Having had the week from hell! This will be swiftly followed by a weekend full of R and R, one can o...
Having had the week from hell! This will be swiftly followed by a weekend full of R and R, one can only hope!!
Member since:07.02.2003
Reviews:22
Members who trust:19
Having more than 20 Credit, store and charge cards, including gold, platinum, Diners and world signia cards. I must say that I have found The American Express Centurion card to be one of the most useful and most rewarding card to use.
I have had the Centurion card for about ten years now. I was invited to Join the exclusive club after having a platinum charge card and regularly using it (at times spending more than £10,000 per month) I always ways make a point of paying off my balances on all my cards every month, (it's the only thing which allows me to sleep at night!!)
There is a fee of 700 hundred pounds per year for this card, which i feel far out weighs the benefits of this card. (besides the best things in life don't come cheap) Free upgrades at the Hilton and the Plaza are particularly useful. Upgrades on airlines and getting tables in a number of Michelin star restaurants is very easy, recently had no trouble booking at the Ivy or Le manoir aux saisons (my French isn't great! it's Raymond Blanc's restaurant in Oxfordshire) The concierge service is a must, knowing my travel arrangements are in safe a secure hands is very reassuring.
Membership to the Centurion club includes, Travel insurance, purchase protection and fraud guarantees, which are all good to have. Also knowing that if you ever in need know that someone is there. For instance they will replace lost travelers check immediately.
The only problem i have found with the card is it's not accepted everywhere, but hey it's exclusive! Acceptance is better in the US, which is good for me as a regularly travel to the US on business. The only advice I would give you is have a Visa or MasterCard handy just incase. The world Signia MasterCard from Coutts is accepted with the same warm welcome as the Centurion card.
The centurion team makes regular contact when there is unusual activity on my account. There service represents the pinnacle of exclusivity and customer service. There is no preset spending limit which is particularly good where purchasing large items (like cars, which the team are so used to me buying they don't every query the payment!!)- Although I haven’t yet attempted to buy a house on it!!
I found this out through a friend who now lives in the US that this card can be used towards an US credit rating. For certain legal reasons credit cards can't. This could be a major advantage for anyone who is thinking of moving to the US.
I wouldn't call the card snobbish, I am not a snob, I do however admit to working extremely hard and liking nice things- can anyone put me down because of that?? Yes this card does attract a certain class of person, and it gives them the exclusivity and prestige they deserve, therefore making there lives more comfortable and easier.
I would recommend this card to anyone- if you get the chance to join don't turn it down.
NB APR N/A because it's a charge card
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
This is a good review of the card. However a couple of points are missing. One is that if you have a Centurion card, the British Airways Amex (fee £120) for their Premium Plus credit card is waived. You also get two Priority Pass cards that allow you to enter airline lounges for free instead of paying the usual Priority Pass fee. How useful this is, is up to how often you travel economy class, which most Centurion card holders won't do very often. We found it useful at Singapore airport where the Priority pass lounge had access onto an outside balcony, unlike the Singapore Air lounge (pretty grim) and we found the British Airways lounge was in the other terminal! I also found that when I had a 'cheap' (restricted) first class ticket on Eurostar, which specifically does not allow lounge access, that Centurion card holders could use that lounge. We find the Centurion card most useful when booking hotels around the world - they always upgrade us to a suite, even if it is for one night and we didn't think it was worth paying for a suite.
I must say reading the last two comments I'm a little confused. The Centurion Card was introduced to replace the previous 'by invitation only' Platinum card, which was then downgraded in status. I really don't understand why Amex would want to do a trial for 'years' before. When we moved from our old 'by invitation' Platinum card to Centurion it seemed pretty much the same thing. Ie Centurion replaced Platinum and Platinum became open to anyone who wanted to apply and seems now to offer what benefits the old Gold card holders had.
redpen 19.01.2005 01:01
I've have only just received your comments made on my Amex Centurion card review. For your information I was part of a select few invited to trial the card prior to launch, it was about 10 years ago I was also asked to sign a confidentiality agreement at the time. I really feel you should refrain from making libellous comments on a matter of which you have demonstrated little understanding. Harvey
Dive_Master 29.12.2004 11:57
Your review seems more inclined to boast about something you do not have. You stated "I have had the Centurion card for about ten years now", yet american express only launched the card on 14 Oct 1999! see the following link for proof :
http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/latestnews/centurion_launch.asp
I had been a member of american express for many years and the cards benefits did offer good value, however this has been diminished by their constant increases in annual fees, which are sheer greed considering they earn 3% on your total spending in addition to the fee.
Advantages: Travel insurance, priority pass membership, accelarated hotel status and more! Disadvantages: Limited acceptance within the UK, although this is improving.
Apr 28th, 2003
very helpful by (74%):
helpful by (24%):
somewhat helpful by (3%):
