The Death Spiral of the Centurion Card
Jan 10, 2014, 12:06 pm
#106
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,528
I think the trend may be heading in the other direction.
Jan 10, 2014, 12:11 pm
#107
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,043
So January 1st I was actually expecting a communication from Amex about all the cool enhancements that they are offering Cent members. Silly me. Instead benefits get reduced then further reduced with todays DL (not Amex) announcement.
I'm holding our for Cent DL Plat status to be upgraded to Diamond. If this happens then that's equal to the new top tier lounge program so Cents would not loose guest privileges.
I guess I can only hope
I'm holding our for Cent DL Plat status to be upgraded to Diamond. If this happens then that's equal to the new top tier lounge program so Cents would not loose guest privileges.
I guess I can only hope
It's one of the only areas I've ever seen profit driven business people, who are employed by, or operate free market, customer serving businesses operate in a complete state of suspended belief. As I said in post #39 of this thread (in response to you actually):
Originally Posted by scubadu
The "death spiral of the Centurion Card" actually began quite sometime ago...
Jan 10, 2014, 12:27 pm
#108
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: YVR
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Plat (earned as Starwood), Canadian Amex Plat & resulting statuses, WestJet Silver
Posts: 663
Jan 10, 2014, 12:33 pm
#109
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,026
Demand for lounge space exceeds supply at peak times. A price increase is one way to restore balance. Another way is to increase capacity, which American Express seems to be doing by building the Centurion Lounge network.
It will be interesting to see if AA and UA follow DL's lead, introduce premium priced club membership levels, and strip guest privileges from the base level. I wonder if any airline has the technology to implement variable pricing for guests? It might make sense to charge a higher guest fee at peak periods.
Frankly, I am surprised that Delta and American Express did not decide to eliminate Platinum card access to SkyClubs. This could be a point of differentiation for the SkyMiles Reserve card which competes directly with AA and UA cards.
It will be interesting to see if AA and UA follow DL's lead, introduce premium priced club membership levels, and strip guest privileges from the base level. I wonder if any airline has the technology to implement variable pricing for guests? It might make sense to charge a higher guest fee at peak periods.
Frankly, I am surprised that Delta and American Express did not decide to eliminate Platinum card access to SkyClubs. This could be a point of differentiation for the SkyMiles Reserve card which competes directly with AA and UA cards.
Jan 10, 2014, 12:44 pm
#110
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,043
I highly doubt Amex is going to take on the operational expenses to open multiple Cent lounges within the same airport and yet all Plat/Cent card holders will have access to one lounge.
This just doesn't scale IMHO.
Regards
Jan 10, 2014, 1:10 pm
#111
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: YVR
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Plat (earned as Starwood), Canadian Amex Plat & resulting statuses, WestJet Silver
Posts: 663
I just don't see how Cent lounges would scale. Previously, the Plat and Cent cards offered lounge access to multiple airlines, so demand could (at least in some airports) be spread across multiple lounges (AA/CO/DL) and as I've stated elsewhere, AA for example had four Admirals clubs in DFW alone.
I highly doubt Amex is going to take on the operational expenses to open multiple Cent lounges within the same airport and yet all Plat/Cent card holders will have access to one lounge.
This just doesn't scale IMHO.
Regards
I highly doubt Amex is going to take on the operational expenses to open multiple Cent lounges within the same airport and yet all Plat/Cent card holders will have access to one lounge.
This just doesn't scale IMHO.
Regards
If they're going to be in the lounge business, and I'm not saying they shouldn't be, they should follow the model used by many international airlines. Take BA's model, Terraces Lounges for Business Class passengers and/or ones with status, First Lounges for First Class Passengers, and the even higher tier Concorde Room for Transatlantic First Class Passengers. I think Amex should do something similar within their lounges. First off, call the lounges themselves simply, The American Express Lounge. Within the lounges, have two sections, a large American Express Traveler Lounge for Platinum members or people who paid to enter (Terraces equivalent) and a separate Centurion Lounge (First / Concorde Room equivalent) that is behind glass doors, exclusively for Cents. Besides addressing the issue of crowding, it would also end the tacky and awkward practice of them offering special drinks to Cents in front of other guests, as they do in LAS, "Sir, your black card entitles you to Johnny Walker Blue Label or 'good' Champagne, would you like to have either?"
Last edited by tjk1976; Jan 10, 2014 at 1:12 pm Reason: Typo
Jan 10, 2014, 1:41 pm
#112
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,092
From its inception, I thought the whole idea of the Centurion Lounge was flawed. I cringed when I first heard about it. Attaching the Cent name to a lounge that is open to so many people that it is frequently filled to capacity, as is the case in LAS, just further erodes the exclusivity of the Cent product and brand IMO.
If they're going to be in the lounge business, and I'm not saying they shouldn't be, they should follow the model used by many international airlines. Take BA's model, Terraces Lounges for Business Class passengers and/or ones with status, First Lounges for First Class Passengers, and the even higher tier Concorde Room for Transatlantic First Class Passengers. I think Amex should do something similar within their lounges. First off, call the lounges themselves simply, The American Express Lounge. Within the lounges, have two sections, a large American Express Traveler Lounge for Platinum members or people who paid to enter (Terraces equivalent) and a separate Centurion Lounge (First / Concorde Room equivalent) that is behind glass doors, exclusively for Cents. Besides addressing the issue of crowding, it would also end the tacky and awkward practice of them offering special drinks to Cents in front of other guests, as they do in LAS, "Sir, your black card entitles you to Johnny Walker Blue Label or 'good' Champagne, would you like to have either?"
If they're going to be in the lounge business, and I'm not saying they shouldn't be, they should follow the model used by many international airlines. Take BA's model, Terraces Lounges for Business Class passengers and/or ones with status, First Lounges for First Class Passengers, and the even higher tier Concorde Room for Transatlantic First Class Passengers. I think Amex should do something similar within their lounges. First off, call the lounges themselves simply, The American Express Lounge. Within the lounges, have two sections, a large American Express Traveler Lounge for Platinum members or people who paid to enter (Terraces equivalent) and a separate Centurion Lounge (First / Concorde Room equivalent) that is behind glass doors, exclusively for Cents. Besides addressing the issue of crowding, it would also end the tacky and awkward practice of them offering special drinks to Cents in front of other guests, as they do in LAS, "Sir, your black card entitles you to Johnny Walker Blue Label or 'good' Champagne, would you like to have either?"
Jan 10, 2014, 2:00 pm
#113
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Originally Posted by New York Times on 2.2.1986
WHEN Robert J. Shalhoub set up his New York City accounting practice, he decided to pay a $250 premium for an American Express platinum card, thinking it would give his fledgling business instant prestige. Instead, he found the reaction was mixed. ''Some clients were in awe,'' he recalls, ''but others would say, 'You sucker, you're paying $250 for what?' ''
The so-called ''premium cards'' offer a variety of services that may justify the fee for big spenders or frequent travelers. Mr. Shalhoub, for one, got a personalized, 24-hour toll-free travel service, customized billing privileges, check-cashing services, $500,000 of travel accident insurance and a complimentary membership in the Centurion Club, an international network of 25 private clubs. Beyond that, the platinum card confers on the holder ''unparalleled prestige worldwide,'' as the American Express Company puts it in promotional literature.
The so-called ''premium cards'' offer a variety of services that may justify the fee for big spenders or frequent travelers. Mr. Shalhoub, for one, got a personalized, 24-hour toll-free travel service, customized billing privileges, check-cashing services, $500,000 of travel accident insurance and a complimentary membership in the Centurion Club, an international network of 25 private clubs. Beyond that, the platinum card confers on the holder ''unparalleled prestige worldwide,'' as the American Express Company puts it in promotional literature.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...h-gru-gig.html
Jan 10, 2014, 2:05 pm
#114
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Texas
Posts: 256
The Centurion brand was used on clubs long before the Centurion Card existed:
And some Centurion Clubs still exist outside the USA:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...h-gru-gig.html
And some Centurion Clubs still exist outside the USA:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...h-gru-gig.html
Jan 10, 2014, 2:07 pm
#115
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: YVR
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Plat (earned as Starwood), Canadian Amex Plat & resulting statuses, WestJet Silver
Posts: 663
The Centurion brand was used on clubs long before the Centurion Card existed:
And some Centurion Clubs still exist outside the USA:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...h-gru-gig.html
And some Centurion Clubs still exist outside the USA:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...h-gru-gig.html
Jan 10, 2014, 2:22 pm
#116
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,043
Be that as it may, I still contend that attaching the name to a vanilla facility such as the LAS Centurion Lounge and filling it with every Tom, Dick, and Harry who has an Amex card or is willing to part with fifty bucks seriously dilutes the prestige and exclusivity of a card bearing the same namesake that costs $2500 a year. Just sayin'.
I believe in this case, the naming is an extension of their corporate branding, and not the card. In fact, I'd submit most average "Joe Sixpack" Americans absolutely recognize the logo and have no idea the Cent card exists. Additionally, since we are having this discussion in a thread titled "The Death Spiral of the Centurion Card" and many Cent card holders in this thread willing admit they continue to hold the card out of "fear of letting" it go than out of any real rational belief that the card is any longer worth the money, I'm not sure how much "prestige or exclusivity" this card has remaining.
Regards
Jan 10, 2014, 2:36 pm
#117
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: RDU
Posts: 389
Given how the corresponding thread on the Delta forum has blown up, I would think either UA or AA could easily poach some elites from DL right now.
Jan 10, 2014, 2:45 pm
#118
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,043
Repeat after me, "travel isn't going to be as fun as the good old days"
Regards
Jan 10, 2014, 3:04 pm
#119
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,528
I was referring to the Citi Prestige, which is rumored to have AC in the near future.
Jan 10, 2014, 3:29 pm
#120
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 208
Well if you can get into a Centurion lounge with a Cent card, Amex Plat or 50 bucks.
Who's the sucker in that exchange.
Looks like a lot of Cents are way overpaying for Amex Plat benefits.
It's beginning to look like all the posers who color their Plat cards black to look like Cent Cards may have actually had it right all along (other than still being a poser)
Who's the sucker in that exchange.
Looks like a lot of Cents are way overpaying for Amex Plat benefits.
It's beginning to look like all the posers who color their Plat cards black to look like Cent Cards may have actually had it right all along (other than still being a poser)