diminos

Hi All

I have done a search on whether this has been mentioned before, and while i did find some threads, i decided to write something myself, as honestly i have been pretty disappointed with most offerings from the IDC Centurion Card.

Let me first say,that i have had the IDC Centurion card since 2000. So i am one of the charter members(if this term still applies). AMEX was always a great security to have in my wallet. Wherever / Whenever i traveled this was the one card that never had any glitches, or not getting approved or anything close to being unreliable. In fact the complete opposite, whether travelling to India, Africa, the Caribs or Maldives, this card was always there for me.

So all in all, the card does what it has to do. Then couple years ago i see a membership increase. i think it was from $2.500 to $4,000. I didn't really like this, as i had already seen that the level of benefits was not "exclusive" anymore. i.e not many benefits were unattainable or important. Even the 3rd or 4th night free offerings, were easily accessible through a number of online booking sites.

So after i saw the increase of the annual membership cost, i give them a call. An advisor starts explaining to me that now i will be having a "personal relationship manager" who speaks my language, and will know my preferences etc etc. OK i say, but really this is not what i want. I have a PA that does that for me, and in fact, i enjoy the booking process of any hotel or flights that most of the time i like to do it myself.

Then last year, again my membership fee is due to be paid. So, again i ask for a list of benefits for this year. I see Melia Platinum (i did not even know the Melia brand) Hilton Diamond... and the only notable or of interest was the Virgin and Emirates gold card. Unfortunately for me though, i already had EK gold, and VS gold was not of interest as i am based in Greece, and not the UK. Shangri-LA diamond seemed interesting, though to be honest i have never used it yet. Again disappointed at the almost none existent offerings, i again pay me fees and renew.

Now this year again comes around, (this time i have already paid my membership fee) and hence chose to write this. I am wondering, is Centurion planning on offering something new or interesting for next year? Are they going to offer any Star Alliance memberships? Something excluding Carlton, or Melia or Hilton which sorry to say, in my view these chains are not the chains that (IMHO) are ones that a Centurion cardholder books.

I am not going to go the the yacht and plane charter, where the rates quoted are completely ridiculous. Not competitive at all. While i can understand this "flying" 20 years ago, now with the online marketplace it is easy to compare prices.

Anyway, really look forward receiving your views - Any other cardholders frustrated?Is there any information on what benefits we may be seeing soon..(hopefully at least!)