tangfish

I was invited to the personal cent 3 months after getting the spg amex, later converted to business cent which I've always hated the aesthetic design of (too busy). Just one data point.

tangfish

That is exactly right, and quite silly if you ask me. I actually put 90+% of my annual spend on a commonplace BOA travel rewards visa because I get 2.64% cash back. On the amount I spend per year it easily pays back my centurion AF and much much more (I pay all my taxes with it too). I only use the centurion card for things I want specific cent benefits on, and I'm stuck doing this because it's simply illogical to accumulate massive amounts of MR points versus getting that amount of cash back. I've told my Amex reps for years that improving the value of rewards I get from everyday spend would make me use the card everywhere possible... but that message never seems to get to the top. Those who think people who are offered a cent card don't care about such things are wrong imho, I think many ended up in that position exactly because they don't make irrational financial decisions. Just my 2 cents

Sohan

I've consistently put millions per year through Amex for the last 4 years (personal) and never got an invite. I only hold the gold card though and not platinum.

I've shifted away 90% of the spend to a new product with HSBC and Visa for better insight/tracking into my spending.

I know a few friends who got the cent and I know my spend is drastically higher than theirs.

GrnLantern

My experience matches this.

Clearly total spend isn't as big of a factor as we think / used to think / it used to be.

SteveT

Have you asked your friends for data points on their Amex relationship, and when did they get the Centurion Card. Was it before or after 2009.

Also, for data points, what has your biz spend consist of, ie travel, media buys, etc.

mia

In which country is your American Express relationship based?

PointsTutor

I really need to take a look at the BOA cards..

vvsf

can i be close to qualifying if my monthly spending power is 175k?

GlobalServiced

Monthly spending power? Or you are actually running $175k of goods/services through the card each month?

There are numerous factors that play into invites, ie: type of spend, amount spent, existing Amex services utilized, etc.

Los_Pepes

Historical spending amounts is just one of the factors. The nature of the spending is as big a factor. People seem to think that if they charge $1mm of industrial piping to their Amex they will get an invite. Someone who buys a $20,000 Emirates first class ticket and drops $75k at Cartier with a $400k annual spend is much more likely to get an invite.

bldr1k

I think you are right. I know lots of people with Black cards and none of them use it for business expenses. They all fly first class, spend hundreds of thousands of $ on vacations and jewelry.

SoloExperiment

For any international folks - centurion concierge had tons of access to Hamilton tour shows (particularly in London) when I asked about it yesterday; in the US they have more in Chi than NYC

iseng88

I think this forum has done me a lot of good and being a good resource for me in the past so may be time to share a little bit of what I did.... I received an invite late last year, I have been with AMEX for about 7 years as for 2017. I started with green and then plat. for the past 4-5 years my spending has not been anywhere near 2M like some of the members does.

But like what was mentioned, I think where you spend it is the key. I flew about once a month LAX>HKG/NRT, J/F. Then most of my spending comes from lux hotels, watches, jewelry and auctions.

Hope this help fellow members.

Cheers!

(attached front of my card)

SteveT

Congrats on the invite and card.

What has your average annual spend been for the past few years.

csesq

At this point (sticking with Amex) one is better off charging $50,000.00 on the Delta card (to hit medallion status) - use the everyday preferred card for most domestic purchases (getting 50% bonus) and Platinum for its perks (corp/personal/both) (or even a gold rewards plus for 2x at restaurants) For ultimately $720.00 - $895.00 year (not counting free first year or what you do) - you have it all in plastic. While nice to have one card for everything (if not happening) - this is a good compatible option where with the benefits you're at the same level.

Combined with the the extra points - can get anything you want. Really no limits.

Or or there are other cards out there ... but for those loyal to Amex (that questionably deserve it) - here is an alternative that is less expensive and gets you to a similar place.