mia

While I originally found that article in the NYTimes it appears it was written by Reuters. I believe it is this article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...79345E20111004

am1996

Seriously? Chase thinks that dangling a $500/year card will be enough to entice people to move $5MM over to them? This is pretty amusing.

Just to save $500 (you presumably wouldn't get future fee waivers with this strategy)? You'd lose more in interest than you would gain in the form of a one time $500 fee waiver.

TTT103

If I had $5M I really wouldn't be too concerned about the $500 annual fee.

mia

I was referring to the value of a United Club membership, not the Palladium Card's annual fee.

jspira

Good question - I don't know since I don't have an AU on the account.

If this is important to you, let me know via PM and I'll ask the concierge.

yOyOYoo

Do I need to call to request for United Club access and GHA status or is this an automatic enrollment?

jspira

Nothing is automatic AFAIK.

HookemHorns

Any of those price points, if the benefits are right. I would expect they add benefits before raising the price. If I had jumped in on the Centurion for $1K, I'd probably still have it right now. However, with the current entry fee, I'm really not sure I'd go for it. Same here, if the benefits go up with the fee, I'd probably keep it.

Having an AmEx exec on board, I don't think they are confused about the mass-market nature of Platinum, but I do think they're trying to find their footing with their marketing strategy. I'm pretty sure Centurion is having an identity crisis as well, since they seem to be trying to weed out the purchasing clerks who met the entry-level spend.

Unfortunately, recent events make it seem that this is possible. If this is true, then I think they are destined to fail. I certainly hope this isn't the game plan.

Enticing stays that aren't booked through Priceline or Orbitz. I'm heavily SPG/Ritz, but there are many times another brand would be more convenient. Without status, I put up with the inconvenience to stay at a SPG/RC. Even perks would influence my spend...if they raised the fee by a bit and threw in some guaranteed lounge accesses at RC, I could almost guarantee that would pay of tenfold for them (at least in my case...some RCs have suites that aren't on club level).


Entry. I know a lot of people find it useless, but it does come in handy when one has to fly an airline that they normally wouldn't use and currently have no status with.

am1996

Why not? Money is money, so if you can easily save $500, why not do it?

Aren't those Centurion members that had the $1K/year cards no longer eligible to keep the cards for $1K/year? I thought that they could only do it through their respective cards' expiration dates, at which point they either had to give up the membership or start paying $2,500/year fees?

They can't do that. A lot of RC club lounges are too small to accommodate people not staying on the Club level and still maintain comfortable atmosphere. Hence, the reason that many if not most RC's will not give you Club lounge access unless you have a Club level room. If a CC started providing this as a benefit, meaning that all cardholders would get automatic Club lounge access even if they do not stay on the Club level, it would really dilute the Club level experience, so I do not see it happening.

HookemHorns

Yes, but the analogy of dropping a frog into a boiling pot of water comes to mind. I'd probably tolerate the fee increase if I already had the card, and just be happy I don't have to pay the "joining fee". If I got an invite now, I'd have to analyze the cost/benefit, and although I'm sure it is beneficial to some, in my case I don't think the benefits would be that much greater than Plat.

AFIK, AmEx Centurion offers RC club access on every stay booked through FHR, and the Chase Ritz-Carlton card offers club access on 10 stays per year. I sincerely agree that RC cannot afford to dilute the club experience, but they're already doing that with the Chase RC (mass market) card. Giving a few Palladium members a limited number of club accesses shouldn't hurt, and would be a huge benefit to me at properties where there are no exec suites on the club level (forcing me to choose between club access or suite).

am1996

Even if you aren't booked into a Club room? Really? I thought that the Platinum vs. Centurion FHR program was exactly the same, except that Centurion cardholders get a separate Centurion amenity.

From the website: "You can upgrade to The Ritz-Carlton Club® Level three times annually on paid stays of up to seven nights.*"

With the RC card, you aren't getting Club level access unless you are staying in a Club room. In order to take advantage of the Club level upgrade program that comes with the card, you have to book at rack rates, which cannot be combined with any other discounted or company/association rates, package discounts, etc...

am1996

I've never stayed at an RC that did not have executive suites on the club floor (although the number of those is usually extremely limited) but I hear what you are saying. Having said that, RC's will almost always offer you an option to purchase Club lounge access ($50-$150/person/day at the ones where I've stayed) if you aren't staying on the Club floor, so you wouldn't have to choose one or the other.

I hear what you are saying, however. If the hotel is not full (meaning that the Club lounge isn't full either) and the hotel is selling Club lounge access to people not staying on the Club floor, it can offer complementary access to the Club lounge to the holders of certain CC's without jeopardizing the Club experience. Perhaps those CC's can come with a limited number of Club lounge passes (without giving people Club rooms), which the hotel could choose to reject if the Club level is already full and it doesn't want to have too many people in the lounge.

HookemHorns

I don't know if it is a current benefit, but I can personally vouch that it was a few years back when I was traveling with a Cent friend. Anything booked through FHR gave us full club access at check-in (all 3 rooms on the reservation) at several RC properties. Perhaps a current Cent could comment.

I stand corrected. I have the early marketing slicks from the card, probably because I have high RC spend. Mine says 10 stays per year, and implied a "voucher" type program, but the details weren't clear. Looks like they've revised that quite a bit.

Some of the DC-area properties come to mind, but you're right - most do have limited suites on the club floor. I just usually miss out on booking them (would be willing to pay rack rate for club suite, but not $150pp for lounge).

Exactly my thought - if Chase could do that, even if it is a space-available pass, that would be a seriously useful benefit to me. I realize that I may be one of the few, but I just threw it out as a unique way Chase could leverage their existing relationships to offer a unique benefit.

am1996

Wow, that's pretty impressive, especially if it is a current published benefit, meaning that you can make a booking and know that you'll receive it, as opposed to something that's given in the hotel's discretion.

I agree, that would make sense!

5DMarkIIguy

I have a personal anecdote regarding this. I tried to book a stay in Kuala Lumpur last month. The Plat FHR has RC, MO. The Cent FHR has RC, MO, and Shangri-La. I tried to book Shangri-La but the Plat FHR folks won't do it, citing it's for Cent only.