I can honestly say that for the four years I had the card, I found it to be an excellent value, given my 150,000 miles per year of travel. And while I have read several of the comments about the “status” of the card being a bit over the top, I found the comments about the titanium card to be fun.

What wasn’t fun was receiving the letter informing me of the new rate of $2,500 per year despite Amex’s earlier promise of a grandfathered rate. I even wrote a letter to the CEO Ken Chenault explaining my disappointment in their decision to rescind the “grandfathering”. The follow up phone call and letter from an assistant assured me that despite my 25 years of card status, they had made a decision and the fact that I didn’t recall seeing it until the bill showed up was unfortunate, but they weren’t changing their mind or making an exception……

I then “downgraded” my card to Platinum. I am sure they have enough folks willing to fork out the $5k initiation and the $2.5k per year fee, but it isn’t me despite all that I charge to Amex.

It arrived in a very modest black box via courier but I was still very excited. However, as I read through the Centurion package, telling me all about how I had made it and been invited to join an ultra exclusive club, I began to feel disappointed. I couldn’t find any tangible benefits over the Platinum and then I saw the price tag of AU$4,300 vs. AU$900. Sure it comes with a big grin factor when you pull it out but it’s all a bit nouveau riche and frankly I think it makes the cardholder look a little stupid.

Moreover, most of the extra benefits offered with the Centurion are complimentary memberships which the potential member is likely to already hold. For example, in Australia, a complimentary Qantas Club membership is offered. However, anyone offered a Centurion will likely =have this outright or as a Gold Frequent Flyer. The two car class upgrades are a waste and even the hotel room upgrades are questionable. When I hire a small car I want a small car so to find a huge family car in my bay at Hertz in Sydney is not really a benefit. Then to add insult to injury despite spending a small fortune on the annual fee the card member must book and pay for business / first travel to receive a complimentary transfer to and from the airport. Again, this is a redundant feature as many airlines already offer this service for premium fares.

After a solid discussion with my friend we agreed there was little benefit over a Platinum other than grin factor. It’s also worth noting that perhaps if the Australian fees were lower I may be more tempted for the elusive childish grin factor. However, when the AUD is close to parity with the USD, the $4,300 / year membership is the most expensive in the world and frankly gastly. At AU$2,500 even without benefits I may consider but not at AU$4,300. I am not a billionaire but I am comfortable and I suspect it’s because I am not stupid enough to get sucked into marketing hype. I would rather make an extra AU$3,400 donation to a charity each year than have this card in my wallet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twhLW_6L9FY

it will solve all disputes, well, not really but the sketch is still pretty funny. Rich people should die.

When you have this card you can choose from a list in which corporate programms you want to join, like Avis, Herz, Hilton and so on.

For people that do not have time or interest to arrange their travelling the Centurion Travel Service is very good. They can book anything for you, but they also charge premium prices for it. I often check what they can offer, but most of the times I can easily find the same things at a better deal by doing some online searching myself. The great thing I like is that when the Centurion Travel/Staff Service is making bookings or reservations for you they always succeed.. it seems they have some power and respect when they make calls telling it is for a Centurion member.

2 years ago I spend X-mas at the Canary Islands with my family and when we were there we wanted to rent a car for some days. Really ALL rental agencies we contacted said that there wasn’t a single car available anymore. I called the Centurion Travel Service and 5 minutes later they called back telling me there would be a 4×4 brought to our hotel in 1 hour.. and they did!

I use the Centurion Lifetyle Service on many occasions to reserve a table in fully booked restaurants or to put me (and people that are with me) on the guest-lists of nr1 clubs in Europe (sometimes a table in the VIP area is reserved by the clubs as a surprise).

For shopping purposes Amex ‘in general’ is not the best accepted card overhere as many shop-owners don’t work with Amex as they appearantly charge too much commission.
It’s always interesting to see how employees of shops and also other customers around react when they see the black card: ‘Wow that card is heavy’, ‘Never seen such a card, is it real?’, ‘Is it true there are only a few 100 of these cards in the world?’, ‘Are you a billionaire?’.. funny!!!

I think the Centurion Card comes with many benefits and for sure most people take you serious when you use the card. People like (to make) money and they know you have some and you can spend some as a Black Card holder.