Centurion here I come.....

[UP4014]

Ah but you do get a tour of the kitchen and a cookbook.

(Plus you get a table - they apparently log up to 30,000 calls a day for reservations...)

a call every 3 seconds....

 

[3eef]

So here we are 11.5mths into my first Centurion year and I .....

I do a similar exercise each year, here are my notes:

1) SQ flights in C cheaper than I could find total 5 flights total saving $2900 but actually this kind of pisses me off too as they always f$$k up the booking and they really should offer bonus MR points to book with them!!

2) Epic fail - didn't organise a free night when they had an offer at the Waldorf. AND they made the booking argh! -$500

3) Free hotel night in London $700

4) Bonus MR rewards above platinum 175k points (0.5 extra from
150k to 500k) I think I could get on the free plat cc not sure. To me this is worth between $0 and $6.5k depending on how I use those points and whether I could earn them using a plat cc.

5) travel insurance estimate $800 for similar policy, but not over plat well until now at least...

6) buy one get one free hotel nights $250

7) free domestic flight based on plat cc $250 but actually $0 as plat cc would give too

8) Concierge - priceless on more than one occasion this year!

I will keep the card, but if they keep decreasing benefits one day soon I would consider walking away from them Carte Blanche.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

So any other members here recently renewed Cent and if so do any of you have any idea what is included in 'Complementary Inclusions' for 2012?

 

[skywalkerLAX]

So any other members here recently renewed Cent and if so do any of you have any idea what is included in 'Complementary Inclusions' for 2012?

That forecast is a slippery slope. I like the calculation you did as it reflects a good amount of pro's & con's.

What's certainly a remaining benefit is the extra MR points so you can roll the dice how much that means to you.

More than likely the one or other free night offer will be there as well, that has been pretty constant worldwide when it comes to Amex Cent Benefits. In other countries like Germany they also sent out shopping vouchers for jewelers like Wempe (Chain with all sorts of upscale watches etc) in the value of 500 EUR, no min purchase. To find a pattern maybe the long term Aussie Centurion holders here can assemble a collection of these goodies from the previous 3-4 years and compare.

I would keep my eyes open for the insurance issue though.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

What's certainly a remaining benefit is the extra MR points so you can roll the dice how much that means to you.

Oh yes the 500K cap on 1.5:1 earn - I meant to mention that.

Are AMEX really serious? $4.3K annual fee and they cap the bonus earn at 500K?

I have Westpac SQ Plat Amex - no cap on spend to earn 1.5:1 - $250 a year fee isn't it?

I have Velocity Plat Amex - no cap on spend to earn 1.5:1 - $300 or so a year fee isn't it?

Cent cap of 500K is a joke - jeez the more I type the less I like this card.

 

[Diesellife]

I'm only marginally ahead of the annual fee this year. Will probably continue until the CX benefit stops "You get my drift "
Quite upset regarding reduced MO benefit & the Travel Insurance in 2012... But I've heard there are more new benefits coming in... The good thing is I still have another 8 months to decide.

 

[Homer]

a call every 3 seconds....

It's difficult for some people to get their head around, yes? But it's not my number - Centurion quoted it and there are similar stats out on the web. Our little call centre in Brisbane used to log a call every 10 seconds for software support at peak times, and yet we were nowhere near as popular as El Bulli was: Two million people/6000 seats - Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio: How To Get A Reservation At Elbulli.

 

[skywalkerLAX]

Cent cap of 500K is a joke - jeez the more I type the less I like this card.

Honestly... if you don't care for the WOW Factor... I would get rid of the card.

The Westpac SQ Cards might be most valuable to you, especially now that SQ opens Saver Awards for F & C !

 

[3eef]

Honestly... if you don't care for the WOW Factor... I would get rid of the card.

The Westpac SQ Cards might be most valuable to you, especially now that SQ opens Saver Awards for F & C !

I don't rate the wow factor at all on this card especially in Australia. I think u can get significant value if you travel a lot and use the concierge as much as possible, but that's just me. Would agree with skywalker tho that it sounds like ur not getting value from the card at the
Moment if it isn't even breaking even.

 

[sparoz]

Realistically you are restricted by the credit cards limits. Also wouldn't you say 3 upgrades to J is already over $3400?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

The Westpac SQ Cards might be most valuable to you, especially now that SQ opens Saver Awards for F & C !

Oh I certainly intend to keep the WSQ cards - but ALL pts swept direct to KF - you will certainly forgo any bonus pts IF SQ did decide to do bonus offer - I also transfer pts to VA - the 30% bonus and 100SC's offer right now a real sweetener - but still AMEX weearing thin to me.

I am trying to get Select - if I can that will net me 1.33pts / $ for SQ - if I do get it I might cancel ALL direct AMEX cards and re-apply in a month or 2 and see if I can snare 70 or 80K sign on bonus.

Also wouldn't you say 3 upgrades to J is already over $3400?

Actually no I wouldn't say that - 2 x upgrades Y to J PVG-HKG / 1 x upgrade Y to J HKG-MNL - short flts - maybe $1,000 or so in value

 

[cove]

Keep more than one door open Cruiser Elite so you have flexibility if and when things change would be my best suggestion.

 

[skywalkerLAX]

Realistically you are restricted by the credit cards limits. Also wouldn't you say 3 upgrades to J is already over $3400?

This is not a feature of Centurion, it was a result of the status match to CX Diamond. IIRC this status match is offered only once and is not an ongoing benefit. So having these upgrades in your forecast, I would say better take this factor out.

 

[jyavenard]

With the change in travel insurance cover from January 15th (same on the platinum card) how can they ever justify people paying such a high premium...

Before, to get travel insurance coverage, all you had to do is pay a hotel with the card on your journey, or pay the taxes on awards flight... Now you must pay the full fare with your cards..

Not happy.. I hope lots of unhappy customers will call amex and provide feedbacks...

 

[Cruiser Elite]

This is not a feature of Centurion, it was a result of the status match to CX Diamond. IIRC this status match is offered only once and is not an ongoing benefit. So having these upgrades in your forecast, I would say better take this factor out.

Wasn't actually a 'status match' rather 'complimentary' MP Diamond - but it appears was one-off and will not be included again this year - bummer - certainly a big plus for me.

 

[haydensydney]

With the change in travel insurance cover from January 15th (same on the platinum card) how can they ever justify people paying such a high premium...

Before, to get travel insurance coverage, all you had to do is pay a hotel with the card on your journey, or pay the taxes on awards flight... Now you must pay the full fare with your cards..

Not happy.. I hope lots of unhappy customers will call amex and provide feedbacks...

Sorry? I don't recall this? Has this changed for Centurion as well?

 

[haydensydney]

Just checked the PDS and looks like it hasn't changed since late 2010:

These Terms and Conditions were prepared on 1 December 2010.

https://secure.cmax.americanexpress...au/en/Benefits/PDF/Centurion_InsuranceTCs.pdf
(not sure if everyone can open the link or not)

 

[jyavenard]

Sorry? I don't recall this? Has this changed for Centurion as well?

I got the letter earlier today. This is a change affecting all amex cards, platinum as well as centurion.
Change from June 15th

 

[jyavenard]

On the topic of valuing the *complimentary* upgrade... They only work if you pay a full fare economy or business..

Almost every time I've travelled, I could find a cheaper business class seat than the cost of the full economy that would give me complimentary upgrade... So really, it's of no value at all and I wouldn't use this when calculating if the $3400 is worth it.

If you want cheap business class, I use FLYL4L (.com) now.. It's usually 50% of the price of a standard ticket.. Scary at first because you're not sure about what you're buying... But I've never been disappointed.

Melbourne->Paris->Melbourne last december with Thai on business for $4200.

Now I did pay the taxes with my Amex card which gave me insurance coverage... But not anymore... Boy I'm unhappy with that change...

 

[Homer]

I got the letter earlier today. This is a change affecting all amex cards, platinum as well as centurion.
Change from June 15th

Do you have a Centurion card? I just spoke to a representative from Ace Insurance who advised that while there is a change to Platinum card insurance, as has been reported here, there is no confirmed change to the Centurion card insurance but that it is currently "under review". It seems more than a little odd that AMEX would write to tell you about it before a change had been determined. I also have not yet received any letter and, after my conversation just now, I don't expect to be receiving one in the short term.