Spent 250K+ And Denied Centurion
An interesting thread has appeared on Flyertalk.com. A member of that board met the 1 year and 250K spend requirement, called and asked to apply for the Centurion, but was ultimately denied because of his credit rating. He speculated it is likely caused by large amounts of debt carried on other cards.
This is the first time I have heard of a case where someone who met many of the requirements, has too low of a credit rating to qualify for the card. It would seem to me, in this instance, the $5,000 initiation fee, and $2500 yearly fee could be better spent elsewhere, like paying down debt on other cards.
As I reported back in May, Amex is becoming much tighter in their exposure to debt.
New Domain Name
Amex-Black.com is now BlackCardSource.com. In order to not “infringe” on American Express’ trademarks, I have been forced to move to a new domain name. All old links should redirect and if you’re subscribed to the feed, that shouldn’t change either. But please update your bookmarks to the new domain.
I will have to post more about the “infringement” later. Let me know if you find any broken links or errors, but I think I have transfered everything to our new home.
Black Card Q&A Session
Have questions about the black card? Great! Ask them here. I am going to be doing a black card Q&A session, where you the readers can post questions in the comments section that you have about the black card, and I will answer them in a follow-up post. I will tapping into my knowledge, using American Express contacts, and asking current cardmembers to verify the answers,
So feel free to ask questions or inquire about rumors or myths that you need answers to.
UK Centurion Images
One of the readers was kind enough to take photos of all his UK Centurion materials. This gives you an idea of the differences in materials between countries, and these pictures were also taken of materials that were from the UK Centurion 2001 acquisition wave.
Spotlight On A Reader - Richard M
This installment of spotlight on a reader is slightly different, as it spotlights one our British readers. Richard was gracious enough to take pictures of all his original UK Centurion materials which I will be posting in the coming days.
What is your name: Richard T. Mannion
How old are you: 27
Where are you from: England
Where do you live now: England
Describe what you do for a living and how long you’ve done it: I work for a large software company as a Technical Specialist
How long have you been a Centurion card member: 7 years
Are you happy with the card, if so what are your favorite aspects: Tough question - overall it’s not as good as it used to be. The service and benefits have definitely fallen by the wayside over the last few years. I stay as a member as the benefits I do get the use of (or cover of - Insurance) are worth the £650 annual fee. The Mandarin Oriental benefit alone has made the fee worthwhile in the last 3 years.
Roughly, how much do you spend per month/year: Varies each month, could be as little as £1000, could be £10k
Have you ever been treated differently because you have it: In all honesty, not really. In 7 years, I can count on 2 hands the number of times people have made reference to it, and the vast majority of those incidents have happened in the US. Most people really don’t care, or don’t actually know what it is. It does make me laugh all the hype and myth that surrounds the card - it’s not there to make miracles happen. I think I’ve had more upgrades due to loyalty status than due to the card.
Do you ever use it to buy small stuff just to show it off, be honest: Being honest, when I first got the card yes. But then the novelty wears off quickly, like I said most people don’t really care. A number of my friends have UK Centurion cards (a couple of them are Charter Members from the March 1999 launch) so it’s a little funny if we are out for dinner, and 5+ cards get handed on to the bill at the end of the evening. When the card was first launched in March 99, I was working at Selfridges on their Y2K project and we were talking about the payment system we were upgrading, and Platinum AmEx came up in conversation. One of the tenured chaps mentioned that they had heard of a black AmEx being used by the Duke of Westminster and Prince Charles in the store. A week later, one of the team walked into the office with a Charter Member UK Centurion Card. The packaging it was shipped out in had reference to a quote from a UK newspaper about the long standing rumor of a Black card.
What is the largest ticket item you have purchased with it: Diamond engagement ring for my fiancee in Tiffany & Co. There was a melted lump of black plastic in my wallet afterwards, but the smile on my partners face is not one I’ll be forgetting this lifetime. Fortunately I have my AC card left as I’ve got my share of the wedding to pay for soon which will then be the largest charge.
What is your most expensive month if you remember: About £15k
Have you used the concierge service, if so what for, and have you used it for anything ridiculous: Not as much as I used to - used to use it a lot for event tickets. Nowadays it’s more restaurant bookings - they have been a good help here by getting tables at some places that you normally have to wait ages for. Ridiculous? They did help me track down the company that made the “flying” brooms for the Harry Potter films, so that I could buy one for my house. Another time, I was going to a launch event in London, and I’d left the directions on my work printer - one of the Concierge team actually spent 45 minutes on the phone directing me via a map on her screen.
As a UK cardmember, what are your thoughts about a benefits refresh for the card? What would you like to see included?
Mmm, the “refresh” has been in the works for years (and that is no exaggeration). I’m sure the price is likely to double at least to sync up with the other markets. As to benefits, SPG Platinum again would be nice, so too would some airline status like the US card has. Overall though, the best benefit would be stellar service. It used to be there in the early years, but I feel the quality has dropped off.
New Site Design
If you have been to the site before, then you can tell that it looks completely different now. All in all, I am pretty happy with the new design. I still have several tweaks that I need to make, but I think it is a big improvement over the old design. Also, due to the constructive feedback, I am going to be adding a quick facts tab at the top of the page. This way, readers (especially new ones) can get the quick and dirty on the Black card without having to scour through the whole site. Whoever suggested that, thanks.
What do you guys think of the new design?
Amex Platinum Consumer Promotion
Just thought I would pass this along as a heads up to everyone. Anyone who is looking to upgrade their card, or maybe start using American Express, they’re currently running a promotion on the Platinum consumer card. If you apply now, through the link below, you will receive an extra 25,000 membership rewards points once you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months as a card member. Just to give you an idea, that 25,000 points is enough for a Sony Cybershot Camera, and almost enough for an iPod nano or Nintendo DS. It could also be transferred to a frequent flyer account as well. I wish they were offering this when I got my Platinum card, I didn’t get any free points.
Apply Here to Receive 25,000 Points
Interesting Ad Age Article
In order to try and stay on top of black card mentions on the news, I constantly get Google Alerts for black/centurion card mentions. Just yesterday I noticed an interesting Ad Age article. This article, about midway through, asserts that:
Financial planners, I predict, increasingly will assume the roles of American Express Black Card concierges. Already, planners are helping clients find the right college for their children, and soon they’ll assist in finding the most-satisfying second career or best fractional jet-ownership program.
It is an interesting thought that I figured I would pose to you all for discussion, since many of the readers, have both a black card and a financial planner. Personally, I can see how financial planning firms/advisers might want to try and differentiate themselves from their competition, possibly trying to offer more catered services for their high end clientele. Not to take anything away from American Express concierge staff, but I would think that if financial planners start taking on tasks, literally like the author asserted, it would cheapen the image of their services a great deal. I would also hardly liken the services of the Amex concierges to helping find the right college or choosing a career.
At least for me, in the few meetings I have had with my financial adviser, there is a role that I feel is similar to teacher/student. Meaning, while he respects me, the respect flows much more in his general direction. As I think it naturally should, since he is the expert in his field. While in my few dealings with my Platinum concierge at Amex, they pretty much kiss my ass the whole time. Personally, I just don’t think I can agree with the author. Anyone have an opinion? Particularly someone who might be a financial planner.
Centurion Welcome Letter
One of the readers sent me a copy of the welcome letter he just received. It must be nice to come home, heck the mail after work and receive this. It is much better than the Geico and Capital One mail I always seem to get. Does this look similar to ones the rest of you have received?
UK Centurion Update
This post is for all the UK readers. If you are a current Centurion UK member, you have likely heard about an update to the program or a benefits refresh. I heard from a reader that Amex told him the update was coming this September. That probably translates to sometime in Q4, since this stuff almost always comes out delayed. Some things you can likely expect are:
- Increased benefits
- Raised annual fee
- Tougher joining requirements
- Titanium cards
This refresh is long over due according to the UK members I have talked to. One thing to think about as well, is this could be American Express’ first step to a worldwide standard for Centurion members, as right now there are large discrepancies. Any thoughts from the UK readers?
