Originally Posted by
jn in ca
I don't carry a Centurion card, so take what I write with a grain of salt.
Your breakdown of the broad groups of Centurion carriers is dead on. I'll bet the first group is the biggest these days. Amex gets bunches of people requesting a Centurion card. Not just in the US either. Lots of the Nouveau Riche in the third world are clamoring for the card, and apparently view the AF as just the cost of the bling. Lots of card carriers for whom the actual benefits are a secondary consideration.
The third group exists. I don't know how big it is, but I remember reading the story of the guy who had his Centurion concierge plan his daughter's entire wedding. For them, access to the USAir club is not why they carry the card.
Right now, Amex is probably weighing what new benefits would target each group. I don't know what's coming, but something's coming.
Perhaps part of it is that Amex has established its reputation, they'll continue to grow that first group, particularly in developing countries, and the core customers for whom the card was originally intended aren't particularly relevant. It's like any number of luxury labels who offered beautiful, handcrafted products prior in times past, but now that they have established so much brand equity, they glue stuff together in China and have the finishing touches done in Europe for the "made in" label to be accurate.
As to your reference about the wedding planning concierge, I think this suggests something else too: that Amex views different cardholders of the Centurion card very differently. People who spend millions on extravagant things probably have a dedicated concierge who will do just about anything they request. On the other hand, that first group will simply have calls routed to the first available and the concierge won't likely offer much beyond what the Platinum concierge offers its customers.