www.cardtrak.com CARDTRAK'S TOP NEWS Ultimate Card The ultimate "high-roller" credit card now carries a bigger price tag but more perks. American Express this month jacked up the annual fee on its prestigious Centurion or "Black" card from $1,000 to $2,500. However AmEx added eight new travel and retail programs and enhanced some of the card's existing programs. [Click here to read more]
I would pay $2,500 for the card with these "PERKS" 3 MILES PER DOLLAR CHARGED TO YOUR ACCOUNT (NO EXCEPTIONS~NO LIMIT) ANY AIRLINE CLUB YOU CHOOSE INTEREST RATE 0.00% FOR THE FIRST YEAR..."GO-TO" 0.99% $50,000 MINIMUM CREDIT LIMIT SPACE AVAILABLE FIRST CLASS FREE UP-GRADE FREE BALANCE TRANSFERS TO ANY CARD OR COMPANY THAT BILLS YOU
Those are great terms!!!!! .99% "go to"???? Dang, the rich have it made... The free 1st class upgrade pays for the annual fee all by itself.
LOL! Oh, George, I see. For some reason I could not access the second page of that article to see what their perks are. If you got there, could you list them here? Radiohead - yes, by invitation only to Platinum holders only. There was a poster on www.cardoffers.com who gave a CC review of the black card.
I LIKE MY "MADE-UP" PERKS, BETTER!!! www.cardtrak.com FULL STORY: The ultimate "high-roller" credit card now carries a bigger price tag but more perks. American Express this month jacked up the annual fee on its prestigious Centurion or "Black" card from $1,000 to $2,500. However, AmEx added eight new travel and retail programs and enhanced some of the card's existing programs. The Black AmEx card was introduced in the USA during October 1999 following the flood of platinum card offers that hit the market from VISA and MasterCard issuers. Prior to the Centurion, AmEx offered its highest U.S. spenders a Platinum Card. The Centurion is offered by invitation only and to high net worth cardholders who generally charge more than $100,000 per year to the card. The Platinum American Express card was formerly offered by invitation only but is now available to new customers. AmEx says the Platinum Card fee will be going to $395 per year from $300 per year on June 1st--the first change in 15 years. Among some of the Centurion perks: AIRLINES Complimentary airline upgrades, dedicated check-in, priority boarding, and mileage earning at an accelerated rate via complimentary enrollment in the Continental Airlines OnePass Gold Elite Program, Delta Air Lines Gold Medallion program, and US Airways Dividend Miles Preferred Plus. Complimentary access to the airport clubs of Continental and Northwest. In addition, the International Airline Program offers a complimentary companion ticket when the cardholder purchases a full-fare First or Business Class ticket on more than 20 airlines participating in the program. HOTELS Room upgrades, late checkout, complimentary use of fitness centers, and other benefits through enrollment in Starwood Platinum Preferred Guest program, Gold VIP membership in the Hilton HHonors program, Diamond membership in the Hyatt Gold Passport program and membership in the Inter-Continental Six Continents Club. Confirmed room upgrades, when available, at Ritz-Carlton and select Four Seasons properties around the world and more than 330 other fine hotels, resorts, and spas. Complimentary international cellular phones, which are delivered directly to Centurion cardhlders, who pay only the cost of the calls. PERSONAL ASSISTANCE Each cardholder is assigned a personal travel counselor to handle all travel needs, and their own concierge to help with anything from special occasion planning and selecting ideal gifts, to locating unusual items. RETAIL PRIVILEGES Special privileges will be extended to Centurion members at Sony, Escada, Harry Winston, Ferragamo, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue, including personal shopper services, invitations to exclusive events, free consultations, and private shopping hours. Ferragamo also provides an automatic subscription to Ferragamo's Collections catalogs, a scarf for women with a purchase of $1200 (value of $200), and a belt for men with a purchase of $1200 (belt prices range from $135 to $195). ESCADA provides cardholders with access to their "With Compliments Escada" loyalty program, use of the VIP dressing rooms, and an annual gift. REWARDS Fee-free enrollment in Membership Rewards Plus, the premium level of the Membership Rewards program. This includes redemption of points for travel on any airline anywhere in the world, and for purchases charged on the American Express Card. A 100% Membership Rewards point bonus on all charges made with a Centurion Card at our Centurion partners. These partners include Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines, British Airways, Hilton Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and others. FINANCIAL Complimentary two-hour consultation with Provident Financial Management, a subsidiary of American Express Tax and Business Services, which specializes in planning for high-net-worth individuals, including industry leaders and celebrities. A 25% reduction in the management fee for investments and a reduced minimum investment requirement at Portfolio Management Group, a division of American Express Asset Management Group at American Express Financial Advisors. PERSONAL Special amenities and upgrades with purchase of an Equinox Fitness annual membership including five Elite Plus training sessions, five one-week guest passes, plus two complimentary spa treatments. PLATINUM BENEFITS Centurion cardholders also receive all the benefits available to Platinum cardholders which include the Hot Plates dining program (whereby cardholders can make reservations at some of the more sought after restaurants in NY, SF, and LA); Quick Getaways which provides cardholders with great offers for fast getaways including relaxing locations such as the Bahamas to mini-adventures such as white water rafting on the Colorado River; Private Jet Charter Program; and Access to Luxury Suites around the world, among other benefits. For more information visit www.americanexpress.com.
All I can say is WOW! In the past 2 years I have seen this card with my eyes twice. This last time being at the PRO M*A*C Cosmetics store in LA (Beverly Hills area) over the weekend. Some actress? or somebody? wearing $750 Manolo Blahnik shoes and a $15k gold Rolex came in and was in line in front of me. She bought almost $600 worth of make-up and then to top it off, she had the sales cleak take each piece of make-up out of their packaging! She stated that she didn't want all the packaging...just the actual item! So the clerk stood there and took everything out of it's packaging which took like 10 minutes. Then when the sales clerk tried to give her the receipt, she said: Oh...I don't need it, American Express tracks all my purchases! Must be nice! :-\
O.k. O.k. lets face it...this IS the MOTHER of all credit cards! ;-) If only I could fine a way to charge over $100k/yr on AMEX....Humm....guess I'll have to WORK ON THAT! HA! )
I have their Platinum Optima card (not Delta, etc. just non affiliated). It looks similar to the Platinum Charge card <sheepish grin> and my limit is $2k. Hey...I'm just happy to be in the game at this point! That's a big step up from carrying their *secured* Optima card and being an AU on old boyfriends Gold Charge. The most I could spend and pay off in one month is around $2k anyway so it's all good. Hopefully they'll raise my limit with time. I'm just lucky to even have the card! Had to jump through hoops to get it but it finally paid off!
Platinum can be $500... It's VERY BLURRY now days...It was (years ago) $5,000 MINIMUM for GOLD...up to $4,999 was SILVER
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal last week about the Amex Black Card. Seems a business exec. wanted one so bad, he gave like 10 AU Plat. Amex cards to his friends to charge up the 150k he needed for the black invite. Best regards, Mirage
That's cheating, with an AU. Well I have over 10k charged on my Amex platinum charge this month... but this is rare. However, I am impressed that I haven't been declined, since this is over my normal spending.. I rarely charge over 3k in a month, yet this month I'm over 3 times that with no problems. I've read about people getting declined when they're over their "normal" spending pattern. Has anyone with an Amex ever been declined because of being over normal? I just received a letter saying the platinum will go from 300 to 395. I don't care about the dumb new benefits at saks, where you have to charge 5000 at saks just to get something. I wish they'd get rid of the useless benefits and lower the fee. 2500 for the black, however, is still a good deal (if you are wealthy enough to even be invited). Because 2500 isn't a lot of money for someone who charges 100k a yr--if I lived that kind of lifestyle I'd gladly pay 2500 for a black just for those benefits!
Amex will monitor your spending and payment patterns. If they see you spending more than the norm, they may contact you (even after approving a charge) for more financial information. They will ask for your banking information to verify you have the funds to cover your charges. If you have a good bank reference, they will approve further charges, otherwise they will ask that you refrain from using the card until you pay the current balance. If you gradually raise your spending and constantly pay on time, approvals are not usually a problem. Jumping from a normal spending pattern of let's say $2,000 month to $10,000 month will raise some flags.
Heeheee, I have a Platinum through Cap One with a $325 and another one through them with a $500. Toy cards...but the second one I just got yesterday is so kewl! It has a dolphin and a sunset and the Cap One Platinum is in gold lettering. It really a nice looking card. L
Isn't this what gets people into credit problems in the first place? Not every celebrity and big time spender will be able to afford the lifestyle forever. When that time comes they will find it difficult to go back to a lifestyle that doesn't revolve around buying things. Just my thoughts. Robert
