I am sure it is frustrating and they certainly keep the whole process very opaque. Jut my two cents to help try and give some perspective as I don’t know how they handle new memberships now but before I received my invite to join, we were spending $$$$ on luxury travel (international and domestic) and high end retailers - way above $100k/annually with no late payments ever (paid in full every month). I do think they look at the details like that -brands, restaurants, hotels etc that are all partners with them. Additionally I do believe that where you live plays a factor as well - so if you are in Toronto, I think it is less likely you will be extended one as there is a high concentration of current cardholders already located there. I was a platinum cardholder for years and had only mentioned the centurion in passing to a rep (not even someone I dealt with regularly) and within six months I had an invite. Happy to answer any other questions as someone answered them for me way back when….😀
PS. As someone in the thread mentioned earlier,
yes, benefits have gradually been decreasing so I think if annual fees ever go up in the Canada, Amex will lose a lot of us as there is not enough distinction between Platinum and Centurion like there used to be….