WrightHI

We’re talking here about the relationship between a consumer and a very large financial services company. This is not horse trading with the neighboring ranch. Your value to Amex is what their algorithm says it is, and the algorithm does not care how firm your handshake is.

sdix

I was offered a downgrade to any other colored card but I went into the call with the mindset that the only solution for me was to roll back the annual fee to what had been "grandfathered" in. I suppose that was either the $1000 or worse case $2500 for each card.

It was a very polite call but to me the benefits of any other card to me weren't worth it. I kept my Hilton card as it gives Hilton Diamond and also keeps my "Member Since" date so I do not loose the 40 years of relationship for credit purchases.

I was told I could reconsider any time but while it wasn't explicitly said I suspect there is a re-qualification and a initiation fee.

mia

My experience suggests that American Express is not distressed unless you close "all" accounts. Keeping any card open seems to be regarded as a satisfactory outcome.

EXPLAT

I'm in the same boat as the OP as I've had the Centurion card for many years. I didn't get much value from the card this past year and the concierge service doesn't really help. "The Points Guy" talks about his concierge with great reverence and how they plan out extravegent itineraries for him. I haven't had luck with fairly simple travel requests or setting up exclusive access to travel venues. I end up researching and booking myself, which takes time that I think the concierge should be performing. So besides having a Black Titanium Card in my wallet, it doesn't really do much else. I'm thinking I'll downgrade to a Platinum Card for the lounge access and to keep my average # of years of credit the same. The Card could be so much more, but isn't. The desire to have the card is stronger due to its exclusivity, more so than what it actually provides, unfortunately.

I'll look forward to the 5x points for travel on the Platinum Card. If the concierge service was stronger, I'd keep the card just for that, but it's just weak and doesn't replace an assistant/secretary.

747FC

Have you considered the purchase of concierge services with the savings from cancelling the Centurion?

Will you be changing your FT handle to EXCENT? 😀

stimpy

The card was seriously diminished in 2020 thanks to COVID, but I still got some good use from it. Mostly with Hertz Plat and Equinox. I too will see my fee increase in February and I'm leaning towards giving it a try for one year to see if they can increase the benefits to cover for the lack of travel going on.

BeantownFlyer

If you use the equinox membership it’s a no-brainer, particularly for this year since you easily get benefits that exceed the annual fee:

special travel credit on renewal (this year only) $2,000
equinox membership $3,000
saks annual credit $1,000
Uber annual credit $200
paypal 6 month credit $180
hertz
delta
clear

if you don’t (or can’t) use the equinox membership it comes down to how much you value hertz and delta in my view.

dadig

Not fortunate enough to be considered centurion, however I use the platinum concierge for travel mostly as that is where I had the most success. My instructions to them are usually quite straight forward - desired airline carrier(s), cabin class and max budget for the trip details and leave the rest to them to come back - it gets tricky once you start introducing additional filters like transit/stopover, departure times etc...and at that point you might as well do it yourself.

In AU/NZ one could instruct and confirm the booking with authorisation via email [and the itinerary is sent when done]; in UK I found a return call is required (always) which I do find pointless, I would get potential itinerary options and then have to pick up a phone to the concierge team to proceed. (Mail boxes have a No Reply instruction).

EXPLAT

EXCENT it is! 😀 I have a travel agent acquaintance in town and she is pretty amazing. Some of our travel group have been know to have her come along on trips to smooth the way as they go along their journey. She's been everywhere and knows everyone, I personally haven't tried this but maybe as you say, the savings could go towards that.

EXPLAT

Yes, we don't have an Equinox anywhere near us. I would consider keeping it as you say.
I love the Hertz pickup/drop off service, I'll miss that. With Hertz bankrupt, I'm wondering how long that will last anyway.
We don't have Delta in our market but I'm a lifetime AA Platinum with 3+ million miles. So Delta status doesn't really help either. Wish we had the Delta option as they are a great airline. AA devaluated Platinum by inserting Platinum Pro in between Platinum and Executive Platinum which was a blow.
How do you get the $2,000 travel credit? I'd keep the card another year if this was the case, as it would make the annual fee $3k and not $5k.

EXPLAT

I would like the concierge to plan a more complex itinerary but they are not that knowledgeable. ie: On a past trip to London, I wanted them to arrange back stage type access to some different venues. Like a private tour of the Churchill Museum for instance. Ended up arranging it myself as they couldn't do it and it was an easy ask. Louvre Museum after hours? Sistine Chapel, etc.

stimpy

US Amex concierges have never been good at anything outside of the US. Within the US I've had some luck with them, but I mostly do it myself.

The $2000 credit comes once you pay the $5K, but I think it has to be used with Amex travel bookings only.

kklems

No the Plan it payment is added to your revolving account balance. So if I do a plan it for $1200 for 12 months they will add $100 (plus the plan it fee for those that pay one) to my minimum payment each month. They also allow you to pay off any other charges in full (plus the plan it monthly amount) So say I charge $150 in regular charges my full adjusted amount to avoid interest on the regular charges would be the $150 plus the $100 for plan. They disclose this on your statement. They also would allow you to make a minimum payment on the regular charges plus the $100 plan it payment (but you would pay interest on the regular charges) We get offers a couple of times a year for Plan it with no fees which we use to make tuition payments for my kids college. We can earn miles/points on the purchase, interest free use of amex money for 1-3 years (plans they offer can vary from 12 months to 36 months-you won't know what they offer until the charge posts), I don't have to pay the college to enroll in their payment plan. It makes it much easier to cash flow rather than having to sell assets to pay for their tuition. The downside I see is the schools charge 2.9% fee to pay with a credit card (but they charge this regardless of using plan it. All CC/DC get charged the fee) and you don't know how many months the plan they offer will be until the charge posts. They have an online calculator to estimate that but it is not always what is offered. In looking at plan it payment plans outside the $0 fee offer it looks like the interest rate is around 6.99% but that may vary.

BeantownFlyer

Stimpy is correct - the. credit is available once the annual fee is paid and is for any travel booked through AMEX online or via the travel service.

The first notice was buried at the end of my June bill and they sent me a few notices when my renewal came up last month. Full terms from the June notice:

Centurion American Express Travel Credit
When you book travel through American Express Travel online or with Centurion Membership Services, you can earn up to $2000 in statement credits for eligible travel purchases made with your eligible Centurion Card through 12/31/2021.
Offer Terms
For eligible Centurion Cards that renew April 2020 through July 2020, this offer will be available starting August 1, 2020. For eligible Centurion Cards that renew August 2020 through March 2021, this offer will be available starting on the first day of your Card renewal month.
When you book travel through American Express Travel online at amextravel.com or by calling the number on the back of your Centurion Card, you can earn up to $2000 in statement credits for eligible travel purchases made with your eligible Centurion Card. You must have a booking with American Express Travel, made on or after the offer start date with your eligible Centurion Card, for your purchase(s) to be eligible for the credit. Statement credit(s) may not be received or may be reversed if the eligible purchase(s) or booking(s) are returned or cancelled. Both booking(s) and charge(s) for eligible travel must be made by 12/31/2021 to receive the credit(s). Eligible travel purchases include purchases of airfare, hotel, flight + hotel packages, cruise reservations, car rentals, and tours made with your eligible Centurion Card, minus returns and other credits. Eligible travel purchases do NOT include purchases of timeshare properties, group reservations or events, ticketing services, cancellation or other fees, interest charges, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents. Purchases by Additional Card Members are not eligible for statement credits. Credits or rewards you may receive with your Card on other purchase categories or in connection with promotions or offers from American Express may not be combined with this offer.
Please allow up to 90 days after an eligible purchase is posted to your Card for statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account. Call the number on the back of your Card if statement credit(s) have not posted by that time. If American Express does not receive information that identifies your transaction as eligible for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit(s). To be eligible for this offer, you must have a US consumer Centurion Card that was solicited for this offer. To continue to be eligible for the offer, you must maintain the Centurion Card that was solicited for this offer for the full offer period, or until you have earned and received the full amount of the offer credit if sooner. To receive the credit(s) your Centurion Card must be not canceled and not past due at the time of statement credit(s) fulfillment. If a charge for an eligible purchase is included in a Pay Over Time feature balance on your Card Account, the statement credit associated with that charge may not be applied to that Pay Over Time feature balance. Instead, the statement credit may be applied to the Pay In Full bala

HawkeyeFlyer

Are you willing to share what your average spend was on the Centurion annually?