How long to get Centurion inviation / rejected one before

[TryAnHit]

Hi,

I was offered a centurion Amex in April this year, but turned it down as i did not want one at the time. I have had a change of heart recently and i am looking to get one, i called them up but the offer has expired. I however expressed interest to them again. Anyone have an idea of how long it would take for them to re-invite again?

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, saw a few black card posts in here, and no other boards on the net looked good.

Regards

TryAnHit

[PaulZ]

Who Knows??

I have received 3 invitations so far... in the space of about 15 months.

They must be crazy if they think I am paying over $4000 just for the privilege of having a Black Card.

Yes there are some advantages over the Platinum Charge Card... particularly if you are a very frequent overseas traveler...

However, as I don't fit into that scenario... I find little value.


Make it 2pts per $1... then I might be interested... But it would still be line ball!


I think by you ringing up and letting them know you are interested will fast track things... and you should get another invite in the next 3-6 months I would think.

[swan_tim]

Yes there are some advantages over the Platinum Charge Card... particularly if you are a very frequent overseas traveler...

Do you mind letting me know of the various differences from the Plat and Centurion? I have been a Plat member for a number of years now and would be interested to know of the advantages (points, insurance, etc).

[alemdohorizonte]

Hi,

I was offered a centurion Amex in April this year, but turned it down as i did not want one at the time. I have had a change of heart recently and i am looking to get one, i called them up but the offer has expired. I however expressed interest to them again. Anyone have an idea of how long it would take for them to re-invite again?

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, saw a few black card posts in here, and no other boards on the net looked good.

Regards

TryAnHit

my advice is that the australian version of the centurion card is a BIG waste of money. i was keen to get it (and did) and now regret my decision.
the $4300 fee is egregious. the centurion service is patchy and unreliable (people do not call back as promised) and the benefits (with a few exceptions) are little better than those of the platinum charge card. in a nutshell, the centurion product sucks. it is not competitive with centurion products from other countries and is ridiculously priced.

if service and value is of any concern to you, you will regret upgrading to centurion so keep your platinum card.

[glass]

rejected or ignored?
rejected you may not get one again, so who knows?

[NYCguy]

.

If service and value is of any concern to you, you will regret upgrading to centurion so keep your platinum card.

But if you don't bat an eyelid at spending the equivalent of the annual card-fee on a bottle of good Burgundy at Tetsuya's, then by all means go for the Centurion.

[Diesellife]

To get a centurion card, there are a few criteria to satisfy first.

In general, you will need to have an AMEX card for at least a year or two. It doesn't matter with the card type. Eg. The blue card is fine.

You need to prove a constant transactions history, which means keep using your card like you never had a card before
The amount roughly is about $65000 AUD per quarter to be considered the application. This amount may vary as economic conditions changed with few/more promotions.
(And I mean personal expenses if you are opted to get personal card. NOT BUSINESS)

Then they have a percentage (less than 1% or something like that) of total card memebers in Australia that are allow to have centurion and qualification will be adjusted to satisfy that.

If you fit in that range, you can either be referred by another black card member (More likely to success), or you can simply call up AMEX and ask them to do a review (Depends on your luck and the current economy conditions).

Hope that helps!

[ajnz]

The amount roughly is about $65000 AUD per quarter to be considered the application. This amount may vary as economic conditions changed with few/more promotions.

That's interesting - the annual spend criteria for Australia seems higher than most other countries (in local currency). $260K pa seems a little excessive.

When I moved to Australia, I asked Amex about the Centurion and it was indicated that [Platinum] cardholders with spends over $50K pa would be considered. I know someone who qualified with a spend of $75K-ish. I wasn't offered the invite (but equally, never asked), with a $70K-$100K pa spend.

Semi-related: I qualified for the NZ Platinum card in 2003 after a little over year of holding an Amex Gold card. I was told by Amex if they launched the Centurion there I would be on the invite list; but my spend in NZ was quite a bit higher (regularly $20K-$30K per month).

[oz_mark]

But if you don't bat an eyelid at spending the equivalent of the annual card-fee on a bottle of good Burgundy at Tetsuya's, then by all means go for the Centurion.

This would be the true market they aim for. Those for who the annual fee is somewhat immaterial.

[alemdohorizonte]

This would be the true market they aim for. Those for who the annual fee is somewhat immaterial.

i disagree. while i imagine there is a segment of the centurion market that would pay any price for the card solely because it makes a nice piece of wallet jewellery, the invitation letter i received asking me to join centurion was centered on two key two points. first, how selective and exclusive centurion is and second, the value it provides. the quote from pierric beckert (md of amex australia who signed the letter) i remember most was all about "how the centurion card provides exceptional value -- at $4300 per year."

last year we lost the only frequent flyer status offered by the australian version of amex centurion (mh enrich gold). this year they quietly excised the free nights for the mandarin oriental hotels in hong kong, boston, miami and las vegas (new york and london were taken away previously). ironically, the las vegas mo is not even open yet. the free nights at the mo was one of the best benefits in my opinion, but it, like so many other centurion benefit downgrades has eviscerated the "exceptional value" that mr. beckert talks about. i often have to wait on hold for someone to answer the call when i dial the centurion number (the cent number is routed to the same call staff that platinum card holders use). coupled with the fact that after they answer the phone, centurion service is spotty and unreliable (sometimes you get exceptional service, often people give you completely wrong information and/or never call you back as promised), i don't see how many people can justify the card other than the kerplunk factor from the noise it makes when you place it on the counter to pay a bill. it does look pretty but even if you are uber-rich and can easily afford it, is paying $4300 for marginal to bad service something that this type of clientele tolerate?

in answer to one of the previous posts asking about the differences between platinum and centurion benefits, the insurance benefits, hotel statuses and lounge benefits of the australian centurion are very similar to those that the platinum charge card provides -- at fraction of the cost.

centurion provides starwood preferred guest gold (same as platinum), hilton honors gold, priority club platinum (pretty useless unless you love staying at at a holiday inn express as i have never received an upgrade when using it at one of the card's nicer properties such as intercontinental hotels (platinum provides priority club gold level), access to american airlines, delta, northwest and continental airlines' clubs (all same as platinum) and priority pass lounge access (same as platinum provides). centurion does offer one complimentary qantas club membership but i find this a moot point since i (like i presume many centurion card holders) travel extensively, we already have frequent flyer status with the airlines we are booked on or are travelling in a fare class that entitles us to use the club anyway. with few exceptions (such as a one room category upgrade (if available--and they are not always available) that can be confirmed at the time of booking at hotel properties such as the penninsula and the mandarin oriental), the amex centurion fhr benefits are very similar to those that a platinum cardholder receives. insurance coverage appears almost identical.

here are the travel insurance benefits provided from centurion (taken from the website).

Medical Expenses = Unlimited (with lots of footnoted exceptions)
Trip Cancellation = Up to AUD50,000
Baggage = Up to AUD5,000 per article
Personal Liability = Up to AUD3,000,000 (doesn't cover rented vehicles and LOTS of other footnoted exceptions)
Baggage Delay = Up to AUD700
Flight Delay = Up to AUD700
Missed Connection = Up to AUD700
Accidental Death resulting from Transport Accident = Up to AUD1,000,000 (many footnoted exceptions)

as i remember, platinum coverage was very similar.

all in all, i think, as i mentioned in a previous post, that american express is forcing their centurion card to die by a death of a thousand (benefit and service) cuts. before they raised the annual fees from $2800 to $4300 and started amputating benefits, amex centurion used to be in a class by itself and, as mr. beckert states in the invitation, provide a centurion cardholder with "exceptional value."

unfortunately, with the australian centurion card, i now find that value and good service are the exceptions. the australian version of the centurion card has (as far as i can tell) the worst benefits and is one of the highest priced centurion cards in the world.

i hope this gives some of you additional information to consider should you receive a centurion invitation.
regards,
alem
ps--for anyone interested in how the australian centurion benefits (or lack thereof) compare to other countries, have a look at the current discussion on flyertalk about the centurion benefits upgrade (and fee hike) that just occurred in the uk. the uk centurion cardholders are spitting nails and complaining loudly about benefits that are considerably better than those that australian centurion provides for an annual fee that is considerably less than the annual AUD$4300 we australians pay.