pepemaui

Interesting, I did not know the AMEX Green and Platinum would get me first class upgrades on 9 of my 11 trips this year, including 6 cross country. Huh, silly me for wanting the centurion?

HaydenFive

Who is paying $7500 / yr? I paid $2500.

aviators99

First, it's only $2500 per year, not $7500 ($1500 for additional cardholders).

Second, the "black amex" (as you call it) gives you much more, in terms of lounge options. Check out the plat vs. cent comparison for other differences about which you have no idea.

http://www.jblackbelt.com/comparison...centurion.html

FireforEffect

You're right I have no idea. It's not 7500/yr it's 5000 initiation fee plus 2500/ yr. My mistake. Other than the airline benefits nothing else on that list matters to me. Sure, it would be great to be mid tier on multiple airlines, but I usually get my upgrades since my flights are usually non peak ones. And since Virgin doesn't service ATL being top tier with them has no benefit. I tend not to stay at Ritz or ICH properties. I don't fly private jets nor do I care for boats. I worked at two Relais and Chateaux restaurants, French Laundry and Fearrington House. It's not that hard to get a tour of a kitchen, all you have to do is ask. I don't stay at those properties when on business or vacation either regardless of amenities.

So once again the Centurion card offers a whole host of benefits that I didn't know about and for the most part I don't particularly care for either. But if it suits you so be it.

platinumPizza

In regards to a wannabe product?
I have a few high profile friends and this is how they see it:

NFL player: Joking around one day he showed me his black american express from BOA or whatever bank offers it... Didnt really care for the Centurion.. He is a high profile player
Movie personality: A business partner of mine and likes to flash it around and hand it to his assistant all the time to pay for .......
Very Wealthy Local individual: They are 2 partners and they both have one and one likes to throw it on the counter when he uses it and uses it more than the other. The other always has his employee pay with their bank card and rarely pulls it out.

None of my handful of high profile friends pay cash, and I mean NONE!


With that said it may or may not be a "wannabe" card but some very high profile people do carry it and none I know pay cash as stated, cash doesn't exist anymore if you are successful, if you are paying cash you are more than likely not paying your taxes :/

Kagehitokiri

how much cash can you carry in a pocket?

only saudis/etc roll with briefcases full.

jarusoba

Cash is dirty and stinky. Don't want to touch it.

b8b

That's what I do. I only use the Cent card for warranty purposes (and I enjoy the travel benefits), SPG Amex much better for points.

I just called to confirm with new accounts that it is invitation only now. Also, if you drop to a lower card, you have to be invited back (no more 1 year grace period). Perhaps they may be also doing this in response to the US Mint thing, if people charged $250k in coins just to get a Cent card, they can now exclude them.

yyz-kin

"And how will you be paying for this Sir?"

"I would like to pay for this using Uranus. I know it is quite expensive, but I think Uranus can cover it....."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA.

aviators99

Did you ask specifically if the threshold is still $250k?

SteveT

When I called they would not say. However I have a feeling they did away with the spending requirements. I think they are looking at average charge volume over a period of years rather then a onetime spend of $250K.

RichardMannion

You can see both sides of the coin with this one. In the UK, the process has always been like this that the product was invitational only - the criteria have never been published or a real hard benchmark figure of spend set up on. Instead they did the intake of new members in acquistion waves that make sense based on the current people that are meeting the criteria to the current opening. It has never been a free for all of all people who have spent x per month or y in a fiscal on their card. It has been, we are going to invite z people to the card based on our undisclosed criteria. Raw spend is one thing, but people who spend a bit on regular travel (that they can look to acquire) would be a favourable criteria to meet too.

On the flipside though, for the first time in what I can remember AmEx is actually advertising the Platinum Charge card product on TV in the UK. THey have advertised in the past in certain publications that would meet their target demographic, but now that seems to gone out the window. And for a long time, Platinum was invite only (even after the launch of Centurion in 1999).

Thanks,
Richard

Chroniq

For what it's worth, I'll keep everyone posted if/when I get a Centurion invite. This past year I decided to pay with my amex cards with all merchants that would accept it. I made this decision not to get Centurion status, but mainly for membership rewards points and ease of accounting.

I have to say to platinumpizza and all others that seem to be spending just to get the card, it appears that you are exactly the customer amex isn't trying to sway. For instance, since I went from spending 40k a year on all cards to nearly 300k this year I've notably recieved less targeted offers to encourage spending. It will be interesting to see after year 3 or 4 if I become coveted by amex as a large volume customer or not.

On an aside, as an amex merchant, I have high wealth customers who use amex green cards or the ever popular aa visa. Out here in The Hamptons we run the gauntlet of personality types. One of my customers' is the majority owner of a very tall building in Chicago and charges with an amex gold card and another person who owns a tri-state window company charges with a Centurion. Invitation only seems like the best way to achieve a truely high end status.

At the end of the day it's still just a method of payment.

SusanDK

I use mine exactly the same way. I had my Centurion for a couple of years before I ever pulled it out for a POS purchase, preferring to use my Platinum when making purchases in person, or for restaurant tabs and similar.

I've only used it at retailers when wanting the extra warranty, like at the Apple shop or when purchasing a flatscreen television. It paid off when my 17" Macbook had a screen fault after the normal warranty expired, and I got a credit for the entire amount.

I've benefited from the airline status since I don't fly enough to earn it, from the hotel status, again since I don't stay frequently enough to earn status at any chain, and from the Avis President's Club.

But I rarely ever flash the card.

Susan

ZbadhabitZ

Like many of the other people in this thread, I've made note of what type of cards people use to pay for things when out in public. I, too, have some acquaintances who I would consider high-level, though only one even has a Centurion card. I can think of another person in particular, an "A-List" actor with beyond comprehensible amounts of wealth, that has not only never been offered a Centurion card, but has no interest in pursuing one (he does have a PLAT).

I agree with the above, though, that the customer who ups their spending to hit $250k is not the target for Centurion. The target is, obviously, the big spender who does not really have a regard for their spend, but casually hits $250k in a year, and has a pattern of doing so. Despite the travel benefits that CENT allows for, they clearly do not target the big traveler (but as I see, the traveler who does not bargain hunt for the cheapest ticket, but spends enough to ensure upgrades from the benefits CENT does offer).

I think AMEX made a good move by moving back to truly Invitation Only, and hope that they can do enough to weed out the customers to water down CENT, and truly make it a prestige.