paralyzer

My wife and I recently finished setting up our family office and dynasty trust (god bless South Dakota!) - so I had valuations ready to go - I updated the values on amex once those were done.

I don’t hold any assets or cash with the big banks - all banking is done with boring midwestern banks that don’t do DEI garbage policies (note: im brown man - I just believe in merit).

paralyzer

PS - Also going to add this note - last summer we started construction on a new facility. Previous to that, I would religiously pay off the entire platinum card once a week. However, the facility costs added unexpected amounts to the card - rather than dip into company savings to pay off the new costs of construction, I simply carried a balance on the platinum (so we still paid the card once a week, but didn't pay off the full amount). So overall - the platinum went from carrying nothing on it, once a week, to now carrying anywhere from $25K or above, at all given times.

Make of it what you will - but that may have played a role?

JPGIV

All on a single card?

paralyzer

No - but all purchases did go through one single business account.

I think we issued around 10 employee cards off this account - overall, almost all company purchases go through this account.

immaculate

I read previous versions of this thread in the past hoping to glean some insight from the DPs shared on what might get me an invite. Well, I got the invite earlier this year and accepted and can now share my experience so that others may pick up a tip or two.

I got the personal Centurion. Spend profile for the last 3 years is 375k, 425k, 700k. Almost zero travel in the pandemic years, but lots of travel prior, none of it ever booked via AmEx or FHR. Fairly significant use of the Platinum concierge service 5+ years ago when it was still awesome. Heavier spend year (last year) was the result of a move and all new furniture/improvements for the new home, a number of allocation/waitlist watches coming through, and an unlucky year of Italian/German automobile maintenance/modifications/repairs. There was also a bit of travel since the places I wanted to go opened back up and I spent more than usual on those few trips. I use my collection of AmEx cards for just about everything from a bottle of water at the airport to a new solar system for the home.

Over a year ago, I requested an invite on Centurion.com. Nothing came of that. Earlier this year, I happened to run into my MS banker while getting groceries one evening and the topic of my MS AmEx came up. One thing led to another and he offered to “make an introduction” to Centurion. A couple weeks go by and nothing happens. This doesn’t surprise me at all - my two addresses on file with AmEx are in OC and SF - I am positive that I am not spending in the top 1% of either of those areas. Then, somewhat unexpectedly, AmEx called while I was in a meeting (and sent a followup email shortly after). I called back an hour or so later and accepted. Wasn’t given the option of an upgrade from my Platinum cards and so had to provide income & asset info. Card arrived a few days later.

exigence

Thank you for the data point. Relative to your utilization and spend profile/use habits, can you speak to how it has been using the Centurion? Has it been "worth it" for your use case? Any annoyances or issues?

immaculate

It’s been a mixed bag so far. I signed up for the Equinox destination access membership - I’m excited about that since there is an Equinox near my home in both SF and OC. I am also a fan of PS at LAX and the membership + 1 complimentary visit to PS is a nice benefit. From a benefits standpoint, I think I’ll get good value from the card. I’m a little disappointed in the service so far. On multiple occasions, I’ve been told that someone from my pod will call me back with information or follow up on a request via email. 0 / 3 so far on those followups. Things that can be handled “live” on the phone are resolved quickly and professionally, which is nice. I’ll update as I can with more pluses/minuses as I start trying out things like skipping the line at the Centurion lounge and FHR.

moe8555

Thanks for sharing! Was all the spend on one card? If so, which one (looks like the MS Platinum)? Do you think it was a coincidence, or the MS connection is what made it happen?

immaculate

Spend was spread across a MS Platinum and a regular Platinum, Gold (all dining and groceries for the 4x multiplier), and a Bonvoy Brilliant (for Marriott stays).

I have no clue if the MS referral helped. In an effort to speed things along prior to my invite, I asked to be transferred to Centurion customer service on two occasions and asked if they had received the introduction & asset info from my banker. One person said that no, they hadn’t. The other told me that they no longer consider those referrals for invites. No clue what actually worked in the end.

moe8555

Interesting, and out of curiosity, why were you maintaining both the MS Platinum and regular Platinum..?

SteveT

Thanks for sharing your DP.

Question- What did your banker mean by "introduction" and did you ever confirm if he did or not? If so, do you think it made a difference and do you think your relationship with MS is strong enough for them to push through an invite?

immaculate

The regular Platinum is the card I’ve had open the longest with AmEx - started with a Gold charge card, did the upgrade to Platinum and kept it ever since (this was some 15 years ago). So I think I kept it partially for nostalgia and also because I like the credits (airline, uber, streaming). I get the MS Platinum for free so I added that on to double up on the aforementioned credits.

I am honestly not sure what is included in the “introduction” - does MS tell AmEx about my assets, etc? I don’t know - he just intimated that they have a relationship with AmEx and can refer/introduce folks to Centurion. He confirmed that they made the introduction a few days later and that whether or not anything came of it was now out of their hands and with AmEx. My frame of reference is a bit skewed because of geography (i.e. lots of UHNW folks in my vicinity), but my banker has been through a couple of liquidity events with me and I personally believe the relationship is strong enough to merit a “please take a serious look at this guy” intro Whether the MS intro factored into the invite itself - your guess is as good as mine. I am of the belief that the intro might’ve tipped the scales in my favour, but that invites are still largely based on types of spend - so if my spend had been 200k of AdWords and office supplies yearly, the MS intro may not help much.

SteveT

My guess is that you would have eventually been invited sometime this year. The MS introduction pushed it up a few months. But if MS relationship is similar to Goldman, you probably would have received an invitation regardless of your spend. Goldman PWM clients ($10MM minimum) can get a Centurion request.

paralyzer

One thing I've heard - the Centurion invite "algorithm" especially prefers real estate developers and contractors. Those who have expenses related to home improvement, contracting or any kind of real estate development are likely to get a major look because, apparently, developers and contractors have great spending records with Amex.

Of note - I received the invite for our Centurion business card after 9 months of constructing a new facility, with all spending going onto the card. Technically, we are either just under, or just about meeting the desired spend threshold.

Have had the card for a month now and I'm very happy. You need to make sure you book Centurion hotels on the FHR page, as they'll have even larger discounts often times. I've already saved a good amount on hotels. I knew before I started that the concierges wouldn't be a major help (and they haven't been - lol) but the discount programs are awesome. If you have money coming in, or continual business expenses, getting this card is a no brainer if invited.

Been fun too show it off too (although, I'm happily married, so the "balling" can only go so far).

PMFR

Actually, if you book through a Centurion Travel agent, the price (including upgrades and extra amentities) will be much better than booking on the FHR page.