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Centurion card (USA) refresh. Some benefits removed/added. $5k annual fee.

Centurion card (USA) refresh. Some benefits removed/added. $5k annual fee.

Old Jan 14, 2022, 11:51 am
  #796  
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Maybe an upcoming step is to hike up the Centurion card fees even higher, let that drive up churn of the customer base, and even perhaps shrink the customer base to an even less-value-focused subset of current and prospective Centurion card holders?

Even obsolescence of the product isn't out of the question were Amex's cost to keep a specialized product to exceed the value of the halo effects of the product. A decline in service levels may be one way to get closer to making a product obsolete -- whether by design or by neglect.
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Old Jan 15, 2022, 8:16 pm
  #797  
 
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You are probably spot on

Originally Posted by GUWonder
Maybe an upcoming step is to hike up the Centurion card fees even higher, let that drive up churn of the customer base, and even perhaps shrink the customer base to an even less-value-focused subset of current and prospective Centurion card holders?

Even obsolescence of the product isn't out of the question were Amex's cost to keep a specialized product to exceed the value of the halo effects of the product. A decline in service levels may be one way to get closer to making a product obsolete -- whether by design or by neglect.
I think you may be onto something with this line of reasoning. AMEX “purchased” the initial centurion benefits when the card was first introduced. These days, if it ain’t free to AMEX (or they are not getting paid to offer it) it does not make it through. The fact that the silly airline incidentals credit was cut really shows they are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I wonder if I can resell my useless equinox membership to a millennial “hipster” on Facebook market place 🤪
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Old Jan 16, 2022, 1:58 am
  #798  
 
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Originally Posted by bubu-SNA
I wonder if I can resell my useless equinox membership to a millennial hipster on Facebook market place 🤪
Nope. The very first thing I asked Amex upon learning of that useless (to me) equinox benefit was whether its transferable. They said no.
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Old Jan 16, 2022, 8:50 am
  #799  
 
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Originally Posted by tangfish
It has all become a dumpster fire, and that’s very unfortunate because I think of the lost opportunities of new leadership happening at a time when there’s a drastic shift in the economy and the way people work. Some thoughtful long term strategies could have been a boon to Amex and earned a recommitment from longtime cardmembers as well as appealing to a new generation of businesspeople.
Ah, my guess is that they're having some trouble figuring out who those may be? When I was a young whipper snapper just starting out, I still recall being hypnotized and started to buy into the "new paradigm" crap they were selling right before the dot.com crash--I just didn't know any better. Thankfully, back then, those who did had tight training wheels on me to keep me from doing too much harm from the hubris that often accompanies youth. I think sort of the same thing is going on today. Until we get a reset exposing those swimming naked (it will happen at some time, rest assured), how does one differentiate from the new generation of actual sustainable businesses from those who are nothing more than glorified grifts?

Originally Posted by tangfish
Instead it seems Amex has an approach driven by inept PR people getting their inspiration from instagram and YouTube “influencers” who present lifestyles that don’t actually exist, nor are they things normal people would want to pay real money to try to achieve.
LOL...couldn't agree more, but it's something that's been going on for a while. You know, except for the last POTUS, I would never have seen first-hand how utterly ridiculous Twitter really is--I've yet to experience first-hand any other form of social media; except FT, if one calls it social media these days, but when I started out, these were just internet message boards. But, it's not just Amex trending with the absurd, have you seen WOH's marketing? I'm not even sure what they're trying to say to me.

Originally Posted by tangfish
How did it get this bad? How are they so out of touch? Sometimes I wonder whether Amex executives ever try to use their own travel or concierge services anonymously, aka eat their own dog food.
"Economic history is a never-ending series of episodes based on falsehoods and lies, not truths. It represents the path to big money. The object is to recognize the trend whose premise is false, ride that trend and step off before it is discredited." - George Soros

That's basically it, en masse--we're all doing it. So, I don't blame Amex for doing the same thing, and I suspect somewhere deep in the recesses of the C-Suite, a few realize what's going on.

Originally Posted by bubu-SNA
I wonder if I can resell my useless equinox membership to a millennial “hipster” on Facebook market place 🤪
LOL...why not? I mean, I've read where someone was able to sell an invisible piece of art for about $30K usd? Not sure if it was one of those Onion type pieces, and I didn't care enough to conduct any DD; but, if true, this era of peak stupidity has got to be near its apogee.
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Old Jan 18, 2022, 4:39 pm
  #800  
 
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Originally Posted by Visconti
I mean, I've read where someone was able to sell an invisible piece of art for about $30K usd? Not sure if it was one of those Onion type pieces, and I didn't care enough to conduct any DD; but, if true, this era of peak stupidity has got to be near its apogee.
It is true although it was closer to US$84k. It was in Denmark.

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/29/10414...-denmark-blank
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Old Jan 18, 2022, 9:11 pm
  #801  
 
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Originally Posted by SusanDK
It is true although it was closer to US$84k. It was in Denmark.

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/29/10414...-denmark-blank
Remarkable! Hey, isn't that in your neck of the woods, GU? Now, I'm starting to understand why y'all Danes are so enamored with a hotel called The Socialist.
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Old Jan 18, 2022, 9:17 pm
  #802  
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I’m close to ditching my Centurion card. It is in all respects pretty hopeless. My relationship manager was nice but pretty much useless, most of the things I asked her to do either didn’t work out or were easier done myself. I don’t really understand the point of this card anymore.
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Old Jan 19, 2022, 6:34 am
  #803  
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Originally Posted by LondonElite
Im close to ditching my Centurion card
Please remind us of the country where your card is issued.
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Old Jan 19, 2022, 6:45 am
  #804  
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Originally Posted by mia
Please remind us of the country where your card is issued.
Germany
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Old Jan 19, 2022, 7:47 am
  #805  
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Originally Posted by Visconti
Remarkable! Hey, isn't that in your neck of the woods, GU?
The US is my neck of the woods. [I only stay at hotels in Denmark, unless using the homes of friends. Unlike housing markets elsewhere in the Nordics, the Danish housing market hasn't been a playground for me. ]

Originally Posted by SusanDK
It is true although it was closer to US$84k. It was in Denmark.

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/29/10414...-denmark-blank
There are other situations not so different from that in other countries, at varying price ranges.

The Centurion qualification account spend in the UK during parts of the pandemic were the lowest I've seen -- lower at times than even the qualification account spend amounts in Sweden and Denmark during this same time. Even the US seemed to lower a bit. I think the relatively lower spend amounts for Centurion account qualification for some in 2020 and 2021 don't really bother Amex since Amex is all about the fees everywhere. And Amex is more about the fees than it is about the benefits -- especially when the benefits are those that cost Amex and not a marketing-partner-funded "benefit". Expect more of this rotating basket of "benefits", since Amex seems stuck on the carousel of using partner-funded "benefits" to try to make the direct benefit value proposition of the Centurion card appealing to those already paying the high fee.

Last edited by GUWonder; Jan 19, 2022 at 7:52 am
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Old Jan 20, 2022, 4:18 pm
  #806  
 
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
The US is my neck of the woods.
Oh, so you know exactly why I feel the way I do about that hotels name.
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Old Jan 22, 2022, 12:01 pm
  #807  
 
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It is getting very hard to justify an AF, as you are not really getting anything, you are just prepaying for benefits that you may or may not use. Definitely a YMMV now.
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Old Jan 22, 2022, 11:16 pm
  #808  
 
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I just want to add in hope that someone at Amex reads this thread. Centurion is so out touch with their customer base and the current system does not work for their customers. I feel dumb paying the annual fee when I can get better benefits with other cards. I have been told changes are coming and hang in there but when changes are some stupid leather band with RFID NFC I feel stupid that I let a company like Amex try something they tried long ago that failed. Yep the RFID NFC was done with key chain dongles and Amex gave up. I wonder if Amex keeps a history book of failures so they can say we spent X millions on this and it failed.
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Last edited by Centurion; Jan 22, 2022 at 11:29 pm
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Old Feb 9, 2022, 2:00 pm
  #809  
 
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Has anyone on here done the Introduction to the Highlands experience? My wife and I will be in Scotland in March, and I'm curious about what to expect.
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Old Feb 17, 2022, 5:13 pm
  #810  
 
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Originally Posted by Centurion
I just want to add in hope that someone at Amex reads this thread. Centurion is so out touch with their customer base and the current system does not work for their customers. I feel dumb paying the annual fee when I can get better benefits with other cards. I have been told changes are coming and hang in there but when changes are some stupid leather band with RFID NFC I feel stupid that I let a company like Amex try something they tried long ago that failed. Yep the RFID NFC was done with key chain dongles and Amex gave up. I wonder if Amex keeps a history book of failures so they can say we spent X millions on this and it failed.
Agree 100%. That leather band deal was extremely bizarre-- it really feels like they don't have a clue. Another recent fiasco was the free night at the Four Seasons... I called as soon as i receive the offer only to be put on hold for 20 minutes, then told that it was only for a narrow room category and that all of the rooms had already been booked for the entire duration of the promotion. They seem unable to execute anything-- I am now on a lengthy hold trying to get a rep for a routine request, this is now a common occurence.

I've had the Centurion Card for roughly 20 years and it seems like each year brings an additional erosion of benefits. It was awesome in the beginning-- I guess I'm holding now thinking that things will get better. I share your feeling of feeling dumb paying the annual fee and again, the RFID NFC thing was totally bonkers--- I remember opening the box and thinking ...???
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Last edited by HKG_Flyer1; Feb 17, 2022 at 5:22 pm
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