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US Airways Joins Centurion Airport Lounge Program
Two posts in one week, I need to slow down. I did just get this email, which I am very excited about, that US Airways has now been added to list of Airport Lounges in the Centurion program. This is great for me because I live 10 minutes from a US Airways hub and I fly them almost exclusively (but I like Delta more). Here is a copy of the email I received.
Big Thanks to Amex Concierge
Contrary to many of the comments I am not dead, nor was I attacked or eaten by a bear. But I do have exciting news, I recently became engaged, much to the help of my Centurion concierge.
My longtime girlfriend, myself, and her family had planned a trip to Mexico for her Father’s 60th birthday, and I had decided that i really wanted to propose while we were on the trip. Not knowing the area or the resort at all, the first thing I did was call my dedicated concierge and she said was extremely excited to help plan the proposal. The great part about getting her to help me was that I didn’t have to call the resort in Mexico repeatedly speaking all sorts of Spanglish to get it arranged.
We tossed around a lot of ideas, one of which involved us chartering a helicopter to take a sunset tour of the area. Unfortunately, after weeks and weeks of trying to get it set up, we couldn’t locate a charter helicopter within 2 hours driving distance. Eventually we decided on the idea of a private horseback riding tour through the mountains, followed by a secluded dinner on the beach. Amex helped to arrange all the details and it went off without a hitch. I couldn’t have been happier and my concierge really took an interest in having it be special, and it really showed.
This was one of those times I was extremely happy to be a Centurion member and have access to a great concierge staff that will and do take a personal interest clients. If anyone is considering using their concierge to help arrange or plan an event like this, I highly recommend it.
That Time of The Year Again
It’s that time of the year again, where everyone makes their new years resolutions, many of which are usually finance related. The usually consist of making more money, getting out of debt, and saving more money. This post, while not about the black card in anyway is just a friendly reminder with hints to help accomplish this.
Before I started using my Centurion card for most of my purchases, I almost exclusively used my Amex Blue Cash card. It’s a great all purpose credit card with fairly expandable limits, but the cash back on it is great. Between the cash back and tracking spending, this card helped a lot.
Also, the beginning of the year is a great time to get your credit report and score in order. Every year, the US government provides its citizens with a free annual credit report from http://www.annualcreditreport.com. However it only provides your report and not your score. I try and check my score at least once of year. Many times you can find a special where a company is offering the score for free, I usually use Go Free Credit Report for this. It will show you your report and score, and you can get it free.
Black Ink Magazine Is Terrible
It has been awhile since I last posted, sorry. However, I just received the latest issue of blank ink magazine, the centurion member magazine in the US (similar to departures, but way worse), and I was reminded of how terrible it is. I don’t think I have received one issue that I thought had a single remotely interesting article. Every issue is the same. They are full of ads for high end brands and then the articles are basically paid ads for other products we should buy. I mean really, you’d think American Express would want to send out something with substance to their wealthier/successful clients. Not some lame excuse to get advertising dollars out of companies.
Departures, I can handle and is pretty good from time to time. Black Ink is just bad. Honestly, unless it changes to something that has substance, I am going to start throwing them away without opening the plastic.
Centurion Card Gets Exclusive Again
Sorry for the lack of posts, I’ve been on an extended vacation from this site. I am actually in Paris right now, I’ll write more about Centurion service for my trip later. I am a little late on reporting this, but apparently Amex has semi-closed its doors on the Centurion card for now. According to this user over at Flyer Talk, he called in and asked to apply, and they told him it was invite only now. Even though he met the previous requirements.
I could kind of see this coming as it appeared a lot of people had been calling in and getting Centurion cards lately, that met the requirements of course. I am sure they’re just afraid of diluting the brand and decided to scale back on the number of new members. I actually want to see if anyone is “invited” in the near future.
This sucks for the people who want one and qualified under the previous requirements, but it is probably a good thing for the current cardholders and the program. Maybe they will add back Starwood Platinum stats while they’re at it; I guess that’s just wishful thinking.
Bernard Madoff’s Amex Platinum Statement
I came across this on Flyertalk forums and I figured I should definitely post it. Here are scanned copies of Bernard Madoff’s January 08 Business Platinum statements. I haven’t read the whole thing but it doesn’t seem too crazy, other than the fact his whole family was a supplemental cardholder on his account. Definitely worth a look if you are into the whole scandal and want to read about it.
You can view the statement here
Guy Thinks He Got Centurion Invitation
Saw this posted on Flyertalk.com, pretty comical. Some radio disc jockey thought he got an invitation from Amex for a black card. He didn’t realize that it was really from Visa and that everything he said about the card doesn’t pertain at all to Visa.
Maserati Wouldn’t Let Me Charge Car to My Amex
Sorry for the lack of updates that someone called me out on in the comments of another post. I’ve been busy, give me a break!
Yesterday I became the proud owner of a 2009 Maserati GranTurismo S. Now a little while back I posted about the Centurion edition Quattroporte, but unfortunately they didn’t have one for the GranTurismo S.
I tried pretty much every angle to get them to let me charge the card to my Centurion, but they just wouldn’t let me. They would not budge on the $5k limit, so I didn’t get many points. They said they were afraid of people charging it back. That would be one heck of a chargeback.
Ever Seen An Amex Under A Black Light?
Have you ever looked at an Amex card under a black light? One of our readers was at a nightclub the other week and used his Amex Platinum card, and apparently noticed hidden images on his card when seen under a black light. This is pretty neat! I am going to have to try and look at my Centurion under a black light and see what it looks like.
First Class Upgrades Much Easier This Time
I just got back from Vegas today and on this trip I got my first class upgrades on Delta without a hitch. On Saturday afternoon I decided to head to Vegas for the weekend and I booked a 4PM flight, 4 hours ahead of time. I booked through Delta and I was auto upgraded without a hitch from CLT to ATL and ATL to LAS, round trip. I was actually pretty impressed with Delta this time, I haven’t flown them in a while. They had on board WiFi, the 1st class meals were great, and they served me a lot of free alcohol.
I didn’t use my Centurion card upgrad at the Wynn this time because our Casino host set up everything and comp’d it, so there was no need. They sent a driver yo pick us up from the Airport in a Rolls Royce Phantom, first time I have been in one and they are awesome. The quietest and smoothest car I have ever been in.
The Casino host put us up in a great suite at Encore, which is a really nice addition to the Wynn. I’ve stayed at the Wynn before, but this was the first time I have stayed at Encore. The Wynn really showed us a good time this weekend, especially on like 6hrs notice.
I am just glad I finally got my first class upgrades though. I thought that I might not since booked last minute, but I Delta apparently processes the upgrades at time of booking as long as you give them your Medallion number. Hopefully my future flights will be this easy. I am flying to Orlando on thursday on US Airways, hopefully that upgrade will be just as smooth.
