Hi y'all, been lurking here for a long time.

About 5 years ago I got a phone call from an assistant of the Taiwan Amex CEO saying he would like to visit me at home or work with a small gift and discuss a very special Amex product. It was basically a Centurion invitation but the whole process felt very classy and personal. I never asked for or even thought about Centurion, it just came out of nowhere. We had a good chat where he helped me set up some offers I had missed on my platinum and Cathay co-brand cards. At the time I had a lot going on with my business and just wasn't in a place where I thought I would get any pleasure or benefit from the card so I politely declined.

Since then I've started trying to improve my work/life balance meaning more travel, luxury hotels etc. so thought I would get in contact with the same rep. He was still working at Amex, did a quick check that I was still eligible and made a 2 hour trip to my office to fill out the formal paperwork. Heard nothing for a few weeks then had a call saying that my credit, spend profile etc. were all great but they were concerned that I just applied for a business gold card and they would need to see continued spend over 6 months before they could make a decision.

What happened with the business gold card is that I've been a member since 09 and consistently charge around US$35k per month. At first I had a Cathay Pacific Elite credit card and I've had a platinum for about 8 years. Last year my company switched to a shipper who accepts Amex and we ship a LOT so of course I started charging all those bills to my platinum card. Amex credit dept didn't like my putting so much obvious business spend on a personal card and asked me to open a business gold card (they waived the annual fee). This was right before I reached out to resume the Centurion process so I guess they might have been concerned that when the business/personal charges were split it might have been a Bob @ HP situation. I still put at least $35k per month on my personal platinum, in fact it's creeping up towards $50k now. Charging an additional $40k per month on the business gold since I received it 3 months ago. So I guess we will see in a few months. I would quite like to get the card not but not enough to adjust my spending pattern or follow up if they decline again so que sera, sera.

Has anyone else had an experience like this, where they were invited and then soft declined or told to call back in 6 months?