SusanDK

I had seriously considered Exclusive Resorts around 2003-2004, but we ended up purchasing our own vacation home instead (one can question the sanity of either choice in hindsight!).

This is the first I've heard of Inspirato (was aware of Portico) and I do think AmEx could really add value to Centurion by offering membership in Inspirato with fully waived initiation fees to Cents. If the annual fee only covers the ability to use the site and get 'discounts' then this should also be waived or substantially reduced for Cents ($2600 annual fee sounds extreme), particularly if AmEx is then going to offer discounts on membership and annual fees to Platinums.

No flyer for me yet but I don't travel as much as most here, and my air travel this past year was either on miles or paid by work, and I only had a couple of hotel stays charged to Cent.

SusanDK

Ok, so I just registered on the Inspirato site to try to get access to the membership information. I was curious about the "Trios" membership which is for the smaller residences since we never need a large house.

I hate when pricing information is not disclosed on the site. I can accept that they want me to register to see that information, but I really find it irritating that you must personally call or email to get pricing info.

I assume the prices cited in this thread are for the full membership? Does anyone know pricing on the limited or business memberships?

EDITED: After some exploring, I did get to the page to sign up for membership, but it only cites the option for the Core Membership and not the limited memberships. The offer is there to save $2500 off the initiation fee and $400 off the annual fee when paying with any American Express card, so this is open to any AmEx cardholder (I registered anonymously and with no reference to an AmEx). One would think that Cents and Plats should be offered a better deal, e.g. initiation fee waived for Cents, and minimum fee for Plats.

The Jaunt program for last-minute deals looks like it could be a good option for those that can take advantage.

NYCflip

My wife has gotten this mailer a couple of times over the past few months. $2500 off initiation and $400 of annual. She has the Amex Green. I have both the Amex Plat and Delta Plat. I've received nothing.

Doesn't matter as we don't plan plan on signing up. If the initiation fee was waived, maybe we would think about it.

FlyingRobot

Does anyone have the code from the "no initiation fee" offer (or perhaps a physical copy and a scanner)? I received the $2500 off initiation offer, but I'd love to call AMEX to ask why I didn't get the no initiation fee offer.

stimpy

But I just got a new email from Amex targeted to my Starwood card rather than the Centurion. It's not a full waiver, but Eligible Card Members receive $2,500 off your Initiation Fee when paying with your American Express® Card. Also, receive $400 off your Annual Membership Fee each year for the life of your membership.

mia

I have appended Stimpy's post to the original thread which had attracted some spam posts earlier in the year. We'll see if the problem recurs.

pinniped

This is the offer my wife just received: she has a DL Gold Amex (not the Plat card) and spends very little with it.

I do about $60k a year through Amex (SPG) and have never received the offer. I get better value from SPG than I did from Amex's native program, so I've never bothered with their Plat card.

I was a little put off that the Inspirato site itself does not provide actual details of membership: they want me to give them personal information first, which almost starts to feel like any other scammy timeshare operation. Thankfully this FT thread exists. We average about one VRBO rental per year - usually a large house, preferably higher-end - but I don't think we do enough to make this worth it even if we found a way to get the initiation fee waived. We often have a full year where we do a lot of hotel or B&B vacations...or a year where we do a rental house but not in a market with the kind of luxury homes this program provides.

mkt

My parents own a beachfront house at the St. Regis Bahia Beach, and they're also Cent card holders (well, dad is), and have been Amex cardholders since the late 60's.

Dad was contacted by Amex about allowing his property to be rented by them. I'm not entirely sure of the terms, but it's enough that the mortgage, fees, and utilities are covered, while still retaining 50 days of use per year. So not bad.

travellingcari

I just got a mailer, oddly targeted to an AMEX card that I use but once a month to keep alive. $25 AMEX GC to register. I'm digging around now as I have until 5/15 to redeem

lostcase

I received the same email this morning about the $25 Gift Card.

jbarm

Received the mailer as well. I registered for the "free" $25 Amex gift card.

Have had two emails from Inspirato since them. One personalized and one generic invitation to learn more.

Seems harmless so far.

travellingcari

Good to know. Wasn't sure how much you needed to commit for the free GC. If it's just spam, I may take them up on it.

gimmeyourmiles

I also got the email for the $25 GC. Let me know how it goes!

alelex

I didn't know Insipirato before checked this post, the proprieties are very nice and i filled the form to get more info. Today, when checking back on the website, (join now under my profile) I get the same "deal" $2500 off and $400 yearly.

Still now willing to charge $18200 on my card but i'm trying to get a better deal with them, will post an update when my regional director will get back to me.

floridagal23

Plat card holder, also received the $25 gift card offer and received one e-mail from inspirato so far. The offer was for a discounted initiation fee. We would try it out if the fee was waived.