Centurion Invitation

[odysseus]

but it seemed to me that it was more common than with other card types.

Remember how it's sold though. American Express state the exclusivity and encourage that idea. They're only repeating the message they've been sold.

 

[Febs]

Not sure if it's been touched on in here, but forgetting the Centurion tables, the Hemmesphere benefits (is that still a benefit?), and the other additions...what sort of event invites do you get, and how frequently do they arrive (if at all)? Do you find they're based on spending/age/interest profiles?

For example - product launches, restaurant launches, bar launches/birthdays etc...

I get invites to various bar and restaurant launches/parties on more or less a weekly basis (e.g. White Revolver's 1st Birthday last night, which went off!) and I don't have a Centurion or even Platinum AMEX. I've just gotten to know people in that industry over the years. Personal networks get you a long way.

Just wondering (maybe it's a question for the younger members) if these sort of invites ever come through the Centurion channels?

Don't get me wrong - I think the Centurion card is pretty nice, but I think a lot of the benefits can be easily obtained through other channels.

Cheers,
- Febs.

PS: I've also had good success with the free Platinum Citibank concierge and getting tough-to-book restaurants at a day's notice, but that could just be luck .

 

[notzac]

Remember how it's sold though. American Express state the exclusivity and encourage that idea. They're only repeating the message they've been sold.

Even so, that doesn't give the cardholder licence to act like a jerk in public - even if AmEx suggests it

 

[Dave Noble]

Even so, that doesn't give the cardholder licence to act like a jerk in public - even if AmEx suggests it

However, there is no licence required; if there was, the court system could get very clogged up

 

[haydensydney]

...what sort of event invites do you get, and how frequently do they arrive (if at all)? Do you find they're based on spending/age/interest profiles?

We get a bunch of the normal "Your Invited" flyers in the mail about once a quarter - the majority are open to Platnium as well as Centurion, but there are usually a few "Centurion only" events - such as Grange tasting @ Aria etc. In terms of adhoc personalised invites, yes we have received a couple but they are reasonably far and few between i.e. maserati events, faberge opening etc.

I know that we didn't get an invite to the Centurion christmas party last year, which was disappointing as we were told it was fantastic.

PS: I've also had good success with the free Platinum Citibank concierge and getting tough-to-book restaurants at a day's notice, but that could just be luck .

lol.... I am very good friends with a person on the Citi Platinum concierge and he is awesome at what he does

 

[haydensydney]

However, there is no licence required; if there was, the court system could get very clogged up

Are they really that bad though? Meeting other centurion people at events, the majority are really quite nice and distinguished. Sure: the DYKWIA's may pull down the average, but I wouldn't say that the Centurion program is clogged up by them.

 

[notzac]

Are they really that bad though? Meeting other centurion people at events, the majority are really quite nice and distinguished. Sure: the DYKWIA's may pull down the average, but I wouldn't say that the Centurion program is clogged up by them.

Consider that you're meeting these people at events where the card is the common denominator - it makes sense to me that most everyone would be nice to everyone else. Quite different to a restaurant setting, where some of these "exalted" cardholders might believe that the people looking after them are beneath them - and change their behaviour in line with that belief.

 

[NYCguy]

Consider that you're meeting these people at events where the card is the common denominator - it makes sense to me that most everyone would be nice to everyone else. Quite different to a restaurant setting, where some of these "exalted" cardholders might believe that the people looking after them are beneath them - and change their behaviour in line with that belief.

Well, when I worked for at the world HQ of a prominent multinational investment bank, every other trader had a Centurion card, and I can tell you, the majority of them are much less than exalted. In fact, the majority of them are meatheaded yobbos, which confirms my observation that paying some people a small fortune every year doesn't make them rich, it just makes them pissant thugs with a lot of money.