Amex Centurion - Titanium
Discussion
am i missing something here?
I have a Citi+Shell Mastercard giving me 3% off Shell fuel and 1% cashback on everything else.
This card has paid me £140 this year alone.
Putting my honeymoon on the card and paying it off immediately has earned me enough for champagne all the way there and back on the plane...
why on earth would you pay for a credit card.
Need the added stuff? insurance/concierge.... get that separately.
I have a Citi+Shell Mastercard giving me 3% off Shell fuel and 1% cashback on everything else.
This card has paid me £140 this year alone.
Putting my honeymoon on the card and paying it off immediately has earned me enough for champagne all the way there and back on the plane...
why on earth would you pay for a credit card.
Need the added stuff? insurance/concierge.... get that separately.
Depends on the balance of your needs really. You may get £140 back from your card, but because I paid £400 for my Amex, I got my honeymoon hotels massively reduced, so I think I saved a couple of thousand pounds that year. Now I've got the whole family covered by the travel insurance and with members of the family living abroad it pretty much pays for itself.
JRM said:
Depends on the balance of your needs really. You may get £140 back from your card, but because I paid £400 for my Amex, I got my honeymoon hotels massively reduced, so I think I saved a couple of thousand pounds that year. Now I've got the whole family covered by the travel insurance and with members of the family living abroad it pretty much pays for itself.
very good 
annettej said:
Just wondering if any of you have had hassle using the Titanium card? I can just imagine trying to use it in the petrol station and them refusing to believe it is a "real" card since not made of plastic?!
No problems so far - I guess so far as anyone is concerned if it has a chip that their machine recognises and you know the pin, what's to worry about? I have to say that I am in exactly the same position. I am, I suspect, in the same boat as a few posters here in that I am pretty comfortable, but not super rich. And there's the rub. If you live a jet-set life style then Centurion's perks are probably worth the £1,800 (though I agree with other comments that there don't seem to be much of a change in benefits to reflect the uplift in fee). The truth for me is:
1) there was enough of the "snob" in me to pay £600 for a black card, but I baulk at £1,800 and have booked a call with Amex to cancel the card the week before the annual renewal is due.
2) I'm probably not rich enough to really have the card (which has been far cheaper in the UK than in the US for years).
3) Although Amex haven't let me down, they have never been able to get me a table at "that exclusive resturant" for the date I have wanted (and indeed sometimes I have found a way toi get things Amex can't), so I do think that piece of their speal is largely fiction.
Trying to explore maybe a Coutts card instead.
1) there was enough of the "snob" in me to pay £600 for a black card, but I baulk at £1,800 and have booked a call with Amex to cancel the card the week before the annual renewal is due.
2) I'm probably not rich enough to really have the card (which has been far cheaper in the UK than in the US for years).
3) Although Amex haven't let me down, they have never been able to get me a table at "that exclusive resturant" for the date I have wanted (and indeed sometimes I have found a way toi get things Amex can't), so I do think that piece of their speal is largely fiction.
Trying to explore maybe a Coutts card instead.
I have to say that I am in exactly the same position. I am, I suspect, in the same boat as a few posters here in that I am pretty comfortable, but not super rich. And there's the rub. If you live a jet-set life style then Centurion's perks are probably worth the £1,800 (though I agree with other comments that there don't seem to be much of a change in benefits to reflect the uplift in fee). The truth for me is:
1) there was enough of the "snob" in me to pay £600 for a black card, but I baulk at £1,800 and have booked a call with Amex to cancel the card the week before the annual renewal is due.
2) I'm probably not rich enough to really have the card (which has been far cheaper in the UK than in the US for years).
3) Although Amex haven't let me down, they have never been able to get me a table at "that exclusive resturant" for the date I have wanted (and indeed sometimes I have found a way toi get things Amex can't), so I do think that piece of their speal is largely fiction.
Trying to explore maybe a Coutts card instead.
1) there was enough of the "snob" in me to pay £600 for a black card, but I baulk at £1,800 and have booked a call with Amex to cancel the card the week before the annual renewal is due.
2) I'm probably not rich enough to really have the card (which has been far cheaper in the UK than in the US for years).
3) Although Amex haven't let me down, they have never been able to get me a table at "that exclusive resturant" for the date I have wanted (and indeed sometimes I have found a way toi get things Amex can't), so I do think that piece of their speal is largely fiction.
Trying to explore maybe a Coutts card instead.
kajagoogoo said:
I probably spend about £200k on my Centurion card per annum. Bt it hs been refused in Brazil, Denmark, Sweden, Norway - and they're crap at sorting it out. Its in the bin come renewal time.
Refused as in they don't accept Amex? Or it required an approval phone call for security reasons? The latter is easily fixed by calling the concierge and letting them know which country you're visiting, even if you forget, a quick phone call has always sorted it out IME.Just to add to the many comments regarding the titanium centurion card I have had the old plastic card for five years and just received the new titanium one which is admittedly very nice and a great party piece but does not command anything like £1850. The insurance is great and I have first hand experience during the BA lose-a bag debacle a couple of years ago I managed to re-new all of mine and my family's ski kit and also get my daughter airlifted off the mountain in Zermatt which luckily turned out to be a fairly minor knock but nonetheless saved me thousands. The conceirge service is rubbish I have tried them a dozen times for the usual stuff - rugby, concerts, football etc and all they have been able to do is offer broker prices at ten times the face value so sadly the card will go early next year unless of course Amex decide that launching in the middle of a recession was a stupid move and keep the fee the same. Priority pass is good and everyone in Asia thinks you are a god if you use the card but best of all you always get some wise acre in your company who utters the immortal words "oh I was offered the black card once but I turned it down and settled for the hsbc diamond instead" yeah right it is actually worth it for that alone at £650 though not £1850.
bonsai said:
Do you all not get fed up with places refusing to take (any) Amex card?
No for 2 reasons. Firstly, it happens a lot less frequently than many people think. All supermarkets and petrol stations take it and most hotels, restaurants and high street stores take it. It's only really small indepedent shops that can be hit and miss, but if they don't take it, it's simple enough to just pay with a different card (which is the 2nd reason).Binned Centurion and two months later binned Platinum as well. Goodbye Amex
Sat down and went through all the cost to benefits. All their so called 'special privileges' i can get cheaper else where. When I tried the concierge service, they only have their preferred choice, rather than any exclusive access to top 10 restaurants. Obviously they have tried to make the Centurion Titanium exclusive to the super rich who don't blink twice at the annual fee. A brave decision by Amex in a recession.
I'm happily using my Tesco Club Mastercard now and saving easily £50 a month on shopping. Accepted everywhere and finally a card that works for me !!!
Sat down and went through all the cost to benefits. All their so called 'special privileges' i can get cheaper else where. When I tried the concierge service, they only have their preferred choice, rather than any exclusive access to top 10 restaurants. Obviously they have tried to make the Centurion Titanium exclusive to the super rich who don't blink twice at the annual fee. A brave decision by Amex in a recession.
I'm happily using my Tesco Club Mastercard now and saving easily £50 a month on shopping. Accepted everywhere and finally a card that works for me !!!
Edited by Shadytree on Saturday 14th August 12:24
I have had my Titanium Centurion card for over 12 months now. I have not really made much use of the services and had been thinking of cancelling.
On the return journey of our holiday with my family this summer, our car was broken into on the way to Orlando airport and the hand baggage stolen. Alongside the usual camera's, camcorder, Macbook etc that were stolen, our passports and flight tickets all went.
Despite what could have been an extremely stressful experience, I made one call to the concierge service who arranged to get us to the British Consulate in Orlando to obtain temporary passports, alternative flights were also arranged and the insurance team called me back within half an hour to make sure all was OK and start the claims process.
From start to finish the service was superb and the claims process easy. It is this type of service and support that reminds you why the fee is worthwhile. What may on face value seem like an excessive cost suddenly becomes one of the the best "investments" I have ever made.
On the return journey of our holiday with my family this summer, our car was broken into on the way to Orlando airport and the hand baggage stolen. Alongside the usual camera's, camcorder, Macbook etc that were stolen, our passports and flight tickets all went.
Despite what could have been an extremely stressful experience, I made one call to the concierge service who arranged to get us to the British Consulate in Orlando to obtain temporary passports, alternative flights were also arranged and the insurance team called me back within half an hour to make sure all was OK and start the claims process.
From start to finish the service was superb and the claims process easy. It is this type of service and support that reminds you why the fee is worthwhile. What may on face value seem like an excessive cost suddenly becomes one of the the best "investments" I have ever made.
Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff