2021 Has anyone actually received a Centurion Card invite?
Nov 24, 2021, 4:23 am
#451
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
Location
The recent comments on location are interesting to me given the past discussion on location being a factor for spend thresholds. Once again, if this were to matter, I question how it could realistically be implemented. Billing address seems easy to game as the overlap between pied a terre owners and Centurion invitees is presumably substantial. I also don’t know if location of spending activity is reliable given how some people travel. Personally, the bulk of my credit card spending is NOT in my home city and my billing address is set to a house I seldom visit. I find it unlikely Amex would be able to correctly identify my home “location” and don’t think I’m particularly unique in this.
Nov 24, 2021, 8:38 am
#452
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 6,752
No idea what it is now, but there was a period where it was widely posited that $250,000 annual spend was the minimum threshold for personal Centurion consideration. That’s the pre-tax equivalent of around $450,000 - $500,000, assuming that consists primarily of luxury discretionary spending.
For a period, the Bus Centurion had been easier to qualify for, mostly because of the many efficient ways to rack up business expenses that were merely allocated to the card rather than from cash/MMs. So, for a time, you just had an influx of Bus Centurions pop up throughout Silicon Valley firms, until Amex tightened the secret sauce for qualification.
In my view, the Bus Cent is a better value proposition, but I always notice the personal one, where I just think, “this dude/dudette spends major bucks for the good life.”
Nov 24, 2021, 4:51 pm
#453
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Congrats on the approval!
From what I read and a few friends with US version, I still think the US Centurion is the hardest to get at least for personal version. My guess is US>JP/UK>AU/CA/HK/SG/NZ>Europe>Everywhere else. The US business version and the ICC/IDC can't really be compared with different personal version as both had different routes to qualification.
From what I read and a few friends with US version, I still think the US Centurion is the hardest to get at least for personal version. My guess is US>JP/UK>AU/CA/HK/SG/NZ>Europe>Everywhere else. The US business version and the ICC/IDC can't really be compared with different personal version as both had different routes to qualification.
Nov 24, 2021, 9:04 pm
#454
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
Biz Cent is definitely unique for the fixed 2 cents / MR redemption. As someone that has more MR than I could ever possibly use with transfer partners, the idea of burning it efficiently at a great value is so enticing
Nov 25, 2021, 5:43 am
#455
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: London
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Emirates Gold, HH Diamond, Centurion (UK), Virgin Gold
Posts: 75
In 2021, I’ve seen UK account members who got invited to Centurion during this pandemic with lower Amex spend than Swedish account members who got invited to Centurion. The differences perhaps could be chalked up to different spend type on the cards, but there are differences in qualification criteria that is attributable to the regional market and not just spend type.
My suspicion of the continental and Asia pacific versions being laxer is anecdotal. A friend of mine in the Netherlands received a Cent after holding Amex Plat for one year with a high five-figure spend in euro in 2019. On different occasions, private bankers have also told me there is a different underwriting process of Centurion referral when one is a UK resident.
Nov 25, 2021, 10:37 am
#456
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
No idea what it is now, but there was a period where it was widely posited that $250,000 annual spend was the minimum threshold for personal Centurion consideration. That’s the pre-tax equivalent of around $450,000 - $500,000, assuming that consists primarily of luxury discretionary spending.
Nov 28, 2021, 3:45 am
#457
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 118
We are also very confused in what reasons after all these years we still haven't received an invite given that we had spent well over £40 million across all our UK amex card products. From my understanding this level of spending should be quite significant enuff as per other posts mentioned here. So I felt like UK Cent is very difficult to get among all other countries. We just don't quite get the logic behind it.
We have a very good relationship manager serving our UK Business Plat and every xmas we mentioned if we could possiblely receive the invite, but he always told us he could try but can't guarantee. Instead he offered some nice xmas gifts to us as a good gesture for the spending in that year.
Also UK doesn't have Business Centurion version so no matter our spending is either personal or biz, there should be at least a personal Centurion invite somehow I believe.
There is a rumor that in the past few years UK doesn't send out any cent invitation and that might be the main reason alot of high spenders don't receive invites.
But anyway we feel like US Cent is best especially that it doesn't have FTF and we can use it anywhere we want, unlike UK cent which still has 3% FTF.
We have a very good relationship manager serving our UK Business Plat and every xmas we mentioned if we could possiblely receive the invite, but he always told us he could try but can't guarantee. Instead he offered some nice xmas gifts to us as a good gesture for the spending in that year.
Also UK doesn't have Business Centurion version so no matter our spending is either personal or biz, there should be at least a personal Centurion invite somehow I believe.
There is a rumor that in the past few years UK doesn't send out any cent invitation and that might be the main reason alot of high spenders don't receive invites.
But anyway we feel like US Cent is best especially that it doesn't have FTF and we can use it anywhere we want, unlike UK cent which still has 3% FTF.
Nov 29, 2021, 5:08 am
#459
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 118
Sorry for all the questions, I use wise for the same purpose but I always park the payment it in my US Bank account first.
Nov 29, 2021, 10:13 am
#460
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: RDU
Programs: DL(PM), UA(Silver), AA(EXP) Marriott(Ti), HH(Gold), Hertz(PC)
Posts: 2,669
For example:
Monday: Amex balance is $2000, you make a $500 payment, moments later you will see the Amex balance go down to $1500
Tuesday: your checking account is debited $500.
Nov 29, 2021, 1:31 pm
#461
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: San Francisco, California
Programs: Amex Centurion, United Global Services
Posts: 847
I admit to a bit of personal vs business card snobbery. I was told when they started the "be my friend" initiation fee, it was mostly to stop "Bob from accounting who orders all the enterprise company's HP printers on his card" from being a Centurion cardholder. When I see the business card with some folks (one guy at a Subway-like deli showed me his) I wonder how many Google Ads they are re-selling. I don't really imagine them doing much qualifying personal spend for luxury items. I envy their MR balances, however!
I always wonder if the person who approved my card was fired. While I do my fair share of luxury spend, my very first purchase was a burrito and I wager my card has seen more swipes at 7-Eleven than anyone else.
I always wonder if the person who approved my card was fired. While I do my fair share of luxury spend, my very first purchase was a burrito and I wager my card has seen more swipes at 7-Eleven than anyone else.
Nov 29, 2021, 1:43 pm
#462
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 6,752
To this day, my first charge is still a small Starbucks coffee.
Nov 29, 2021, 2:57 pm
#463
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
It's been over 20 years since I've had Centurion and I have no idea what my first purchase was. Perhaps a UA C-RTW as I bought a lot of those back in the day.
Dec 3, 2021, 1:11 am
#465
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 23
My card arrived today along with the Prada wearable. Maybe I'm not hip or fashionable but I can't imagine wearing that. It's cool that they're thinking outside the box but I put it on once then it went away in a drawer forever.