DJ_Iceman

DISCLAIMER: My wife and I are both in the military. Our pre-tax income is around $200K, and we spend around $50K a year on our platinum Amex. By all rights, we neither qualify for nor deserve a Centurion card.

So how do I get one?

There have been many threads here about this topic. My specific question (for Centurion cardholders or those who have been offered an invitation and turned it down) is this: does charging with Amex's "partners" help? For example, I could by an $800 purse at Gucci or Escada. Given that Escada offers special deals to Amex cardholders, I purchase it there. Does that $800 look somehow better to the Centurion-blessing gods? The same applies to airlines, restaurants, even buying tickets to "Gold-only events" and things like that. The $150K annual spend criterion does not seem to be absolute, so can I help my chances by patronizing those vendors who have a special relationship with Amex?

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CO plat, UA prem; Marriott plat, Hyatt plat, Hilton gold, Starwood gold, Fairmont gold; Avis select, Hertz 5-star, all the others base level...

Steve M

I don't think anyone's been able to post definitive information on this. Presumably, charges less than $150K that indicate a certain lifestyle (such as travel or perhaps expensive retail) might actually give a better picture than someone that just spends $150K on who knows what.

One thing to consider is that the $150K limit seems to be very straight-forward: if you meet it, have good credit, and have had an Amex card for a year, then you get it (but may have to ask if all of the spend wasn't on a Platinum charge card).

As for the other "unpublished" ways, I'm not sure that you could get accurate information that you could rely on.

ThWilmesi

Again, it is only being done by invitation, my understanding having a German Centurion Card is that they are limiting it to 2000 Cards issued in germany, so even now if you would qualify for one because of your spending pattern, you would not get one until one of the 2000 cancels his Centurion Card.

How I got it? Guess I was lucky because I was not spending so much, I was one who they tried out when they offerend the Centurion Card for the first time.

axel1

Honey, don't flatter yourself ;-)

Numbers for Germany (according to the official published numbers of the Centurion magazin and my close contacts to Amex staff) by the end of 2003:

At least 15000 centurion maincard holders plus at least 10000 black supplemenatry centurion cardholders plus about another 25000 suplementary centruion cards in platinum or gold - makes a total of at least 50000 "centurions" in Germany!!

Itīs not by invitation only - there's always theat big gap between "what Amex is telling" and the "truth".
As soon as you can bring a proof of your bank, that you are good for 100K Euros, they'll issue you that card.

Amex is gagging for any idiot in Germany who is willing to pay an annual fee of 1000 Euros.

axel1

Sorry, have to update my former numbers for Germany:

Not 15000 but at least 16500 centurion main cardholders by the end of 2003!!!

So we're already far above 50K centruions in Germany.

LondonElite

Oh dear...a sense of déja vu just overcame me...

Ex Amex Card

Phone them up and ask them! Tell them you want to cancel your card and then talk to card retention. Have a few examples of disappointing service to feed them with to set the bait and then tell them that every man and his dog has a platinum card and ask them about upgrading you to Centurion.

A bit of a harsh way of putting it, but I would say this applies to pretty much all countries. I am sure they make a lot of profit from the Centurion cards.

The truth is that no one except American Express knows what the selection criteria is. My impression is that they deliberately keep it obscure to make the card look more "exclusive" but they are secretly diluting the selection criteria all the time.

Good Luck!

ahrz

There are no published criteria how to be invited for Centurion, and I think Amex will never publish any.

The criteria depend on the market : they should not be the same in the US, UK, Germany or Switzerland. There exist also huge differences between Platinum charge cards issued in different countries. The Platinum charge card is the "ultimate" product on some markets (and by invitation only), and only an "upper" product where Centurion cards exist.

To answer DJ_Iceman's question :
Spending $50K on a Platinum charge card could lead to an invitation if Amex knows that you could be able to spend more on a Centurion card ! I agree that your spending pattern (and credit history) influences the selection.

sdix

Interesting that Germany has 50K Centurians since there are only 10 places you can use the **** card in the country. (Slight exageration I know but using Amex in Germany is tough)

ahrz

50K Centurion cardholders in Germany is simply not realistic. The author of this "info" did not speak of 50K black cards, but of a total of 50K cards in Centurion accounts (includes the supplementary Platinum/Gold/Green cards to a Centurion main card).

If you suppose that 1% of the german population hold an Amex card, and 1% of all Amex cardholders have a Centurion, you become a total of about 8,000 Centurion cards (which seems to be a little bit more realistic).

There is no problem to use Amex cards in Germany these days. Except in supermarkets, where no credit cards are accepted at all (only Maestro debit cards, formerly known as "EC-Karte", "Eurocheque-Karte").

Centurion

Non US centurion cards are a different product and the requirements and benifits are different than european based centurion . On a US based card they want to see 150,000.00 spent and PAID in the last twelve from your request date. I repeat THEY WANT TO SEE 150,000.00 PAID...Just in case anyone is thinking they could buy a 150,000.00 watch and return it I can assure you they do not care what you buy as I bought 150,000 worth of excrement for my fertilizer business on my Optima card to qualify. Ok im kind of joking but not about the excrement. Oh yes it has to be a personal card if you want a personal centurion card but you could do it on any of their personal products, Optima,blue,gold,etc.

[This message has been edited by Centurion (edited Jan 13, 2004).]

ThWilmesi

Just some commentsto your posts:

You can only count basically the main card holders.

Secondly you have to tell me where in the Centurion Card magazine you have found that figure you are mentioning, I was looking all over, couldn't find that figure, maybe you can help me with a exact quote.

If it would be just for 100.000 Euros, honestly it would be very easy.... then we would have much more Centurions

but as other are saying too, we all probably do not know the exact criteria..

of course a lot has to do with this " subjective" elite feeling which Amex wants to make you believe.

If you feel that anybody who has opted for a Centurion Card is an idiot, well feel free..

me for my part, considering the fact that I am travelling a lot especially the benefit of being Starwood Plat has helped me to save a lot of money during my business trips as well as using Priority Pass is a very nice amenity. You also have not to forget that this card until now ( please correct me if I am wrong) is the only card in Germany which basically includes CDW on rental cars, this saves me a lot of money renting a lot of cars...

so maybe not everyone is an idiot - it depends all of the personal situation of anybody.

axel1

to ThWilmesi:

Of course Amex would never offically announce the numbers of all published german Centurion magazins, because I would destroy the illusion ("only 2000 selected members" LOLOLOL)they were telling you.

I've got the numbers from the official german mediafact publications, which can be found also in the internet.

The infos about the numbers of suplementary Centruion cards are actualy from people who I know very close and who have or still do work for Amex in Frankfurt.


To ahrz:

The numbers creditcards in Germany for 2002are 20.8 Mio cards:

10.6 Mio Mastercards
8.5 Mio Visas
1.45 Mio. Amex
250K Diners Club

Since Amex couldn't significally raise its numbers of cardholders in Germany, even though they are giving away Gold cards for free the first year, they now do everything to at least keep the numbers of cardsholders in Germany.

You can get your annual fee waived for blue, green and gold cards, they now even are compromising and cut your annaul fee for platinum and centruion, if you call and negotiate.

53K Centurion cards (I don't care what colour, because they all get the same service - except a few perks like PPpass) are about 3,6% of 1,45 Mio cards. So almost 4 on every 100 german Amex cards are centurions (regardless of its colour).

Ex Amex Card

I had the fee waived on my UK gold card several times and I wasn't spending massive amounts of money either.

In the UK they now do a Platinum card with no annual fee and 2% cashback. That is what attracted me back to Amex.

ThWilmesi

To Axel1:

by the way the number of 2000 Centurion Card Holders was not from Amex, but from the Spiegel, but I have to admit that it relates to 2002. That was latest info I had.