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2021 Has anyone actually received a Centurion Card invite?

2021 Has anyone actually received a Centurion Card invite?

Old Nov 1, 2021, 1:49 am
  #361  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: HEL
Programs: BA Gold, OZ Diamond, LH Silver
Posts: 548
There seems to be quite a large push for new Centurion customers in my home country Finland. After 8 years as platinum we were quite surprised to get the invite with less than 100k€ spend a year combined on our family's two platinum and two gold cards. We decided to accept the offer (3500€ yearly fee + 3500€ on-off) out of pure curiosity but so far the customer service has been very far from what we expected.

The invitation was an online form which we filled about 5 weeks ago. After two weeks of silence from Amex I called the Centurion phone number to be told not to worry about, it can take up to a month to receive that cards. I was able to login on the Finnish Centurion website and select Centurion as my card on the Amex Experiences App where one can request hotel chain/car rental benefits and vouchers. So all seemed fine. However, after another week I then received a mail from Amex saying that they can't send me one of the hotel vouchers as I am not a Centurion member. After some more emails they tell us they have not received our invitation form so the process has not even started.

From this I have learned that 1) the Centurion phone service had no clue what they were doing, 2) anyone can login on the Finnish Centurion website with their Amex credentials, 3) anyone can request any perk on the Amex Experiences app by choosing Centurion card as their card, or subscribe for the Centurion magazine, or just browse all the Centurion benefits if interested, 4) the whole Nordic Amex organization seems to have no idea how to provide proper customer service.

Now after filling in the form again and waiting for another week I can finally see on the Amex website that the virtual black card exists. But still I can't believe it can take them up to a month to deliver the physical card. Some of the hotel and car rental benefits can however been seen on their respective websites so things are moving forward.

All in all, I was expecting a little bit more refined experience. They must know that new customers are very eager to start enjoying the Centurion card but so far it's been very difficult to get answer on when to expect the cards, when can I start use the benefits and what benefits are available for the supplementary cards. I understand the thresholds for receiving the Centurion invites are much lower in the Nordic countries so expectations should not be as high for the service and benefits as in the USA. But at the same time I wonder why they even bother then as this can really damage the brand IMO. We were always happy with the platinum card but emotions towards Amex are becoming more negative with this experience.
haapalainen is offline  
Old Nov 1, 2021, 3:41 pm
  #362  
 
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 61
Originally Posted by haapalainen
There seems to be quite a large push for new Centurion customers in my home country Finland. After 8 years as platinum we were quite surprised to get the invite with less than 100k spend a year combined on our family's two platinum and two gold cards. We decided to accept the offer (3500 yearly fee + 3500 on-off) out of pure curiosity but so far the customer service has been very far from what we expected.

The invitation was an online form which we filled about 5 weeks ago. After two weeks of silence from Amex I called the Centurion phone number to be told not to worry about, it can take up to a month to receive that cards. I was able to login on the Finnish Centurion website and select Centurion as my card on the Amex Experiences App where one can request hotel chain/car rental benefits and vouchers. So all seemed fine. However, after another week I then received a mail from Amex saying that they can't send me one of the hotel vouchers as I am not a Centurion member. After some more emails they tell us they have not received our invitation form so the process has not even started.

From this I have learned that 1) the Centurion phone service had no clue what they were doing, 2) anyone can login on the Finnish Centurion website with their Amex credentials, 3) anyone can request any perk on the Amex Experiences app by choosing Centurion card as their card, or subscribe for the Centurion magazine, or just browse all the Centurion benefits if interested, 4) the whole Nordic Amex organization seems to have no idea how to provide proper customer service.

Now after filling in the form again and waiting for another week I can finally see on the Amex website that the virtual black card exists. But still I can't believe it can take them up to a month to deliver the physical card. Some of the hotel and car rental benefits can however been seen on their respective websites so things are moving forward.

All in all, I was expecting a little bit more refined experience. They must know that new customers are very eager to start enjoying the Centurion card but so far it's been very difficult to get answer on when to expect the cards, when can I start use the benefits and what benefits are available for the supplementary cards. I understand the thresholds for receiving the Centurion invites are much lower in the Nordic countries so expectations should not be as high for the service and benefits as in the USA. But at the same time I wonder why they even bother then as this can really damage the brand IMO. We were always happy with the platinum card but emotions towards Amex are becoming more negative with this experience.
Are you sure that you actually received an invitation rather than the "express your interest" form that were broadly sent out 5 weeks ago in Finland? The marketing was poorly done and many confused those with real invites.

When receiving the actual invitation, you get to choose card designs, bracelets and so on before they begin the process.
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Old Nov 2, 2021, 6:57 am
  #363  
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: London
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Emirates Gold, HH Diamond, Centurion (UK), Virgin Gold
Posts: 75
Originally Posted by haapalainen
There seems to be quite a large push for new Centurion customers in my home country Finland. After 8 years as platinum we were quite surprised to get the invite with less than 100k spend a year combined on our family's two platinum and two gold cards. We decided to accept the offer (3500 yearly fee + 3500 on-off) out of pure curiosity but so far the customer service has been very far from what we expected.

The invitation was an online form which we filled about 5 weeks ago. After two weeks of silence from Amex I called the Centurion phone number to be told not to worry about, it can take up to a month to receive that cards. I was able to login on the Finnish Centurion website and select Centurion as my card on the Amex Experiences App where one can request hotel chain/car rental benefits and vouchers. So all seemed fine. However, after another week I then received a mail from Amex saying that they can't send me one of the hotel vouchers as I am not a Centurion member. After some more emails they tell us they have not received our invitation form so the process has not even started.

From this I have learned that 1) the Centurion phone service had no clue what they were doing, 2) anyone can login on the Finnish Centurion website with their Amex credentials, 3) anyone can request any perk on the Amex Experiences app by choosing Centurion card as their card, or subscribe for the Centurion magazine, or just browse all the Centurion benefits if interested, 4) the whole Nordic Amex organization seems to have no idea how to provide proper customer service.

Now after filling in the form again and waiting for another week I can finally see on the Amex website that the virtual black card exists. But still I can't believe it can take them up to a month to deliver the physical card. Some of the hotel and car rental benefits can however been seen on their respective websites so things are moving forward.

All in all, I was expecting a little bit more refined experience. They must know that new customers are very eager to start enjoying the Centurion card but so far it's been very difficult to get answer on when to expect the cards, when can I start use the benefits and what benefits are available for the supplementary cards. I understand the thresholds for receiving the Centurion invites are much lower in the Nordic countries so expectations should not be as high for the service and benefits as in the USA. But at the same time I wonder why they even bother then as this can really damage the brand IMO. We were always happy with the platinum card but emotions towards Amex are becoming more negative with this experience.
Sorry to hear -- I think some frictions are to be expected with new accounts but should be nowhere close to this level of incompetency.

The new accounts team in the UK had been very efficient. After replying to the email invite, they offered to discuss the card benefit and go over the PDF form with me on a conference call. It only took 2 days to receive the card after sending off the forms. However, my membership executive did not reach out until a week later, and I also did not get the centurion member service line until then -- which led to a lot of confusion as my calls were transferred to the standard accounts team.

Strangely -- whenever logging in from centurion.com I get the US benefit page instead of the UK one. Does anyone else experience the same issue?
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 1:05 am
  #364  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: HEL
Programs: BA Gold, OZ Diamond, LH Silver
Posts: 548
Originally Posted by Yrittaja
Are you sure that you actually received an invitation rather than the "express your interest" form that were broadly sent out 5 weeks ago in Finland? The marketing was poorly done and many confused those with real invites.

When receiving the actual invitation, you get to choose card designs, bracelets and so on before they begin the process.
Yes it was the actual invitation that we received 5 weeks ago where I chose the card design, supplementary card holders etc. We had received the express your interest form a couple of weeks earlier.

Good news is that Amex now called and asked if it was ok to give my phone number and email to DHL who will then deliver the cards. They also proposed a phone meeting where they will go through the benefits, although first available slot for them is 18th Nov so more than two weeks from now. So there is some progress happening, but my god things happen slowly!
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 7:53 am
  #365  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: NW Iowa
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold Elite, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum Elite, Delta Silver Medallion
Posts: 378
I'm a very content Platinum cardholder and doubt my spending would qualify me for a Centurion card but just out of sheer curiosity...the hard, tangible benefits seem a bit weak unless I'm missing something? From what I've read in this thread, the only benefits available on the Centurion card that are not available by holding any other credit card are Delta Platinum status, Centurion international arrival services, $1000 Saks credit, and private suite membership at LAX? Out of those Delta Platinum status would be the most valuable in my opinion but other than that...I guess I just don't see the appeal for the price of admission. I think the Platinum card is a fantastic deal but from a sheer dollars-and-cents perspective, it seems the Centurion doesn't offer any outsized perks. I guess if I had money to burn and $15,000 was a rounding error I could see having one but other than that, seems the Platinum is likely a better "deal" for the money.
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 9:42 am
  #366  
 
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: 3,695
Originally Posted by Chris2013
seems the Platinum is likely a better "deal" for the money.
Without a doubt. But it's like so many things, where there are bargain basement offerings at bargain basement prices, then you get a LOT more for a little more money stepping up to mainstream brands, then you step up into "premium" or "luxury" products where there's still definite bang for the buck but you're starting to get diminishing returns, then there's the uber-top-tier that costs a lot more for (usually) not a WHOLE lot better product.
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 9:52 am
  #367  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 61
Originally Posted by Chris2013
I'm a very content Platinum cardholder and doubt my spending would qualify me for a Centurion card but just out of sheer curiosity...the hard, tangible benefits seem a bit weak unless I'm missing something? From what I've read in this thread, the only benefits available on the Centurion card that are not available by holding any other credit card are Delta Platinum status, Centurion international arrival services, $1000 Saks credit, and private suite membership at LAX? Out of those Delta Platinum status would be the most valuable in my opinion but other than that...I guess I just don't see the appeal for the price of admission. I think the Platinum card is a fantastic deal but from a sheer dollars-and-cents perspective, it seems the Centurion doesn't offer any outsized perks. I guess if I had money to burn and $15,000 was a rounding error I could see having one but other than that, seems the Platinum is likely a better "deal" for the money.
Personally I find with the Business Centurion, the 50% points redemption credit on any flight is the biggest deal. Essentially 50% off any flight with any carrier. There's potentially alot of value there.
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 10:17 am
  #368  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: NW Iowa
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold Elite, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum Elite, Delta Silver Medallion
Posts: 378
Originally Posted by DJ_Iceman
Without a doubt. But it's like so many things, where there are bargain basement offerings at bargain basement prices, then you get a LOT more for a little more money stepping up to mainstream brands, then you step up into "premium" or "luxury" products where there's still definite bang for the buck but you're starting to get diminishing returns, then there's the uber-top-tier that costs a lot more for (usually) not a WHOLE lot better product.
You're right- the law of diminishing returns in quite applicable here. I tend to find value in the "Upscale/Premium" segment of most consumables but once you step over into the "Luxury" segment the cost goes up exponentially while the quality and value only climb incrementally. I imagine many Centurion holders don't need to "justify" the price of holding the card and this is likely the segment of people Amex wants as their core Centurion cardholders.
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 11:49 am
  #369  
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: American Express Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve
Posts: 619
Originally Posted by Plumuser
Personally I find with the Business Centurion, the 50% points redemption credit on any flight is the biggest deal. Essentially 50% off any flight with any carrier. There's potentially alot of value there.
That's about 15,000 more points back per 100,000 points redeemed then you get from the Business Platinum (35% back). Effectively $300 in value, maxed out at 1,000,000 points redeemed. I suppose if you do max it out it can offset the annual fee by 150,000 points (about $3000 in value).

Last edited by synzero; Nov 3, 2021 at 11:58 am
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 12:44 pm
  #370  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 61
Originally Posted by synzero
That's about 15,000 more points back per 100,000 points redeemed then you get from the Business Platinum (35% back). Effectively $300 in value, maxed out at 1,000,000 points redeemed.
I suppose if you do max it out it can offset the annual fee by 150,000 points (about $3000 in value)

With Business Centurion there is no single airline requirement as Platinum which requires for non 1st/business class flights. This adds flexibility while retaining points redemption/50%off.

Unlike Platinum (max 500,000 annual redemption), Centurion has no maximum annual redemption amount
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Last edited by mia; Nov 3, 2021 at 12:56 pm Reason: Formatting
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 1:01 pm
  #371  
mia
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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Originally Posted by Plumuser
....Essentially 50% off any flight with any carrier.....
Pay-with-Points assigns an arbitrary fixed value of $0.01/point. A 50% rebate is only a 50% discount if you accept that $0.01/point is a fair value, but points are worth more than that if transferred to a frequent flyer program. All of the card issuers play this game because it's easy to think that a point = penny, but points are worth what they can buy, not what the issuer assigns.
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Old Nov 3, 2021, 1:25 pm
  #372  
FT
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 385
Originally Posted by mia
Pay-with-Points assigns an arbitrary fixed value of $0.01/point. A 50% rebate is only a 50% discount if you accept that $0.01/point is a fair value, but points are worth more than that if transferred to a frequent flyer program. All of the card issuers play this game because it's easy to think that a point = penny, but points are worth what they can buy, not what the issuer assigns.
Peeling back the onion here.... AMEX has generally had a 1:1 exchange rate over the years, but now it's much easier to accrue MR points w/ the various category multipliers. And of course, there's also dynamic pricing to contend with. The one thing about $0.01/point is that it's fixed when booking/redeeming through AMEX travel portal. Nothing new here, but I do come to a different valuation conclusion because of dynamic pricing.
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Old Nov 4, 2021, 8:50 am
  #373  
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Manhattan, Palm Beach Island, San Francisco, Boston, & Hong Kong
Programs: Lifetime United Global Services, Delta Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Ambassador, & Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,165
Originally Posted by mia
Pay-with-Points assigns an arbitrary fixed value of $0.01/point. A 50% rebate is only a 50% discount if you accept that $0.01/point is a fair value, but points are worth more than that if transferred to a frequent flyer program. All of the card issuers play this game because it's easy to think that a point = penny, but points are worth what they can buy, not what the issuer assigns.
A lot of people (myself included) dont want to play the game of waiting for award availability and booking far in advance. They also want flexibility in which flights they hook (ie being with friends and family). The cpp for J/F flights people post here are often massively inflated imo. Id take a fixed two cents per MR airfare redemption over any airline transfer partner.
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Old Nov 4, 2021, 3:07 pm
  #374  
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I keep my stock of Amex points to be used to transfer to airline programs, and a majority of my award travel tickets are booked within well less than 48 hours of scheduled departure. And this provides me much better value than 2 cents per mile — even for economy class travel. But this seems to be a very different redemption pattern than for most of those who did the large spend to qualify for a US Centurion invites in the first place — then it’s a lot more likely for those Centurions to redeem points — at a fixed value — on a regular paid ticket.

Transferring the points to an airline program and dealing with award space availability/award pricing issues (and award travel routing issues) can be rather undesirable at times, and that relative undesirability is definitely not an issue unique to Centurion card holders.
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Old Nov 5, 2021, 11:21 am
  #375  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 367
Originally Posted by haapalainen
3) anyone can request any perk on the Amex Experiences app by choosing Centurion card as their card, or subscribe for the Centurion magazine, or just browse all the Centurion benefits if interested,
You can indeed choose Centurion in the Experience App without having the card. Therefore it is true that you can see which Centurion events are being offered. That does not mean that you can actually go to these events or get actual Centurion perks,
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