Amex centurion 2014 ??

[youngman1234]

Has anyone gotten upgraded either by requesting or getting an invitation for the Amex centurion this year. If so can you give us a little background of your Amex history. How old is your card ?? How much do you charge ? Biz or personal ?? Previous card - gold or plat ??

[BillR]

Yes, I actually got my Centurion Card in Dec of 2014. It is the Business Version and I had been with Amex for 10 years at that time. Most of that as a Platnium Member but I started with a  Gold Card my first couple years. I did not get an automatic invite rather I had to call. I was told they weren't adding anyone but they would add my name to the list for future consideration. I then called every week for the next 3 months and I'm not exagerating at all as I did call every week and sometimes they would even say I see you just called last week and I would say yes I did. Whether that worked or they simply opened it back up I dont know but when I called in Dec they said congratulations we are overnighting you your new Centurion card. They did ask my income (I'm not in the 1%) but interstingly only after they said I had the card; however, I do fit the spending criteria of $250,000 a year but not by much. Finally, YES I really do have the card.

[Anonymous]

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@BillR wrote:

Yes, I actually got my Centurion Card in Dec of 2014. It is the Business Version and I had been with Amex for 10 years at that time. Most of that as a Platnium Member but I started with a  Gold Card my first couple years. I did not get an automatic invite rather I had to call. I was told they weren't adding anyone but they would add my name to the list for future consideration. I then called every week for the next 3 months and I'm not exagerating at all as I did call every week and sometimes they would even say I see you just called last week and I would say yes I did. Whether that worked or they simply opened it back up I dont know but when I called in Dec they said congratulations we are overnighting you your new Centurion card. They did ask my income (I'm not in the 1%) but interstingly only after they said I had the card; however, I do fit the spending criteria of $250,000 a year but not by much. Finally, YES I really do have the card.

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For the $5,000 AF, What benefits does this card provide you, besides female companions.

[BillR]

The benefits are almost the exact same as the Platinum card. However, The card does make me top tier with Hertz and Delta for upgrades and I also have a dedicated travel concierge which is nice as the card does have a host of complimentary upgrades that I don't know how you would know about otherwise. For example I used my concierge to put my sister up at the Ritz in grand Cayman and they comped 4 days of breakfast, all water activites and also gave a $200 a day credit for the spa or other meals, etc. That saved me well over a $1000. In addition, the card offers automatic upgrades so upon check in she was bumped from the Ritz Carlton 2 Bedroom suite to the Presidential Suite. I can say that never happened on my Platinum card. 

[Anonymous]

My Prestige gives me a lot of the same benefits...

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
My Prestige gives me a lot of the same benefits...

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Some people take the "prestige" thing very very seriously and are willing to cough up the annual fee on the card.  IMO, no matter how much rich one person is there are cards that do similar things the Centurion does.  For example, the Chase Palladium.

[Anonymous]

does the biz version give the same benefits as the personal version?

[BillR]

As far as I know the benefits are the same. I Saw a post where someone said only the Personal Card members get the Centurion magazine but I got my first one a few weeks ago so I can vouch that isn't true. 

[Saleen099]

http://thepointsguy.com/2014/05/is-the-amex-centurion-card-worth-the-2500-annual-fee

[sjt]

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@BillR wrote:

Yes, I actually got my Centurion Card in Dec of 2014. It is the Business Version and I had been with Amex for 10 years at that time. Most of that as a Platnium Member but I started with a  Gold Card my first couple years. I did not get an automatic invite rather I had to call. I was told they weren't adding anyone but they would add my name to the list for future consideration. I then called every week for the next 3 months and I'm not exagerating at all as I did call every week and sometimes they would even say I see you just called last week and I would say yes I did. Whether that worked or they simply opened it back up I dont know but when I called in Dec they said congratulations we are overnighting you your new Centurion card. They did ask my income (I'm not in the 1%) but interstingly only after they said I had the card; however, I do fit the spending criteria of $250,000 a year but not by much. Finally, YES I really do have the card.

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How many years have you charged $250K plus.