,000 Euro?

:confused:


Well it looks like, after reading comments on another forum, that everybody will be receiving the titanium card at one stage, it seems they only have the capacity to make a certain number of titanium cards per months.... so it will take quite some time... hopefully for me it takes forever.....:)

I am up for the switch to Titanium in January, 3 months before my new annual fee is up.
In these 3 months I can test the new "features".
I frankly told them on the phone that they shouldn't even bother sending me the new one.
Everything they are offering I already have and usually one level better !

They then told me that I could always downgrade to Platinum to which I responded that I could also cancel the card entirely....

I don't think I will be paying €2.000 for this product. The current fee of €1.000 is already borderline madness to be honest.

Some people here tend to think/hope that the titanium Centurion is a new tier of Centurion, and that they could keep indefinitely their plastic Centurion at € 1,000 fee . That's false.

Germany is a bit late, compared to other countries, switching from the "cheap" €1,000 fee to the new standard €2,000 fee (in Europe).

But this move is intended for ALL Centurion members worldwide.

Of course, due to some logistic problems, Amex is introducing the Titanium card gradually. The process will take more than one year, that's the experience of other markets like UK, France, International currency cards.

But sooner or later you will have to decide : keeping the Centurion at €2,000 or downgrading to Platinum. There is no third way.

>But sooner or later you will have to decide : keeping the Centurion at €2,000 or downgrading to Platinum. There is no third way.<

bollocks!
i simply told them to put their centurion/titanium stuff where the sun won't shine and send me a green amexco card, which they did.

esay, huh? ;)

>But sooner or later you will have to decide : keeping the Centurion at €2,000 or downgrading to Platinum. There is no third way.<

bollocks!
i simply told them to put their centurion/titanium stuff where the sun won't shine and send me a green amexco card, which they did.

esay, huh? ;)

Kudos to that! Green is the new black!

well, got my card in september.
and i will pay the 2.000euro.

first i was thinking of cancalling totally.
but than i realized, that i just dont care if its 1000euro or 2000euro. its a ripoff anway :)

sixt diamond is a nice perk. and the new travel insurances are better now. as i have a least twice a year my baggage lost, i think its still a good deal at the end of the day for me to keep the card. and i agree, before i go to platinum, i would go for green or blue :)

btw. someone mentioned a new titanium hotline( is this the same with the other number for the centurion highspenders?) i cant find the new number on the back of the card.

dp