everywhere

What AmEx could do is standardise the Centurion program globally; Qualification, Benefits, and Availability. There are reports of persons being invited to the Centurion after spending a mere AU$50k in Australia; whilst their requirements in the US will be US$250,000. Why can they not simply standardise the requirements so that it is not harder to get in some currency’s than others ?

Why is the Centurion only available in certain markets; Why not all AmEx markets ? Granted the Concierge et al needs to be setup, but for the Centurion to be truly useful every country with AmEx merchants should have Centurion services.

The Benefits of the Centurion card [as does the annual fee] vary from market to market; I find this deplorable. AmEx could just offer a global program with worldwide benefits [more power in negotiating with travel providers, et al]. Granted some privileges may be more useful to a UK based cardholder than say a Australian based cardholder, but what about when the Australian cardholder visits the UK ?

stimpy

They chose to grandfather us because they are treating us well. That's the whole point of the program. We are treated as their best customers and you don't tell your best customer that he has to pay 250% more for no good reason. You can play amateur accountant all you want and it won't tell you why they treat us well. In fact, the top number one reason I like the Black card is that I am treated very well by Amex. That's worth more than all the travel perks. However I like the fact that I am also treated as Starwood's best customer, Avis's best customer, etc.

As for the people who keep harping on about prestige, who cares? If it matters to some, but not you, why keep complaining about it? It's amazing to think about all the hundreds if not thousands of posts here from people who don't have the Black card, yet constantly complain that it isn't worth it. If the black card is so worthless, why have you wasted so much time complaining about it?

derpelikan

i agree that amex should globalize the product. but this is hardly possible at the moment, as amex germany , us, uk etc are all own profit centers. so they are competiting against other amex countries. i got it explained one time, on asking why it is not globalized.
in germany you pay 1400USD and get only SPG plat + priority pass + hilton gold. carrental or airline status = 0, this is the real ripoff. the americans should be happy and just stop complaining, if i could pay 2500 USD + have to spent 250K i would love to do so, if i get the US centurion perks. (the airline perks and carrental perks are worth the 1000 USD extra i would pay that with a smile!)

but of course everyone has to check his needs, for me status on airlines is the most important as i travel much.

dp

citationvultra

I totally agree with you! ^

everywhere

American Express could in effect still globalise the Centurion product, even though each region is it’s own profit centre. American Express could manage the program through a central office [Membership Invitations, Benefits] but billing, et cetera could be carried out by the home market division.

ahrz

There is no real reason to globalize the Centurion card or other products.

People leaving in different parts of the world, having different cultures and habits simply have different needs.
That's the reason why the BMW 7 series is not offered with diesel engine in the US .. that's why ice cream is too sweet in the US for european consumers. The Centurion card should offer the service level and benefits customers expect on their local markets.

There are some global benefits Amex may offer (like Starwood). But airline benefits are more difficult to negociate in Europe than in the US, where germans would expect benefits with Lufthansa, french with Air France-KLM, UK citizens with BA etc.

I could rather imagine a Centurion card offering global benefits for a standard annual fee, and optional packages for additional fees.

derpelikan

why the european customers and other countries get ripped off?

if amex would use its global power they could offer similar deals for each country.

i can not accept paying more than half of the american fee but receiving less than half of the benefits .

i wanted to cancel my cent. but as in germany the perks will get better in end of last quarter of 05 i will give it a try and wait.

dp

CT-UK

Because AMEX can get away with it simple as that! Simply the same as why we pay Ł55 / $100 for a pair of Levis Jeans and in the US you can get them for $35. People in Europe will buy them at that price and people in the US wouldn't.

In the UK at least the Centurion card offer is on spending pattern and not over all spend. If you put a lot of travel through your card you may get an invite. In turn that means that those who get invited probably have a lot of status already an airlines.

atlantic

If I were to spend 250k/year on personal expenses on a single card (this might be a bit easier in the US) I certainly would not need any extra benefits. My god, who in their right mind would travel coach (or commercial for that matter) or rent a Camry at that spend level? You got to live off your Amex and be able to expense most of it if it were to make sense. But then my guess is that most people who have already have or want a Centurion Card are doing this. On a 250k personal spend I would expect a minimun yearly net income of 500k+

TTT103

It would be interesting to see the demographics of Centurion cardholders. My guess is that many of them are attaining their card status via expense reports.

ktp28

I don't think i'm going to do this, but I figure I would post it anyway.

I'm a U.S. Plat card holder, but currently living in Hong Kong (indefinitely so it seems). I was thinking of going back down the green card, but do a global transfer for Hong Kong. This way, I get to build credit in Hong Kong quickly and still maintain some credit in the U.S.

Now, my thought is while i transfer the Plat card to Hong Kong, I would pay Hong Kong's higher fees, but it might be easier for me to get the Centurion card here.

I guess the plus side is that I would build credit locally should i decide to buy a flat or a car here and maintain credit in two geographies.

The down side is I would be paying USD800 for the plat card in hkg and then another 60 for the US green.

any thoughts?

in regards to the earlier posts, while, there are a lot of wealthy people who are humble, there certainly are a lot of wealthy people who act rich too

cheers,
ktp

Supreme Leader of the Free World

How do you KNOW the people acting rich are really wealthy? I have checked the flyertalk encyclopedia on people with money and I clearly see the following information:

KNOWN FACTS:
Only poor people act rich
All the rich people live in squalor because they have no need to show off their wealth.

FIRST RULE THAT IS NEVER EVER EVER BROKEN:
Rich people NEVER carry a centurion.

(If you think you see someone with 10M cash carring a Centurion see the first rule and get your eyes checked)

pterostyrax

It's not about "saving" anything. It is about getting additional benefits/perks.

Folks, used properly, a Centurion Card is well worth the buy-in in terms of the benefits you receive. Upgrades to first class air travel are now confirmed at the time of booking when booking a full fare couch. My wife and I are traveling first class to Seattle in May and I received the upgrades at time of booking over a month ago. We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco and New York this last year. Both times we were upgraded to suites and got the third night stay for free (in this case, an actual savings) plus we received free breakfasts each day (additional savings). We received a $500 on board credit and a bottle of Dom Perignon on our SilverSea cruise last year.

We will be taking another SilverSea cruise this year from Monte Carlo to Athens and will be staying three days at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. I am certain that we will be upgraded to seaview suites as well as receive free breakfast buffets.

As others have said, if you travel a lot, getting a Centurion Card is a no-brainer.

Doppy

No one is getting "ripped off." They knew what the benefits were ahead of time and could cancel at any moment.
Perhaps not for you, but read many of the other posts on this or other bulletin boards and see how much people are "saving."

My travel agent gets me many of the same perks and benefits as AmEx does. But never do I say that I "saved" anything because I wouldn't have paid the extra $2000 a night for the suite upgrade. When I cash in miles for a free first class ticket, I don't say that I "saved" $10,000 because I wouldn't have bought the FC ticket - I would have bought the $350 coach ticket. So my actual savings there would be $350. I agree that such perks are great - but many people (if not you) make the "savings" argument.

People can justify stuff however they want - it's not my money. But it does make me laugh. I love watching people get sucked in by marketing - it's entertaining

geekfactory

Not for nothing, and yes, it sucks for those who were close, but Amex's Concierge has really taken a nose dive in the past six months or so. I do hope it gets better if it gets more exclusive.