How many Centurion cardholders are there in the US?
How many Centurion cardholders are there in the US?
Mar 3, 08, 8:51 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hoboken, NJ
Programs: Amex Plat, SPG Gold, Hyatt Plat, HH Gold
Posts: 495
Originally Posted by BA Loyal
Does anyone know roughly how many people there are in the US with the Black Card?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7426753&postcount=25
Mar 4, 08, 7:19 am
#3
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 46,436
Departures magazine circulation:
December 2006 (page 3) shows 17,875 Personal + 5,630 Business = 23,505 USA Centurion cardholders.
http://www.departures.com/mediakit/d...s/DEP_1206.pdf
June 2007 (page 3) shows 19,523 Personal + 6,752 Business = 26,275 USA Centurion cardholders
http://www.departures.com/mediakit/d...P_BPA_0607.pdf
December 2007 data is not yet online. Corresponding Platinum cardholder data is also included. Suffice it to say there is no exclusivity with well over 1 million accounts.
This indicates 2,770 (11.7%) additional Centurion accounts created in six months. Put another way, American Express sold over 15 Centurion memberships per calendar day. Ignoring initiation fees, that's $6.925 million in incremental annual fee revenue.
December 2006 (page 3) shows 17,875 Personal + 5,630 Business = 23,505 USA Centurion cardholders.
http://www.departures.com/mediakit/d...s/DEP_1206.pdf
June 2007 (page 3) shows 19,523 Personal + 6,752 Business = 26,275 USA Centurion cardholders
http://www.departures.com/mediakit/d...P_BPA_0607.pdf
December 2007 data is not yet online. Corresponding Platinum cardholder data is also included. Suffice it to say there is no exclusivity with well over 1 million accounts.
This indicates 2,770 (11.7%) additional Centurion accounts created in six months. Put another way, American Express sold over 15 Centurion memberships per calendar day. Ignoring initiation fees, that's $6.925 million in incremental annual fee revenue.
Last edited by mia; Mar 4, 08 at 7:33 am
Mar 6, 08, 6:46 pm
#5
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,610
I don't think there is much exclusivity with 26k+ Cent holders! That number just shows how good Amex is at product marketing.
Hmm, being able to get that data from Departures is useful. Guess once a year or so, I shouldn't just move it directly from mailbox to recycling bin.
Hmm, being able to get that data from Departures is useful. Guess once a year or so, I shouldn't just move it directly from mailbox to recycling bin.
But I agree, it's not that exclusive.
Mar 10, 08, 7:22 am
#7
Join Date: May 2006
Programs: SPG, HH, UAMP, AEPL, DC
Posts: 46
One million Plat card holders (counting both business and personal cards) can hardly be described as "exclusive", but it's still a very small fraction of the total number of AmEx cards out there (25-30m in the US).
I first got Plat in 1992 when it was by invitation only (I loved the app, too -- all they wanted was my SSN and signature, I guess because they had enough payment history from me already). If I remember correctly, the invitation letter said that Plat offers were extended to the "top 2%" of AmEx card holders.
So even with all the marketing of the Plat in the past ten years it looks like it still accounts for only 3% of AmEx cardholders. And if you don't include the business card, which didn't exist in 1992, it's about 2.5%.
I find this surprising given the "promotion" of Plat, so if anyone can run the numbers differently for me, I'd be interested.
I first got Plat in 1992 when it was by invitation only (I loved the app, too -- all they wanted was my SSN and signature, I guess because they had enough payment history from me already). If I remember correctly, the invitation letter said that Plat offers were extended to the "top 2%" of AmEx card holders.
So even with all the marketing of the Plat in the past ten years it looks like it still accounts for only 3% of AmEx cardholders. And if you don't include the business card, which didn't exist in 1992, it's about 2.5%.
I find this surprising given the "promotion" of Plat, so if anyone can run the numbers differently for me, I'd be interested.
