American Express has increased the annual fee for its invitation-only Centurion charge card by $1,500 per year, bringing the new annual fee to a whopping $6,500.
For the additional annual fee, Amex Centurion cardholders can look forward to new benefits such as a choice of metal card designs and “contactless Prada x Centurion wearables”.
Existing and new Amex Centurion benefits
The Amex Centurion card is not available to the general public. You need to be invited to apply, and there’s a $5,000 initiation fee in addition to the new annual membership fee of $6,500. So, this card is clearly not for everyone.
But this card does come with some excellent perks. As well as earning frequent flyer points at a higher rate than any other Australian credit card, existing Amex Centurion benefits include:
- Complimentary Qantas Club membership
- Emirates Skywards Gold status
- Access to Amex Centurion lounges
- Accor Plus membership
- Instant elite status with Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Shangri-La Circle, Marriott Bonvoy & Radisson Rewards
- Personal concierge services
- Airfare discounts
- Airport escort services
Following the $1,500 increase to the Amex Centurion annual fee, American Express is also offering the following additional benefits to cardholders in Australia:
- A choice of two new metal card designs
- Two contactless Prada x Centurion wearables
- An increase to the number of partners in the Fine Hotels + Resorts & Hotel Collection
- More restaurant partnerships with exclusive “Centurion table” access
- Departure airport transfers are now available on return domestic Business Class bookings, in addition to international bookings, when the flights and accommodation is booked through Centurion Travel Service
- Access to “Centurion Signatures”, a “destination experiences program”
The new metal card designs have already been rolled out overseas.
The Prada x Centurion wearable is a black leather bracelet that can be used as a wearable card for contactless payments.
Australian Frequent Flyer member CSS posted on the AFF forum:
Centurion members should have now received a letter in the mail regarding increase of annual fee from AUD $5,000 to AUD $6,500. Alongside the annual fee increase, the new artistic cards and the Prada x Centurion wearables will be available soon.
My RM advised they were under pressure from Global AMEX to increase the annual fee around 18 months ago but AMEX Australia kept pushing it back due to the lockdowns.
– CSS, 5 May 2022
Are these additional benefits worth the extra $1,500? That’s for cardholders to decide. But as this card is now more than $5,000 more expensive than Australia’s second-most expensive charge card (the Amex Platinum), some Centurion members may now be reconsidering whether it’s worthwhile.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Centurion annual fee increase from 5K to 6.5K
