Wow, if I had those same experiences after 22 years of Centurion membership, I'd probably cancel too. It's sad to hear that so many things used to be so much better.

And not to rub salt in your wounds, but people like me are probably the reason that's happened. I just became a Centurion member a few years ago, paying the exorbitant initiation and annual fees for the first time. I had no real basis to compare the benefits and customer service to, besides my platinum card which I've held for about the same time you've had your Centurion. To me, the benefits and improved service made the black card worthwhile. So, honestly, they'd probably rather ditch you and have me--I really don't say that to be rude, but to put it in AmEx's perspective.

That being said, some of the examples you gave in your post are inexcusable customer service failures at any level, not just for a Centurion cardholder. Others, I'll admit, come across to me like petty whining, and if those are the ones you harped on when dealing with AmEx customer service then maybe they just decided you were a more troublesome customer than you were worth.

Now the million dollar question--have you found a credit card to switch to that offers the kind of service you expect and deserve?