SPG Plat - NOT

[Bazz]

Well I knew it was coming but...

...it still pissed me off when it actually arrived!

Just had my comp SPG "Gold" presentation pack from Starwood. Silly buggers send out a pack that they obviously sent to people who have just earned Gold membership, which is totally inappropriate for those of us getting demoted from Plat to Gold!

Had a long chat with SPG customer services but there was no way they could do anything and they stated that the change was an Amex decision, not Starwood.

So with the withdrawal of the CH benefit and SPG downgrade UK Centurion are not trying very hard to maintain their customer base.

[Nottingham Nick]

But they have made all of their US Centurion cardholders VS Gold. [:w]

There is a thread here on FT, where one of the new US AU members maintains that the wording of the letter from Amex says that he will be able to use the Clubhouses regardless of whether he is flying with VS. [?][?]


Nick

[Scrooge]

I wouldn't say he is maintaining that Nick, he is kind of half agreeing with..while still holding on to the belief that a Centurion card holder he should be treated differently from the rest of the human race.

LRoM ?

[RichardMannion]

Ahh yes, I had already guessed which person we might be talking about. Not a longstanding Centurion member either, still in the 'novelty' stage. But then given they have jsut upped the fee to $2500 (+$5000 initiation fee for new members) it should sort some of the member base out.

Dutifly replied.

Thanks,
Richard

[Scrooge]

Nice reply Richard....me thinks the time of the UK Centurion card being even slightly special has come and gone, to me it just seems to have the same benefits as the US platinum card, for 8 times the fee.

[mcmbenjamin]

Please send $500.00 to my PayPal account and I will say you are cool.

Honestly, IF you have 'Centurion' because of the insurance; I wonder why. Better cover can be had includes more.

I am happy with my Gold AmEx. AmEx WAS a sign of wealth now it is common place. Everyone has one and they are easy to get (charge and credit products).

[Scrooge]

Well to me AMEX was not a sign of wealth, it was a sign of great service, in many ways you still get that, in others it is long gone.

I just can not see the point in having the UK centurion card now...other than to take it out in a restaurant in the US where it may be confused with a real centurion card so people will think you are famous.

Then again I took my Black VS amex out in at Nordstrom's the other day and the sales lady gasped and said it was the first time she had seen a real Black Amex [:0][:w]

[RichardMannion]

Ahh see the value of having a UK Centurion card has gone down, but there is still some value to be had. The insurance is good, when you consider the number of people that are being covered. And it is paying for itself this weekend with the free nights at the Tokyo MO.

Platinum AmEx is a damn good offering in the UK though, and does make Centurion look crap. Just the MO beenfits really to make up the shortfall.

But yes, anyone that is trying to use the card so people think you are famous are clearly deluded. I can count the number of comments on one hand in all of the thousands of transactions on my card in the last 6 years. AmEx lost all credibility of being a 'sign of wealth' when they introduced the credit card offerings, especially Blue with it's unheard of low minimum income requirment.

Thanks,
Richard

[Scrooge]

Well if it has paid for itself just from this trip then it is worth it for you [y]

[Bazz]

With the number of MOs worldwide set to double over the next six years, with some great new destinations (the number of rooms are doubling as well) there will be even more opportunity to use that benefit and as Richard says it is now the key differentiator between Plat and Cent, long may it continue.