RichardMannion

Rare? Yes in terms of ratios now, as the Platinum carrying base has exploded. Platinum was invite only (in the UK at least) for a long time (even after Centurion launched in March 99 - UK was first market ahead of US which was Oct 99). Nowadays you only have to see how busy the Centurion Lounges are, and you can see the reach/range. At my local Centurion Lounge, they gave me an overview of numbers and the ratios vary day to day, but it is usually in the hundreds to one.

In terms of only an idiot would use Centurion every day - that could be fair for the US as the earning rates are lower than other cards (though you can watch the offers page as there are regularly bonus points per $ spent at key retailers that are aiming for Centurion spend). In other markets like the UK, Centurion was always entitled to any offer that was available to the other charge cards in the product family; so it was always my daily use card.

Here in the US, that's not the case so I end up with 2 AmEx cards - I use my Centurion for many things, but certain categories of spend go on the other card. It still baffles me why the US market for Centurion charges for any type of additional card, which is in stark contrast to every other market. One of the reasons why I still keep my UK account, as it's more cost effective to get the benefits from that account that US doesn't offer, and for added bonus I get the additional Centurion card for my wife, and 4 Platinum's for my family (for less than the cost of 1 additional Centurion card in the US).

david55

He is wealthy, was CEO of some major hotel chains, and sits on a handful of for-profit Boards. He is the kind of guy that is greeted at the jet bridge and taken to a car at the bottom of the stairway. He use to sit on Caesar's Board and when he took us to Las Vegas for a long weekend.... I almost expected rose petals to be strewn in his pathway... he was royalty where ever we went. ( It was so much fun!)

SusanDK

Richard, were you able to keep your UK account with a US address, or do you retain an address in the UK? I'm asking because I will shortly be giving up my address in Denmark on which my UK-issued Platinum IDC is based. I've heard from others that their IDC was cancelled when they tried to file a U.S. change of address on the account. I'm still debating whether or not I want to keep it, but the travel/medical insurance and rental car coverage is superior to the U.S. card, plus we get the additional cards free and two Priority Passes (not 'Select'), etc.

LondonElite

I can answer that in part for you (though not specifically for the IDC). I have had Amex accounts in three countries, and Amex has told me each time that I simply needed a correspondence address (not necessarily a residential address) in the relevant country. Thus, when I asked Amex to issue me a German card while still living in the UK, they required a local address. Now that I live in Germany, I keep my UK account open with a UK address. Since I have turned off all paper mailings, and pay online, it is really quite easy to manage.

SusanDK

Thank you! I also pay online with my IDC, but AmEx IDC still sends me monthly statements in the post that I haven't figured out how to turn off. I need to log in and look again.

LondonElite

Again, I can't speak for the IDC, but the website lets you turn off printed statements. My only concern going forward is if you need a local mobile phone number for two-factor authentication.

mia

My understanding is that this restriction is specific to the International Dollar/Euro cards which are not available to residents of certain countries, including the USA. UK-issued Sterling cards would not necessarily have the same rules.

MSPeconomist

When it's time to get a new card, this is normally mailed to you, although replacements for lost/stolen/compromised cards can be sent to overseas hotels, at least for USA cards.

RichardMannion

Both my UK and US accounts, have my US address as the primary residence.

Per the other responses, I think AmEx went hardcore on IDC accounts recently. When I had an IDC Centurion for a short while, I did have to use my UK residence as the place of contact, but with my US address as a backup for verification.

SusanDK

Thanks! Trying to decide if I should try to keep it or give it up and save the $550 annual fee.

STS-134

The Platinum card is almost as bad, and WAS just as bad with the rewards, before they introduced the 5x MR points on airfare booked directly with airlines. But nobody got the Platinum card for its rewards, it was always about whether you can use its benefits enough to make up for the cost of the AF. The Centurion card is the same. I've literally never spent a dollar on my Platinum card that didn't fall into one of these categories:
(1) Airfare directly purchased from airlines
(2) Something that triggers an Amex offer
(3) A merchant that only takes Amex and no other credit cards
(4) A merchant made me angry and I deliberately paid with the Amex so they'd have to pay higher interchange fees (example: Navy Pier in Chicago, which charged me $25 (?!?!?) to park for 40 minutes)

There's a lot of benefits on the Centurion, and depending on one's travel patterns, it's definitely possible to make that card worthwhile.

Gig103

Hah, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has done #4 . I've also done it when I see Amex signs on the door (planning to use my Everyday) but they push very hard on Visa. Then it's still Amex, but now it's the Platinum.

I have also used my Amex card for the 0% FTF overseas, even though my Visa has the same perk.

MSPeconomist

Using AmEx overseas can be a way to make sure that the merchant doesn't do dynamic currency conversion.

dadig

Don’t think they are that rare. Just go out on a Friday / Saturday night in Soho / West end theatre district in London and you will bound to catch someone paying with it

llngoc

I did not apply for the Platinum until I found that the companion ticket program was changed to IAP. The companion program was pretty much useless even when you are travelling with someone as you need to buy a full price biz class ticket in order to use it. (Which is always >2x a discounted biz ticket)