Premier/Black Credit Cards

Just a quickie - as a Personal Bank Manager, I sell the Black Card for those earning over £70k, annual fee £200.

In brief, you get minimum limit £15000, free airport lounge access worldwide, unlimited. Comprehensive business or pleasure travel insurance, with dependant kids up to 25 years old and up to 5 friends. Free pan-european Green Flag roadside assistance, 24/7 multi-lingual PA/concierge service for worldwide activities, access to top sporting events or sought after cultural/culinary events and places that mere mortals may not be able to get. Membership of fine wine service, and a bit better Airmiles ratio. Think there are a few others but they are the main ones - and the card seems quite popular too!

It seems to me that if you are looking for a card to deliver status then the Coutts card is the only one to consider. As Richard pointed out AMEX are now giving out platinum charge cards to anyone earning over 30k when it used to be 75k(i think) and if all it takes to upgrade to a centurion is a few months of reasonable spending and payment through DD then the black card is easilly in the reach of anyone with an average income. Amex are spoling their own private party really, gone are the days when it truly was an invite only service.
Also, in response to previous comments the Coutts world card isn't for their wealthiest customers only, it's just one of the cards they offer with a slightly higher fee than others, they gave one to me with no problems, and if they consider me as amongst their wealthiest they've got plenty to worry about.

And as for all of the celb interest in these cards i'm sure they hardly ever have to warm them up, everything seems to come for free after 15 minutes of fame!

[RichardMannion]

Hi Guys,

Some responses for you:

Potus - Not sure I follow your second paragraph, Centurion is not a credit card, its a charge card. Not sure what you are referring to with 400 and black card club, I know for sure that Bill doesn't need a club to help him out!

Speedbird - Sorry, they sit on different systems so they would automatically flag up. If you are spending £5k+/month and clearing it too, then you can always inquire but normally credit cad spend is not taken into the mix for the UK. You may find they would rather you take a Platinum Charge card for a while, and then look to review your account down the line for an acquistion to Centurion.

Ian- I'm assuming you're talking about the Natwest Black card, I personally see that as a comparitive to AmEx Platinum. I remember phoning them up to find out more about it when it launched two years ago, they refused to accept that someoen had a Centurion at 22, as I was asking them how stringent they were with the minimum age of 25.

Lord- Platinum was just invitation onlky, there wasn't really a minimum income requirement, just regular, healthy spend in the glory days. I say that as I went from Gold to Platinum in the space of one month (just over £1k spent), but at that time Centurion had just hit its first anniversary in the UK.

Thanks,
Richard

Originally posted by RichardMannion
Hi Guys,

Some responses for you:

Ian- I'm assuming you're talking about the Natwest Black card, I personally see that as a comparitive to AmEx Platinum. I remember phoning them up to find out more about it when it launched two years ago, they refused to accept that someoen had a Centurion at 22, as I was asking them how stringent they were with the minimum age of 25.

Thanks,
Richard

Hi Richard

Sorry, yes, I was talking about the NatWest Black Card. I laugh when you say the above about being 22 - we can be a bit pompous at times I guess! I would think they would be quite stringent about age, but never as yet had to put it to the test...

A lot of people go for it because of the lifestyle aspect, especially with the FA Cup tickets available, and Wimbledon coming up, and the concierge etc.

Cheers.

Ian.

NATWEST Have a BLACK card, but it costs £250 a year, but you collect 1 air mile per £15 spent

Originally posted by TJ
Me and my friends were discussing this whole issue at the weekend and one of my friends took his mother's Centurion card for a bit of a spending spree a few months back.

(His mother has the same first initial as him and the card didn't have a 'Mrs' prefix on it)

Apperently he got into several very exclusive clubs in London just by showing the card, so perhaps Amex do have agrements with some members-only clubs?

Though perhaps it's only with Centurion and not Plat

Buffers, I'm not sure that I'd compare Q to Amex Plat. I think the comparison between Q and Centurion is probably more fitting and appropriate

Amex Centurion will put members on guest lists of private clubs and venues. They have arrangements with certain venues; with others, they'll just call and try their best for you...

Originally posted by jaguarpig

Richard is the earning on the Centurion card 1 MRP per £1.00.

Yep; 1:1

Well, I thought I'd chip in on the subject. I used to be a Centurion member in the UK, and now have the US Centurion card. I rate the US product - and the US service - as far superior to the UK. In the UK, the concierge staff didn't seem to know how to handle my requests, had never heard of the restaurants I wanted booking etc. The travel department didn't seem that 'with it' either. I started to question the value of the product.

In the US, the benefits are extensive and the concierge/travel staff knowledgeable (a real bonus). When things have gone wrong, Amex US have corrected them immediately. They've done all sorts of things for me, some of which have been most unexpected. The price protection plan for example is excellent - buy anything and if within xx days (90 I think) you find it cheaper elsewhere, Amex will credit you with the difference (up to $1,000 per year). I cashed in on this when I bought a new Apple laptop - 21 days later, Apple dropped the price and refused to credit me the different. Not Amex, who paid up immediately.

The ultimate benefit of a Centurion card though is cachet. I get a little wry smile every time a clerk says "Ow, what's this, I haven't seen one of these before!". You'd be amazed how many times thatÕs happened.

[RichardMannion]

Thanks for that viewpoint on UK vs US bostonbrit!

Interesting to hear the tell of the tape between the two fistinct offereings. I personally rate the UK version quite high (have been a member for 4 years), I know what you mean about the travel team at times but then I will always do my homework in advance (but in theory I shouldn't have to). I Have found concierge to be very good though in the UK, no real complaints from me on that. The benefits do vary vastly between the UK and US - but on the whole I am happy with the UK feature set - Priority Club Platinum has recently been added to Centurion Uk which will be useful for me. Do you find that your US benefits warrant the substantially larger annual fee ($2500)?

Not sure if I agree on the ultimate benefit though - I know when i first got my card I would have agreed with that. But after 10s of thousands of transaction I can count very few occasions where cashiers/waiters etc have commented (and vast majority of the time it has indeed been on US soil).

Thanks,
Richard

[Scrooge]

The Amex Centurion or as it is over here,just the black Amex is still a little on the rare side,though I am starting to see a few more of them,even the Plat is a little on the rare side.

The Plat has worked fine for me,though in all honesty this wasn't they year for me to get it,next year we will be putting the travel side of it to the test alot more.

The one thing I do like is the fact that with Plat you do not stay on hold litening to stupid music..I know it's a silly point,but to me it's nice to have someone answer the phone right away.

Also while in Mexico in April this year I managed to lose my card,one phone call and 24 hrs later a new card was handed to me at my hotel room door..very nice work AMEX.

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by jetwet1
The Amex Centurion or as it is over here,just the black Amex is still a little on the rare side,though I am starting to see a few more of them,even the Plat is a little on the rare side.

The Plat has worked fine for me,though in all honesty this wasn't they year for me to get it,next year we will be putting the travel side of it to the test alot more.

The one thing I do like is the fact that with Plat you do not stay on hold litening to stupid music..I know it's a silly point,but to me it's nice to have someone answer the phone right away.

Also while in Mexico in April this year I managed to lose my card,one phone call and 24 hrs later a new card was handed to me at my hotel room door..very nice work AMEX.

I'm sure there are quite a few used in Vegas all the time!

I know when I was doing my usual shop in A+F in Caesars, one of the (lovely [:I]) sales girls asked me if she could ask me more about my card. She was intrigued to know what the criteria was to get the card and who I was. I told I could help with the former but not the latter. She said they see about 1 a month in that store but the people that use them are normally a lot older than me... [8)]

Thanks,
Richard

[Pete]

Originally posted by RichardMannion
I told I could help with the former but not the latter. She said they see about 1 a month in that store but the people that use them are normally a lot older than me... [8)]

Richard, that's no surprise. There are CBBC Presenters that are older than you...

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by pixuk

Originally posted by RichardMannion
I told I could help with the former but not the latter. She said they see about 1 a month in that store but the people that use them are normally a lot older than me... [8)]

Richard, that's no surprise. There are CBBC Presenters that are older than you...

uumm...there are members of the audience that are older as well

Originally posted by bostonbrit

Originally posted by jaguarpig

Richard is the earning on the Centurion card 1 MRP per £1.00.

Yep; 1:1

Which means the American card holders are rewarded a fair bit better than UK ones. They get 1:~1.8 because of the exchange rate. The Swedish MR holders earn roughly 30% more than the UK ones too.

I always thought that the 1 UK Point = 1 US Point is unfair! In fact I am thinking of getting the international dollar platinum and using that instead for all my purchases that I don't put on the Virgin CC

Cheers
sky

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by sky

Originally posted by bostonbrit

Originally posted by jaguarpig

Richard is the earning on the Centurion card 1 MRP per £1.00.

Yep; 1:1

Which means the American card holders are rewarded a fair bit better than UK ones. They get 1:~1.8 because of the exchange rate. The Swedish MR holders earn roughly 30% more than the UK ones too.

I always thought that the 1 UK Point = 1 US Point is unfair! In fact I am thinking of getting the international dollar platinum and using that instead for all my purchases that I don't put on the Virgin CC

Cheers
sky

Its been a common cause of complaint about the bum deal that Uk cradholders typically get in regards to MR. There was obviosuly the fab Gold card offer a while ago where you got double MR points on all spend and quadruple on VS spend - which was good if you were able to get it That way the MR poitns really fly up!

And boys with your cheeky CBBC jokes... I'm not getting any younger [V] - I'm the big quarter of a century 2 days before I fly out to Vegas. [:p]

Thanks,
Richard

[mcmbenjamin]

Oh I get the feel you all are going to hate me butÉ.. over here in the USA I have a AmEx Gold Rewards Plus. Fee - $135 p.a.

Normal Gold benefits
Up to five additional cardholders fee-free

* 2x points at Supermarkets, gas stations, the post office and wireless bills
* 2x points on travel stuff for the first year then 1.5x point for travel (includes hotels, air fare, car rental, etc)

And from Sept 1 to Sept 30, 2005 2x points on retail purchases

And of course, $1.00USD = 1 point

Benjamin

Originally posted by mcmbenjamin
Oh I get the feel you all are going to hate me butÉ.. over here in the USA I have a AmEx Gold Rewards Plus. Fee - $135 p.a.

Normal Gold benefits
Up to five additional cardholders fee-free

* 2x points at Supermarkets, gas stations, the post office and wireless bills
* 2x points on travel stuff for the first year then 1.5x point for travel (includes hotels, air fare, car rental, etc)

And from Sept 1 to Sept 30, 2005 2x points on retail purchases

And of course, $1.00USD = 1 point

Benjamin

So, for 1 UKP you get 3.6 FC miles! We get one! [:(!].

Richard, I complained to Amex when I moved her, they didn't even bother replying.

Cheers
Artur

[fozzyo]

Originally posted by sky
So, for 1 UKP you get 3.6 FC miles! We get one! [:(!].

Richard, I complained to Amex when I moved her, they didn't even bother replying.

Wouldn't they argue that the Centurion UK and Centurion US are two seperate cards, products and services offered by different companies subject to different T&C's and perks?

Foz xx

Originally posted by fozzyo

Wouldn't they argue that the Centurion UK and Centurion US are two seperate cards, products and services offered by different companies subject to different T&C's and perks?

Foz xx

Of course, I have no legal reason to complain. Though "different companies" would be a stretch for them to say.

I moved to the UK from Sweden, not the US .

Cheers
sky

[Scrooge]

Just a little story about Amex.

Being the idiot that I am,it dawns on me tuesday morning that I hadn't ordered any travlers checks.I go to the Amex website and go through the options of ordering the Amex travel card...would of been great except the shipping time wa 6 days..maybe cutting it a little close.

So I call Plat services and the nice lady tells me to go to Nevada State bank and pick up a couple of cards (1 ine pounds the other in euro's),so i woomble down there yesterday morning.Wait in line..only to be told they have no idea what AAmex is talking about.

So I jump on the cell phone and call Amex..they of course are dumbfounded by this revalation,but point me in the direction of a local travel agency that they know for a fact has what I want..

So I drive over to the travel agency and miricle of all miricles they have them...only they dont take Amex cards for travlers checks !!!

This is an Amex agency so I was flabbergasted..

Well I get free travelers checks from my bank so there was no way I was going to pay the fee they wanted.

So I drive home and the whole way im scratching my head.

get home and call Plat services again..they are confused as to why the travel agency wouldn't take my card,but transfer me to world global services to get it sorted..they tell me they have no idea why the travel agency won't take it either..so I say ok,well I need these checks,the gentalman says no problem..gone for 5 mins then comes back and says my card is no good..over the limit !

I ask what he means over the limit because as of that phone call I had managed to amas an amazing amount of $286 on my card for that billing periodd..he said he had no idea..

So I get transfered back to Plat services..ask for a supervisor...get a supervisor and ask her whats going on..

she's gone for 10 mins then comes back and explains that my card is not set up for cash withdrawls...news to me..but I point out that nowwhere on the TC site does it say that these are cash withdrawls..they are just charges to the card.

Well yes if you use the site then it's a charge,but if you try and order them over the phone or in person then it's a cash advance.

So I point out that due to Amex giving me the wrong info I was now stuck without travlers checks..so the lady gets on the phone with Global again..tells me she's transfering me to a supervisor there.

We get chatting then he tell's me there is nothing they can do,I was out of options..his whole attitude changed and he became kind of "bratty"..well out of nowhere a voice says..."no thats not going to work...we messed up and this gentalman needs his TC's"..the supervisor from Plat services had stayed on the line being nice and quiet..

well they then get into it..the end result being that Amex overnighted me my travelers check..then ate $139 is charges...

So [n] for the 1st 2 hrs of BS that Amex put me through,but[y]for the end result..I also got 2 emails this morning apologizing for all the confusion..one from Plat serives and the other fom global services.

Wouldn't they argue that the Centurion UK and Centurion US are two seperate cards, products and services offered by different companies subject to different T&C's and perks?

Foz xx

They most certainly do... As a Centurion US member, the UK people are very unhelpful when I call while passing through Blightey...

The UK people presumably consider US cardmembers to be like grey import software - a burden on their own infrastructure without a payment in return. In other words you paid your fee to Amex US not Amex UK so why should Amex UK help you... Parochial I know...

On Richards point about Vegas I went to a dinner for Centurions last year and my wife and I were the youngest people there by a country mile (or at least a decade anyway)

I was a charter member of Centurion and even got a useless calculator to prove it.

[preiffer]

Charter member of Centurion, yet only 13 years old, mysteryflyer?


Wow... [:0];)

[mcmbenjamin]

-- mysteryflyer -- FC member since 04/92

Wow, earning miles possible before you are born!

[mcmbenjamin]

Does anyone have the Quintessentially Credit Card?

from there site:

exclusive Quintessentially ÔBeyond BlackÕ credit card

Only offered to UK based peeps

All I know is Quintessentially can make things happen most of the time.