I wish it was a bogus post, as I have been a loyal customer of AMEX, but it's not. I joined the forum because of the extreme frustration I experienced with the Centurion card and when I couldn't get anyone there to take my concerns seriously, I found this forum and felt people needed to know about the service downgrades and how the program has changed.

I actually just tried to post a pic of my Centurion card in front of your post, but I guess you need to have 5 posts before you are allowed to post pictures. Oh well.

I do stand corrected on the Hertz benefit, that did survive the watering down, but I am correct about Hyatt and in the past there was even USAir in those days as well.

The biggest issue with Centurion is the new pod system, which is clearly the root cause of the issues of late. It's always another team member on the phone, or you get pushed to the general pool. The quality of the agents just isn't what is used to be, especially as it comes to things like seat selection, flight changes, and actually knowing about the routes and properties that they are booking. I many case I needed to tell them what flights were available and what connections were available. This is inexcusable. I recently dealt with a simple flight change with American and was passed between 3 separate agents because the agent couldn't figure out how to re-issue the tickets. One hour and 20 minutes later it got done. This is just not what one should expect from a "premium" service.

And regarding rates, I'm not talking about promotional rates, I'm talking about published rates online with an airline. In the case of Turkish Air, these rates were online for everyone to see but for some reason their system didn't have these rates available. I am sure they could have called Turkish and gotten the same rate, but that would have been more time waiting and more effort. We, as cardholders shouldn't have to point out to the experts what is available. They should know how to find it themselves.

What I am talking about here is the DIFFERENCE in service level and how things have changed. The perks have slowly disappeared, that is indisputable for anyone that's had the card for a long time. The move away from a dedicated travel counselor and dedicated rep is definitely a problem for anyone that used to have a name and person to talk with and email directly. Knowing you is the essence of good service (same at hotels btw) and the fact that they just don't know you anymore sure doesn't feel premium to me anymore.

To each their own. If the card works for you, then by all means you should keep it. I guess it just isn't for everyone and everyone has different expectations and demands in terms of service level. With everything moving online, as an experienced traveler, I find it easier to just book things online myself - with greater speed, less after purchase issues (since you can make changes with the airlines online and not wait for an Amex rep who has to make the changes) and with greater accuracy and transparancy.

I do hope, for the sake of others, that Amex Centurion gets their act together. I had it for 23 years (I just looked again) and am definitely sad to shed the card in favor of a Platinum. Its not even about the $5000 charge, it's about all of the errors and problems that cause angst and which could be avoided by just making bookings myself.

Wishing you good travels!