Centurion card (USA) refresh. Some benefits removed/added. $5k annual fee.
Jan 4, 2022, 7:03 pm
#766
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Redondo Beach, CA USA
Programs: UA 1KMM, Bonvoy LTE+A, HH D, Nat'l EE, Hertz Plat, Avis PC
Posts: 3,713
Wow, if I had those same experiences after 22 years of Centurion membership, I'd probably cancel too. It's sad to hear that so many things used to be so much better.
And not to rub salt in your wounds, but people like me are probably the reason that's happened. I just became a Centurion member a few years ago, paying the exorbitant initiation and annual fees for the first time. I had no real basis to compare the benefits and customer service to, besides my platinum card which I've held for about the same time you've had your Centurion. To me, the benefits and improved service made the black card worthwhile. So, honestly, they'd probably rather ditch you and have me--I really don't say that to be rude, but to put it in AmEx's perspective.
That being said, some of the examples you gave in your post are inexcusable customer service failures at any level, not just for a Centurion cardholder. Others, I'll admit, come across to me like petty whining, and if those are the ones you harped on when dealing with AmEx customer service then maybe they just decided you were a more troublesome customer than you were worth.
Now the million dollar question--have you found a credit card to switch to that offers the kind of service you expect and deserve?
And not to rub salt in your wounds, but people like me are probably the reason that's happened. I just became a Centurion member a few years ago, paying the exorbitant initiation and annual fees for the first time. I had no real basis to compare the benefits and customer service to, besides my platinum card which I've held for about the same time you've had your Centurion. To me, the benefits and improved service made the black card worthwhile. So, honestly, they'd probably rather ditch you and have me--I really don't say that to be rude, but to put it in AmEx's perspective.
That being said, some of the examples you gave in your post are inexcusable customer service failures at any level, not just for a Centurion cardholder. Others, I'll admit, come across to me like petty whining, and if those are the ones you harped on when dealing with AmEx customer service then maybe they just decided you were a more troublesome customer than you were worth.
Now the million dollar question--have you found a credit card to switch to that offers the kind of service you expect and deserve?
Jan 4, 2022, 7:06 pm
#767
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,145
As a Centurion cardholder of 22 years, I finally gave up my Centurion membership.
As a loyal Amex customer since 1988, I worked hard to help the team at Centurion understand how appalling their customer service had become, how untrained their agents were, and how their new team structure vs dedicated contacts has led to booking errors, mistakes, and the general feeling one gets when calling a remote call center that knows nothing about you.
This is everything Centurion claims it is not.
I tried reaching out to senior team members at Amex with no response. They simply don’t care.
I finally spoke at length with a very sweet and nice “executive customer service” team member I had spoken to a year ago when things started going off the rails and she promised me that she would discuss my issues with “management”, but in the end was given the run around with the obligatory “I’m so sorry we can’t meet your needs and that we are losing you.
I personally was mentored and coached for years by an old leader of American Express named Alan Loren. He would be turning in his grave if he knew how terrible the Centurion product had become. He was a believer in the customer experience and in those days management was willing to speak directly to a customer to understand their concerns. No longer
AEXP happily lost me as a Centurion customer after 22 years, without doing anything to try to make amends for the terrible service received.
Here are some of the recent shortfalls that finally got me to cancel this card:
- Multiple booking errors leading to problems with travel, lost seats, lost flights, etc.
- Multiple times I received no call back from an agent I had spoken to at length and literally no way to get back in touch with them, since there is no longer a personal point of contact for Centurion members (just a large team who often isn’t available anyways and then your call goes into a pool). Centurion has become a faceless, nameless call center experience.
- There’s been a dramatic elimination of historical benefits, personalized events, and special perks - only to be replaced by a complicated grouping of “experiences”, which quickly become unavailable anyway - “Oh sorry”, they say on the same morning an event becomes available for booking, “the event you want isn't available anymore We can put you on a waitlist”. They should be ashamed of this new experience program.
- Gone is Hyatt, United, Hertz and other airline and hotel programs where status was afforded.
- When booking flights, almost always, the travel team couldn’t even find the same rates I could find online. I literally booked 5 business class seats to Turkey last summer for 1/2 the cost they quoted. When I pointed it out and showed them, they simply said they couldn’t get the same rates - baffling, as they are supposed to be the experts. They don’t even take the time to shop, offer creative suggestions that any pro would offer, or even understand or know the properties and routes they are quoting.
- When trying to book a difficult restaurant reservation through the “concierge” they called back a day later saying that nothing was available, but when I called the restaurant right afterwards, they gave me a table.
Their concierges can’t even get what any normal person can get, making you wonder why they are even there. It’s become better to simply do things yourself vs working with the Centurion team.
- When I cut my spend a year ago, in protest of their terrible service, saying I would up it again when they proved they would improve, I never even got a call asking why. They simply don’t care and Centurion cardholders are treated like everyone else. There is no more special treatment or special feeling.
Which begs the question - what is one paying $5000 for each year? Do they even really want to have this offering anymore? Do they still care about the customer experience or is it just about the bottom line? Do they even customer Customer Lifetime Value anymore?
There are so many more examples of terrible service, whittled down options comparable to Platinum and many more instances of a lack of travel knowledge by their team.
It seems Amex has given up on their Centurion cardholders, many of whom are their most loyal supporters and brand ambassadors. I feel given up on and am saddened by what has become of this iconic card. I suspect they expect and accept the departures as this just isn’t what they want to focus their time on.
As a loyal Amex customer since 1988, I worked hard to help the team at Centurion understand how appalling their customer service had become, how untrained their agents were, and how their new team structure vs dedicated contacts has led to booking errors, mistakes, and the general feeling one gets when calling a remote call center that knows nothing about you.
This is everything Centurion claims it is not.
I tried reaching out to senior team members at Amex with no response. They simply don’t care.
I finally spoke at length with a very sweet and nice “executive customer service” team member I had spoken to a year ago when things started going off the rails and she promised me that she would discuss my issues with “management”, but in the end was given the run around with the obligatory “I’m so sorry we can’t meet your needs and that we are losing you.
I personally was mentored and coached for years by an old leader of American Express named Alan Loren. He would be turning in his grave if he knew how terrible the Centurion product had become. He was a believer in the customer experience and in those days management was willing to speak directly to a customer to understand their concerns. No longer
AEXP happily lost me as a Centurion customer after 22 years, without doing anything to try to make amends for the terrible service received.
Here are some of the recent shortfalls that finally got me to cancel this card:
- Multiple booking errors leading to problems with travel, lost seats, lost flights, etc.
- Multiple times I received no call back from an agent I had spoken to at length and literally no way to get back in touch with them, since there is no longer a personal point of contact for Centurion members (just a large team who often isn’t available anyways and then your call goes into a pool). Centurion has become a faceless, nameless call center experience.
- There’s been a dramatic elimination of historical benefits, personalized events, and special perks - only to be replaced by a complicated grouping of “experiences”, which quickly become unavailable anyway - “Oh sorry”, they say on the same morning an event becomes available for booking, “the event you want isn't available anymore We can put you on a waitlist”. They should be ashamed of this new experience program.
- Gone is Hyatt, United, Hertz and other airline and hotel programs where status was afforded.
- When booking flights, almost always, the travel team couldn’t even find the same rates I could find online. I literally booked 5 business class seats to Turkey last summer for 1/2 the cost they quoted. When I pointed it out and showed them, they simply said they couldn’t get the same rates - baffling, as they are supposed to be the experts. They don’t even take the time to shop, offer creative suggestions that any pro would offer, or even understand or know the properties and routes they are quoting.
- When trying to book a difficult restaurant reservation through the “concierge” they called back a day later saying that nothing was available, but when I called the restaurant right afterwards, they gave me a table.
Their concierges can’t even get what any normal person can get, making you wonder why they are even there. It’s become better to simply do things yourself vs working with the Centurion team.
- When I cut my spend a year ago, in protest of their terrible service, saying I would up it again when they proved they would improve, I never even got a call asking why. They simply don’t care and Centurion cardholders are treated like everyone else. There is no more special treatment or special feeling.
Which begs the question - what is one paying $5000 for each year? Do they even really want to have this offering anymore? Do they still care about the customer experience or is it just about the bottom line? Do they even customer Customer Lifetime Value anymore?
There are so many more examples of terrible service, whittled down options comparable to Platinum and many more instances of a lack of travel knowledge by their team.
It seems Amex has given up on their Centurion cardholders, many of whom are their most loyal supporters and brand ambassadors. I feel given up on and am saddened by what has become of this iconic card. I suspect they expect and accept the departures as this just isn’t what they want to focus their time on.
Very unfortunate recounting. Glad you saw fit to cut the cord. No one should be captive to a "service" provider if they are not providing services.
Jan 4, 2022, 7:27 pm
#768
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 7
I think my issue is that I am comparing my recent experience to my experiences of the past, which were seamless. There used to be a dedicated customer service rep assigned to each cardholder, as well as a dedicated travel counselor. They got to know you, your preferences, your interests, and things really felt very personal and customized. The concierge used to be able to get hot tables and really pull off amazing things. With the changeover to the team model, you always get someone different on the line when you call in and often your own team members just aren't available to talk with, which means you end up explaining everything over again to a less trained customer service or travel rep, who just doesn't know you. If you call back in, you almost never get the same person, so each time you work on something you have to repeat yourself again. With regards to your question, I've decided to step down to a Platinum card, because many of the offerings are the same. I will certainly miss the Delta Platinum status most, but in the end, if you are willing to buy your way into the premium seats, this perk starts losing its value. The other stuff like Equinox or Saks I just didn't use, so I guess for others this may hold value but for me it didn't really mean much. I was really paying for the high level of customer service, saving me time to work on other things, but in the end, I found myself spending much more time, so it just wasn't worth it. Many of the other perks are quite similar between the Platinum and the Centurion cards and I don't think the teams are any better at Centurion and in some cases even worse. I suspect that Centurion like many others, are dealing with turnover and many of the reps just don't have the same level of tenure or experience as in the past, resulting in the service failures I mentioned and lack of a personal approach. I'm definitely disappointed to leave but I've watch the card get watered down to a shadow of what it once was. I'm a loyal customer generally and I really had hoped the Centurion team would make some gesture to apologize for the service failures, but I guess your right, they just didn't want to deal with the complaining anymore. In the end, it's hard to justify $5000 a year when you can spend that money buying the perks that you really need. The status element of it just didn't mean anything to me, though I know that for many, this is a big part of why they try to get the card. I would be curious to know what Centurion perks you find different from Platinum and where you see the justification for the over $4000 difference in annual fee?
Jan 4, 2022, 8:59 pm
#769
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 153
Arosan is correct. The service has become ridiculously bad. I complained to our corporate reps who tried to make some calls, and in fact I got a pablum like phone call from a director at the Centurion program, but nothing is coming of it. This is with $50M+ spend per year on business. They are going to wind up losing the spend.
Jan 5, 2022, 8:22 am
#771
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
As a Centurion cardholder of 22 years, I finally gave up my Centurion membership.
- Gone is Hyatt, United, Hertz and other airline and hotel programs where status was afforded.
- When booking flights, almost always, the travel team couldn’t even find the same rates I could find online. I literally booked 5 business class seats to Turkey last summer for 1/2 the cost they quoted. When I pointed it out and showed them, they simply said they couldn’t get the same rates - baffling, as they are supposed to be the experts. They don’t even take the time to shop, offer creative suggestions that any pro would offer, or even understand or know the properties and routes they are quoting.
- Gone is Hyatt, United, Hertz and other airline and hotel programs where status was afforded.
- When booking flights, almost always, the travel team couldn’t even find the same rates I could find online. I literally booked 5 business class seats to Turkey last summer for 1/2 the cost they quoted. When I pointed it out and showed them, they simply said they couldn’t get the same rates - baffling, as they are supposed to be the experts. They don’t even take the time to shop, offer creative suggestions that any pro would offer, or even understand or know the properties and routes they are quoting.
As for booking, it is true that there are sometimes promotional rates that a travel agent cannot get through their normal booking systems. But that is a rare thing in my experience. Especially during the pandemic, I have gotten Amex to book the best rates that I could find on the Internet. I have gotten wonderful service lately with a BA flight cancellation. Anyone who flies BA a lot knows that it has become almost impossible to get a phone agent live. So if you can't re-book via their website, you are screwed. Unless you book with an easy to reach professional agent like Amex has. Centurion Travel has been extremely useful to me, lately more than ever.
I apologize if I got this wrong, but I suspect this is a bogus post from a new handle with only 3 posts.
Jan 5, 2022, 9:10 am
#772
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Hyatt Diamond was removed in 2005: 2005 US Centurion Changes: Priority Pass added, Hyatt Diamond Gone!
I imagine that United is a reference to the Continental status which ended in 2012: Centurion Continental Gold [ends January 2012]
I imagine that United is a reference to the Continental status which ended in 2012: Centurion Continental Gold [ends January 2012]
Jan 5, 2022, 9:12 am
#773
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 153
I doubt very much it's a bogus post because of the accuracy of many of his observations. Let me summarize:
AMEX had a service system (assigned travel/concierge) that worked very well. Although people could grumble about various statuses of the card eroding over time, the quality of the service was one constant.
For whatever reason, AMEX decided to end that model and moved to a "shared pod" model of service. They also doubled the fee and added some benefits like Equinox gym just as we were entering a pandemic. Very bad timing.
Maybe the "shared pod" system could have worked under different circumstances, but it hasn't. Many employees have left, and there aren't enough agents to service the customers properly. I was recently traveling on an expensive trip they booked, there was an issue, and I tried to call in. Gave up after 10 minutes of wait time. This never used to happen. There have been multiple mistakes made on reservations. As Arosan said, booking restaurants with them is just silly. They just make an attempt to book it online (which I could do myself in the time it takes to e-mail them) and if that fails, they say they can't do it. One recent reservation was double booked, and I was hit with a no show charge on the spurious booking. I was able to book three restaurant reservations they couldn't myself recently. This isn't service.
I would say if you read Arosan's post carefully, all of the observations and conclusions he makes are very accurate.
AMEX had a service system (assigned travel/concierge) that worked very well. Although people could grumble about various statuses of the card eroding over time, the quality of the service was one constant.
For whatever reason, AMEX decided to end that model and moved to a "shared pod" model of service. They also doubled the fee and added some benefits like Equinox gym just as we were entering a pandemic. Very bad timing.
Maybe the "shared pod" system could have worked under different circumstances, but it hasn't. Many employees have left, and there aren't enough agents to service the customers properly. I was recently traveling on an expensive trip they booked, there was an issue, and I tried to call in. Gave up after 10 minutes of wait time. This never used to happen. There have been multiple mistakes made on reservations. As Arosan said, booking restaurants with them is just silly. They just make an attempt to book it online (which I could do myself in the time it takes to e-mail them) and if that fails, they say they can't do it. One recent reservation was double booked, and I was hit with a no show charge on the spurious booking. I was able to book three restaurant reservations they couldn't myself recently. This isn't service.
I would say if you read Arosan's post carefully, all of the observations and conclusions he makes are very accurate.
Jan 5, 2022, 9:28 am
#774
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
Hyatt Diamond was removed in 2005: 2005 US Centurion Changes: Priority Pass added, Hyatt Diamond Gone!
I imagine that United is a reference to the Continental status which ended in 2012: Centurion Continental Gold [ends January 2012]
I imagine that United is a reference to the Continental status which ended in 2012: Centurion Continental Gold [ends January 2012]
As for the other comments about booking errors, I have not seen that at all. Maybe they are accurate for the poster, but that doesn't mean that all Centurion members are having these problems. I doubt such a thing would be possible. I called Centurion very early this morning (because I'm in Europe) and they answered on the first ring. As they did the week before. Maybe they are having peak call time issues, but a whole lot of businesses in the US and around the world are having staffing problems. I would not single out Amex in such a case and I would not expect it to continue forever. And in my case the last two calls I made, which were around flight re-bookings, were very professionally handled. I was actually kind of surprised to get such a good agent at that hour.
Jan 5, 2022, 10:20 am
#775
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 7
Are you sure you are a US Centurion member? I have had the card for 22 years too and we never had Hyatt nor United status. And we still do get Hertz Platinum which is an awesome benefit.
As for booking, it is true that there are sometimes promotional rates that a travel agent cannot get through their normal booking systems. But that is a rare thing in my experience. Especially during the pandemic, I have gotten Amex to book the best rates that I could find on the Internet. I have gotten wonderful service lately with a BA flight cancellation. Anyone who flies BA a lot knows that it has become almost impossible to get a phone agent live. So if you can't re-book via their website, you are screwed. Unless you book with an easy to reach professional agent like Amex has. Centurion Travel has been extremely useful to me, lately more than ever.
I apologize if I got this wrong, but I suspect this is a bogus post from a new handle with only 3 posts.
As for booking, it is true that there are sometimes promotional rates that a travel agent cannot get through their normal booking systems. But that is a rare thing in my experience. Especially during the pandemic, I have gotten Amex to book the best rates that I could find on the Internet. I have gotten wonderful service lately with a BA flight cancellation. Anyone who flies BA a lot knows that it has become almost impossible to get a phone agent live. So if you can't re-book via their website, you are screwed. Unless you book with an easy to reach professional agent like Amex has. Centurion Travel has been extremely useful to me, lately more than ever.
I apologize if I got this wrong, but I suspect this is a bogus post from a new handle with only 3 posts.
I wish it was a bogus post, as I have been a loyal customer of AMEX, but it's not. I joined the forum because of the extreme frustration I experienced with the Centurion card and when I couldn't get anyone there to take my concerns seriously, I found this forum and felt people needed to know about the service downgrades and how the program has changed.
I actually just tried to post a pic of my Centurion card in front of your post, but I guess you need to have 5 posts before you are allowed to post pictures. Oh well.
I do stand corrected on the Hertz benefit, that did survive the watering down, but I am correct about Hyatt and in the past there was even USAir in those days as well.
The biggest issue with Centurion is the new pod system, which is clearly the root cause of the issues of late. It's always another team member on the phone, or you get pushed to the general pool. The quality of the agents just isn't what is used to be, especially as it comes to things like seat selection, flight changes, and actually knowing about the routes and properties that they are booking. I many case I needed to tell them what flights were available and what connections were available. This is inexcusable. I recently dealt with a simple flight change with American and was passed between 3 separate agents because the agent couldn't figure out how to re-issue the tickets. One hour and 20 minutes later it got done. This is just not what one should expect from a "premium" service.
And regarding rates, I'm not talking about promotional rates, I'm talking about published rates online with an airline. In the case of Turkish Air, these rates were online for everyone to see but for some reason their system didn't have these rates available. I am sure they could have called Turkish and gotten the same rate, but that would have been more time waiting and more effort. We, as cardholders shouldn't have to point out to the experts what is available. They should know how to find it themselves.
What I am talking about here is the DIFFERENCE in service level and how things have changed. The perks have slowly disappeared, that is indisputable for anyone that's had the card for a long time. The move away from a dedicated travel counselor and dedicated rep is definitely a problem for anyone that used to have a name and person to talk with and email directly. Knowing you is the essence of good service (same at hotels btw) and the fact that they just don't know you anymore sure doesn't feel premium to me anymore.
To each their own. If the card works for you, then by all means you should keep it. I guess it just isn't for everyone and everyone has different expectations and demands in terms of service level. With everything moving online, as an experienced traveler, I find it easier to just book things online myself - with greater speed, less after purchase issues (since you can make changes with the airlines online and not wait for an Amex rep who has to make the changes) and with greater accuracy and transparancy.
I do hope, for the sake of others, that Amex Centurion gets their act together. I had it for 23 years (I just looked again) and am definitely sad to shed the card in favor of a Platinum. Its not even about the $5000 charge, it's about all of the errors and problems that cause angst and which could be avoided by just making bookings myself.
Wishing you good travels!
Jan 5, 2022, 10:33 am
#776
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Jan 5, 2022, 10:50 am
#777
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,026
Hyatt Diamond was removed in 2005: 2005 US Centurion Changes: Priority Pass added, Hyatt Diamond Gone!
I imagine that United is a reference to the Continental status which ended in 2012: Centurion Continental Gold [ends January 2012]
I imagine that United is a reference to the Continental status which ended in 2012: Centurion Continental Gold [ends January 2012]
Jan 5, 2022, 10:53 am
#778
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,026
As a Centurion cardholder of 22 years, I finally gave up my Centurion membership.
As a loyal Amex customer since 1988, I worked hard to help the team at Centurion understand how appalling their customer service had become, how untrained their agents were, and how their new team structure vs dedicated contacts has led to booking errors, mistakes, and the general feeling one gets when calling a remote call center that knows nothing about you.
This is everything Centurion claims it is not.
I tried reaching out to senior team members at Amex with no response. They simply don’t care.
I finally spoke at length with a very sweet and nice “executive customer service” team member I had spoken to a year ago when things started going off the rails and she promised me that she would discuss my issues with “management”, but in the end was given the run around with the obligatory “I’m so sorry we can’t meet your needs and that we are losing you.
I personally was mentored and coached for years by an old leader of American Express named Alan Loren. He would be turning in his grave if he knew how terrible the Centurion product had become. He was a believer in the customer experience and in those days management was willing to speak directly to a customer to understand their concerns. No longer
AEXP happily lost me as a Centurion customer after 22 years, without doing anything to try to make amends for the terrible service received.
Here are some of the recent shortfalls that finally got me to cancel this card:
- Multiple booking errors leading to problems with travel, lost seats, lost flights, etc.
- Multiple times I received no call back from an agent I had spoken to at length and literally no way to get back in touch with them, since there is no longer a personal point of contact for Centurion members (just a large team who often isn’t available anyways and then your call goes into a pool). Centurion has become a faceless, nameless call center experience.
- There’s been a dramatic elimination of historical benefits, personalized events, and special perks - only to be replaced by a complicated grouping of “experiences”, which quickly become unavailable anyway - “Oh sorry”, they say on the same morning an event becomes available for booking, “the event you want isn't available anymore We can put you on a waitlist”. They should be ashamed of this new experience program.
- Gone is Hyatt, United, Hertz and other airline and hotel programs where status was afforded.
- When booking flights, almost always, the travel team couldn’t even find the same rates I could find online. I literally booked 5 business class seats to Turkey last summer for 1/2 the cost they quoted. When I pointed it out and showed them, they simply said they couldn’t get the same rates - baffling, as they are supposed to be the experts. They don’t even take the time to shop, offer creative suggestions that any pro would offer, or even understand or know the properties and routes they are quoting.
- When trying to book a difficult restaurant reservation through the “concierge” they called back a day later saying that nothing was available, but when I called the restaurant right afterwards, they gave me a table.
Their concierges can’t even get what any normal person can get, making you wonder why they are even there. It’s become better to simply do things yourself vs working with the Centurion team.
- When I cut my spend a year ago, in protest of their terrible service, saying I would up it again when they proved they would improve, I never even got a call asking why. They simply don’t care and Centurion cardholders are treated like everyone else. There is no more special treatment or special feeling.
Which begs the question - what is one paying $5000 for each year? Do they even really want to have this offering anymore? Do they still care about the customer experience or is it just about the bottom line? Do they even care about Customer Lifetime Value? Ugh. Just disappointing to an old timer.
There are so many more examples of terrible service, whittled down options comparable to Platinum and many more instances of a lack of travel knowledge by their team that in the end, it was time to make the change.
It seems Amex has given up on their Centurion cardholders, many of whom are their most loyal supporters and brand ambassadors. I feel given up on and am saddened by what has become of this iconic card. I suspect they expect and accept the departures as this just isn’t what they want to focus their time on.
As a loyal Amex customer since 1988, I worked hard to help the team at Centurion understand how appalling their customer service had become, how untrained their agents were, and how their new team structure vs dedicated contacts has led to booking errors, mistakes, and the general feeling one gets when calling a remote call center that knows nothing about you.
This is everything Centurion claims it is not.
I tried reaching out to senior team members at Amex with no response. They simply don’t care.
I finally spoke at length with a very sweet and nice “executive customer service” team member I had spoken to a year ago when things started going off the rails and she promised me that she would discuss my issues with “management”, but in the end was given the run around with the obligatory “I’m so sorry we can’t meet your needs and that we are losing you.
I personally was mentored and coached for years by an old leader of American Express named Alan Loren. He would be turning in his grave if he knew how terrible the Centurion product had become. He was a believer in the customer experience and in those days management was willing to speak directly to a customer to understand their concerns. No longer
AEXP happily lost me as a Centurion customer after 22 years, without doing anything to try to make amends for the terrible service received.
Here are some of the recent shortfalls that finally got me to cancel this card:
- Multiple booking errors leading to problems with travel, lost seats, lost flights, etc.
- Multiple times I received no call back from an agent I had spoken to at length and literally no way to get back in touch with them, since there is no longer a personal point of contact for Centurion members (just a large team who often isn’t available anyways and then your call goes into a pool). Centurion has become a faceless, nameless call center experience.
- There’s been a dramatic elimination of historical benefits, personalized events, and special perks - only to be replaced by a complicated grouping of “experiences”, which quickly become unavailable anyway - “Oh sorry”, they say on the same morning an event becomes available for booking, “the event you want isn't available anymore We can put you on a waitlist”. They should be ashamed of this new experience program.
- Gone is Hyatt, United, Hertz and other airline and hotel programs where status was afforded.
- When booking flights, almost always, the travel team couldn’t even find the same rates I could find online. I literally booked 5 business class seats to Turkey last summer for 1/2 the cost they quoted. When I pointed it out and showed them, they simply said they couldn’t get the same rates - baffling, as they are supposed to be the experts. They don’t even take the time to shop, offer creative suggestions that any pro would offer, or even understand or know the properties and routes they are quoting.
- When trying to book a difficult restaurant reservation through the “concierge” they called back a day later saying that nothing was available, but when I called the restaurant right afterwards, they gave me a table.
Their concierges can’t even get what any normal person can get, making you wonder why they are even there. It’s become better to simply do things yourself vs working with the Centurion team.
- When I cut my spend a year ago, in protest of their terrible service, saying I would up it again when they proved they would improve, I never even got a call asking why. They simply don’t care and Centurion cardholders are treated like everyone else. There is no more special treatment or special feeling.
Which begs the question - what is one paying $5000 for each year? Do they even really want to have this offering anymore? Do they still care about the customer experience or is it just about the bottom line? Do they even care about Customer Lifetime Value? Ugh. Just disappointing to an old timer.
There are so many more examples of terrible service, whittled down options comparable to Platinum and many more instances of a lack of travel knowledge by their team that in the end, it was time to make the change.
It seems Amex has given up on their Centurion cardholders, many of whom are their most loyal supporters and brand ambassadors. I feel given up on and am saddened by what has become of this iconic card. I suspect they expect and accept the departures as this just isn’t what they want to focus their time on.
I still maintain however that under my "grandfathered" AF - oh wait - they un-grandfathered us
It was worth it if you travelled extensively. $5K each is pretty hard to justify now.
Jan 5, 2022, 10:56 am
#779
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
With everything moving online, as an experienced traveler, I find it easier to just book things online myself - with greater speed, less after purchase issues (since you can make changes with the airlines online and not wait for an Amex rep who has to make the changes) and with greater accuracy and transparancy.
And if you are able to easily to do the research yourself, as you noted and as I do myself, then what is wrong with calling up CTS and asking them to make the booking for you? To me there is real value there, at least for International bookings. Even just for calling up a restaurant and making a booking. I don't want to deal with thinking about what the best time to call is and maybe sitting on hold. I can just call CTS, or even email them to make the reservation for me.
Jan 5, 2022, 12:23 pm
#780
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: AMEX Business Centurion
Posts: 418
As a Centurion cardholder of 22 years, I finally gave up my Centurion membership.
As a loyal Amex customer since 1988, I worked hard to help the team at Centurion understand how appalling their customer service had become, how untrained their agents were, and how their new team structure vs dedicated contacts has led to booking errors, mistakes, and the general feeling one gets when calling a remote call center that knows nothing about you.
This is everything Centurion claims it is not.
I tried reaching out to senior team members at Amex with no response. They simply don’t care.
I finally spoke at length with a very sweet and nice “executive customer service” team member I had spoken to a year ago when things started going off the rails and she promised me that she would discuss my issues with “management”, but in the end was given the run around with the obligatory “I’m so sorry we can’t meet your needs and that we are losing you.
I personally was mentored and coached for years by an old leader of American Express named Alan Loren. He would be turning in his grave if he knew how terrible the Centurion product had become. He was a believer in the customer experience and in those days management was willing to speak directly to a customer to understand their concerns. No longer
AEXP happily lost me as a Centurion customer after 22 years, without doing anything to try to make amends for the terrible service received.
Here are some of the recent shortfalls that finally got me to cancel this card:
- Multiple booking errors leading to problems with travel, lost seats, lost flights, etc.
- Multiple times I received no call back from an agent I had spoken to at length and literally no way to get back in touch with them, since there is no longer a personal point of contact for Centurion members (just a large team who often isn’t available anyways and then your call goes into a pool). Centurion has become a faceless, nameless call center experience.
- There’s been a dramatic elimination of historical benefits, personalized events, and special perks - only to be replaced by a complicated grouping of “experiences”, which quickly become unavailable anyway - “Oh sorry”, they say on the same morning an event becomes available for booking, “the event you want isn't available anymore We can put you on a waitlist”. They should be ashamed of this new experience program.
- Gone is Hyatt, United, Hertz and other airline and hotel programs where status was afforded.
- When booking flights, almost always, the travel team couldn’t even find the same rates I could find online. I literally booked 5 business class seats to Turkey last summer for 1/2 the cost they quoted. When I pointed it out and showed them, they simply said they couldn’t get the same rates - baffling, as they are supposed to be the experts. They don’t even take the time to shop, offer creative suggestions that any pro would offer, or even understand or know the properties and routes they are quoting.
- When trying to book a difficult restaurant reservation through the “concierge” they called back a day later saying that nothing was available, but when I called the restaurant right afterwards, they gave me a table.
Their concierges can’t even get what any normal person can get, making you wonder why they are even there. It’s become better to simply do things yourself vs working with the Centurion team.
- When I cut my spend a year ago, in protest of their terrible service, saying I would up it again when they proved they would improve, I never even got a call asking why. They simply don’t care and Centurion cardholders are treated like everyone else. There is no more special treatment or special feeling.
Which begs the question - what is one paying $5000 for each year? Do they even really want to have this offering anymore? Do they still care about the customer experience or is it just about the bottom line? Do they even care about Customer Lifetime Value? Ugh. Just disappointing to an old timer.
There are so many more examples of terrible service, whittled down options comparable to Platinum and many more instances of a lack of travel knowledge by their team that in the end, it was time to make the change.
It seems Amex has given up on their Centurion cardholders, many of whom are their most loyal supporters and brand ambassadors. I feel given up on and am saddened by what has become of this iconic card. I suspect they expect and accept the departures as this just isn’t what they want to focus their time on.
As a loyal Amex customer since 1988, I worked hard to help the team at Centurion understand how appalling their customer service had become, how untrained their agents were, and how their new team structure vs dedicated contacts has led to booking errors, mistakes, and the general feeling one gets when calling a remote call center that knows nothing about you.
This is everything Centurion claims it is not.
I tried reaching out to senior team members at Amex with no response. They simply don’t care.
I finally spoke at length with a very sweet and nice “executive customer service” team member I had spoken to a year ago when things started going off the rails and she promised me that she would discuss my issues with “management”, but in the end was given the run around with the obligatory “I’m so sorry we can’t meet your needs and that we are losing you.
I personally was mentored and coached for years by an old leader of American Express named Alan Loren. He would be turning in his grave if he knew how terrible the Centurion product had become. He was a believer in the customer experience and in those days management was willing to speak directly to a customer to understand their concerns. No longer
AEXP happily lost me as a Centurion customer after 22 years, without doing anything to try to make amends for the terrible service received.
Here are some of the recent shortfalls that finally got me to cancel this card:
- Multiple booking errors leading to problems with travel, lost seats, lost flights, etc.
- Multiple times I received no call back from an agent I had spoken to at length and literally no way to get back in touch with them, since there is no longer a personal point of contact for Centurion members (just a large team who often isn’t available anyways and then your call goes into a pool). Centurion has become a faceless, nameless call center experience.
- There’s been a dramatic elimination of historical benefits, personalized events, and special perks - only to be replaced by a complicated grouping of “experiences”, which quickly become unavailable anyway - “Oh sorry”, they say on the same morning an event becomes available for booking, “the event you want isn't available anymore We can put you on a waitlist”. They should be ashamed of this new experience program.
- Gone is Hyatt, United, Hertz and other airline and hotel programs where status was afforded.
- When booking flights, almost always, the travel team couldn’t even find the same rates I could find online. I literally booked 5 business class seats to Turkey last summer for 1/2 the cost they quoted. When I pointed it out and showed them, they simply said they couldn’t get the same rates - baffling, as they are supposed to be the experts. They don’t even take the time to shop, offer creative suggestions that any pro would offer, or even understand or know the properties and routes they are quoting.
- When trying to book a difficult restaurant reservation through the “concierge” they called back a day later saying that nothing was available, but when I called the restaurant right afterwards, they gave me a table.
Their concierges can’t even get what any normal person can get, making you wonder why they are even there. It’s become better to simply do things yourself vs working with the Centurion team.
- When I cut my spend a year ago, in protest of their terrible service, saying I would up it again when they proved they would improve, I never even got a call asking why. They simply don’t care and Centurion cardholders are treated like everyone else. There is no more special treatment or special feeling.
Which begs the question - what is one paying $5000 for each year? Do they even really want to have this offering anymore? Do they still care about the customer experience or is it just about the bottom line? Do they even care about Customer Lifetime Value? Ugh. Just disappointing to an old timer.
There are so many more examples of terrible service, whittled down options comparable to Platinum and many more instances of a lack of travel knowledge by their team that in the end, it was time to make the change.
It seems Amex has given up on their Centurion cardholders, many of whom are their most loyal supporters and brand ambassadors. I feel given up on and am saddened by what has become of this iconic card. I suspect they expect and accept the departures as this just isn’t what they want to focus their time on.
One Concierge rep booked dinner reservations for me a month ago. He asked if it was a special occasion and I said yes, we were gathering to honor the passing of a family member and I asked for a nice table, with a little more privacy if possible. I got to the restaurant and they seated us literally IN the bussing station. When I asked for the manager and explained the situation to him he apologized profusely and moved us to a decent booth. He showed me that the reservation was made via OpenTable. How lazy is that? I have the app too and I don’t need Centurion to be a go-between when that experience is already a few taps on my phone away. I never talked to that rep before or again after. This is just a microcosm of what the service has devolved into at present.
It boils down to the fact that Amex don’t care what long-standing Centurion cardholders think because they simply don’t have to. There is so much funny money and new crypto gains in the hands of the up and coming generations, who are happy to spend to obtain the initial wow factor of membership and don’t really care about the service they receive- or just have no reference of how good it used to be, that Amex is just fine saying goodbye to people like us because there are 100 more people waiting in line to get in.
Sad state of affairs indeed.