Hi Everyone, I have been invited to apply for a Centurion card. $5000 one off joining fee and $5000 annual year and the list of perks are good (if you travel a lot, eat out and stay in hotels). Can anyone in this group who either has it or had it provide feedback if i should get this? I already have Hilton Diamond, Virgin Platinum, Qantas Gold. Things that are good are: Free limo transfers, complimentary companion business or first fares, deeper discounts on flights etc.
u get Emirates Gold, Fast Track on Arrival with an Escort at major airport, good fare deal. Online Etihad $16k Centurion concierge Centurion fare save me 6k per person. free qantas club for your nominee Centurion.
It's great if you are a regular in fine dine restaurants. You can just call up and get a table easily; saves you from waiting for several months for a table. You probably get good hotel rates in Park Hyatt.
I was offered the same card a few years ago but stuck with the Platinum charge card. The Platinum card fits my needs as my travel is still heavily work related with clients that don't splash out on premium travel!
A US colleague has the card and I'm constantly amazed at the deals he gets for travel and hotels - he's more into the semi-retirement/lux travel space at the moment so my feeling is that if you are prepared to stump up for that style of travel it would be worth it.
As an aside, I've found the Platinum concierge service has never failed to get me into top tier restaurants when I've needed it.
I used to have it some years ago, for maybe ten years years. However, in typical Amex fashion, they significantly restricted/reduced the benefits that interested me (largely points acquisition). The benefit of fine dining, bookings, events, etc did not attract me, and anyway were of little use in rural Queensland! Their annual fee of $5000 I considered to be exorbitant (and I didn't pay a joining fee) as it is much higher than the fee in the UK or US for the same Centurion card.
I was able to justify the cost/benefit for many years, but with increasing surcharges being imposed by merchants, and a general reluctance to accept it, its value to me declined.
So I downgraded to Platinum, which also is much more expensive here than other countries. Once again, since holding this card, I am seeing benefits being eroded once more. There have been the losses of several status cards with different partners this year, such as Marco Polo Diamond and Le Club Accor platinum.
I have been an Amex member for more than thirty years, but am now about to give away this Platinum card too, as it no longer offers value for money to me. Citibank Visa Prestige has become my card of choice since giving away the Centurion card.
Its disappointing that Amex have such little regard for customer loyalty.
i have had a centurion card since 1999 and use it most days, if you are a regular traveler like myself the perks are worth the cost if you aren't it is just a "status" symbol.
They have gotten me into the Fat Duck in Bray a few years ago and it was worth a years fees just for that.
I have multiple supplementary cards for various family members including my 80yo parents who can now travel again because of the included travel insurance.
I've had it but dropped back to Platinum after they increased the annual fee to $5000. Look, it's nice to have and be offered it. If you need to telephone Amex there's less automated queues to deal with and less waiting. You receive a couple of extra of those offers over and above platinum to go to a football match/join a boat on the harbour for the start of Sydney to Hobart/etc. Some restaurants offer a glass of champagne for Centurion reservations, but the booking is the same as for Platinum - if the Amex reserved table is gone, it's gone regardless of the colour of your card. Virgin have special staff to deal with vip travel arrangements, which includes those booked via Centurion travel. I didn't get any better service from the Centurion part of Amex travel service than the standard. I haven't seen any fantastic offers for hotels that are noticeably better than Platinum. You get higher status with some hotel etc programs. You get limo and fast track meet and greet in some airports. Nice but unless you travel a lot - and you often get these anyway with first/business, again depending on the airline and location. It's certainly not a magic pass to automatic upgrades/deals/general fawning. May be better for some overseas residents, but my experience is in the context of an Australian base. And the metal cards I had didn't have a chip because they could not get a working antenna embedded in the titanium (this might have changed) so no pay wave or even insert so it was back to the old swipe. That was before ApplePay. At the end of the day it's what it's worth to you.
They have gotten me into the Fat Duck in Bray a few years ago and it was worth a years fees just for that.
Have also booked myself a table there for next year: am looking forward to it!
That said, if it's worth paying the $5,000 annual fee just so that you can eat at Heston, I'd happily help with your next Fat Duck reservation for half that cost. :P Haha
I am loving it so far. Just got Adele A reserve in the presale thanks to Concierge. I baulked at the $5k but already starting to see how it is going to make it worth while.
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American Express Centurion card, is it worth having?
mspcooper
mspcooper
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 09 May 2013
Total posts 457
Hi Everyone, I have been invited to apply for a Centurion card. $5000 one off joining fee and $5000 annual year and the list of perks are good (if you travel a lot, eat out and stay in hotels). Can anyone in this group who either has it or had it provide feedback if i should get this? I already have Hilton Diamond, Virgin Platinum, Qantas Gold. Things that are good are: Free limo transfers, complimentary companion business or first fares, deeper discounts on flights etc.
nwleo19
nwleo19
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
Member since 22 Nov 2016
Total posts 2
u get Emirates Gold, Fast Track on Arrival with an Escort at major airport, good fare deal. Online Etihad $16k Centurion concierge Centurion fare save me 6k per person. free qantas club for your nominee Centurion.
dommey
dommey
Member since 19 Jun 2014
Total posts 10
It's great if you are a regular in fine dine restaurants. You can just call up and get a table easily; saves you from waiting for several months for a table. You probably get good hotel rates in Park Hyatt.
markpk
markpk
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 29 Nov 2013
Total posts 459
I was offered the same card a few years ago but stuck with the Platinum charge card. The Platinum card fits my needs as my travel is still heavily work related with clients that don't splash out on premium travel!
A_traveller
A_traveller
Member since 04 Feb 2015
Total posts 1
I used to have it some years ago, for maybe ten years years. However, in typical Amex fashion, they significantly restricted/reduced the benefits that interested me (largely points acquisition). The benefit of fine dining, bookings, events, etc did not attract me, and anyway were of little use in rural Queensland! Their annual fee of $5000 I considered to be exorbitant (and I didn't pay a joining fee) as it is much higher than the fee in the UK or US for the same Centurion card.
So I downgraded to Platinum, which also is much more expensive here than other countries. Once again, since holding this card, I am seeing benefits being eroded once more. There have been the losses of several status cards with different partners this year, such as Marco Polo Diamond and Le Club Accor platinum.
I have been an Amex member for more than thirty years, but am now about to give away this Platinum card too, as it no longer offers value for money to me. Citibank Visa Prestige has become my card of choice since giving away the Centurion card.
Its disappointing that Amex have such little regard for customer loyalty.
triumph8
triumph8
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 05 Oct 2015
Total posts 8
i have had a centurion card since 1999 and use it most days, if you are a regular traveler like myself the perks are worth the cost if you aren't it is just a "status" symbol.
parishiltons
parishiltons
Member since 18 Sep 2015
Total posts 27
I've had it but dropped back to Platinum after they increased the annual fee to $5000. Look, it's nice to have and be offered it. If you need to telephone Amex there's less automated queues to deal with and less waiting. You receive a couple of extra of those offers over and above platinum to go to a football match/join a boat on the harbour for the start of Sydney to Hobart/etc. Some restaurants offer a glass of champagne for Centurion reservations, but the booking is the same as for Platinum - if the Amex reserved table is gone, it's gone regardless of the colour of your card. Virgin have special staff to deal with vip travel arrangements, which includes those booked via Centurion travel. I didn't get any better service from the Centurion part of Amex travel service than the standard. I haven't seen any fantastic offers for hotels that are noticeably better than Platinum. You get higher status with some hotel etc programs. You get limo and fast track meet and greet in some airports. Nice but unless you travel a lot - and you often get these anyway with first/business, again depending on the airline and location. It's certainly not a magic pass to automatic upgrades/deals/general fawning. May be better for some overseas residents, but my experience is in the context of an Australian base. And the metal cards I had didn't have a chip because they could not get a working antenna embedded in the titanium (this might have changed) so no pay wave or even insert so it was back to the old swipe. That was before ApplePay. At the end of the day it's what it's worth to you.
Chris C.
Chris C.
Member since 24 Apr 2012
Total posts 1,116
Have also booked myself a table there for next year: am looking forward to it!
That said, if it's worth paying the $5,000 annual fee just so that you can eat at Heston, I'd happily help with your next Fat Duck reservation for half that cost. :P Haha
Moindardt
Moindardt
QFF
Member since 31 Mar 2015
Total posts 2
I am loving it so far. Just got Adele A reserve in the presale thanks to Concierge. I baulked at the $5k but already starting to see how it is going to make it worth while.