Originally Posted by
exigence
It will be interesting to see how this year goes for this thread given the economy.
A personal question: for myself, I was able to get the JP Morgan Reserve. I primarily use this and the Amex Platinum, and I use the latter where benefits help (e.g., FHR) and the former for most everything else.
My collective annual spend is not near the rumors of $250k-$500k for the card. However, I anecdotally have seen mention that living in a lower CoL area, and having a thicker credit and client file with Amex, may help chances of getting one. It's all speculation anyhow.
Part of me wants to focus in on trying to get an invitation and try to capitalize on its benefits -- moving virtually all spend to the Platinum, etc. I have updated my income and assets with Amex and submitted the interest form.
The rest of me thinks I am being silly and should leave it alone, focusing on my JPMR as basically a CSR plus better service and United Club, plus the Platinum, and putting my time and money to better use.
Curious as to others' thoughts, especially those with any experience with the cards.
I don't know anyone in recent years who has received an invite with less than $250k on a personal card except maybe some Scandinavian countries where Amex is not popular at all. Even in Asia $250k-$300k is the bare minimum right now along with the right spend profile. I know some people from way back in the early days of Centurion who were invited with much lower spend but the requirements seem to have tightened up since cardholder numbers have risen. To be honest if you are not charging at least $500k+ per year I doubt you would get much value out of Centurion anyway, for me the greatest benefit is power to charge very large amounts followed closely by intangible lifestyle benefits. I also make fairly heavy use of concierge where I used to pay a separate PA service. There is no way to justify the card from a 'benefits worth $x' perspective (don't tell my wife). Just my 2c.