The American Express Centurion Card (often referred to simply as the “Black Card”) is probably the most famous credit card in the world. Talk about a hyped card, as it’s exclusively available to those who are invited, and a countless number of rap songs reference it. While I’m a fan of rap, I generally don’t recommend taking credit card advice from rappers.
Most of us won’t ever be invited to apply for the Black Card, but that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it. What does it take to get an invitation, how much does it cost to hold onto, what are the benefits like, and is it worth it?
The information and associated card details on this page for the Centurion Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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How to get an Amex Centurion Card invitation
As mentioned above, the Amex Centurion Card is invitation-only. The invitation requirements aren’t published, but it’s believed that an invitation is based both on your Amex card spending plus your income.
Amex is tight-lipped about the requirements to get a Black Card, though I’ve heard the following thrown around as key minimum thresholds:
- You need to spend at least $250K per year on Amex cards
- You need to have an income of at least one million dollars per year
That’s not to say that either of those thresholds will get you an invitation, but I generally wouldn’t expect to get an invitation without meeting those requirements. I’d note that it’s now possible to request to be considered for the card — go to centurion.com, and at the bottom you’ll see a link for those who are interested in a membership.
You’ll just be asked to submit your name and card number, and if you’re eligible, Amex will get in touch with you.
The information and associated card details on this page for the Centurion Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Amex Centurion Card initiation & annual fee
The Amex Centurion Card doesn’t just have an annual fee, but also has an initiation fee, as follows:
- There’s a $10,000 initiation fee
- There’s a $5,000 annual fee (that fee must be paid for each user, so you don’t get free authorized users on the card — on the plus side, they receive the full card perks)
These fees increased significantly a couple of years ago, as previously the card had a $7,500 initiation fee and $2.500 annual fee.
The information and associated card details on this page for the Centurion Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Amex Centurion Card perks & benefits
The Amex Centurion Card is built on the basics of The Platinum Card® from American Express (review), so it offers most of the perks you’ll find on that card, like Marriott Bonvoy Gold status, an annual CLEAR credit, access to lounges globally, etc.
But then there are all kinds of incremental perks as well, given the card’s $10,000 initiation fee and $5,000 annual fee. In addition to having a card that will no doubt turn heads, the Black Card offers the following perks:
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion status
- Hilton Honors Diamond status
- IHG Rewards Platinum status
- A $1,000 Saks credit per calendar year (in the form of a $250 credit per quarter)
- An Equinox Destination Access membership; this would ordinarily cost $300+ per month
- Expanded access to Centurion Lounges (fewer restrictions, reserved seating, champagne, more guesting privileges, etc.)
- 24/7 concierge service for hotels, restaurant reservations, etc.
- A 50% rebate on “Pay With Points” bookings, which is potentially a way to redeem Amex points for two cents each toward airfare
The information and associated card details on this page for the Centurion Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Is the Amex Centurion Card worth it?
Purely in terms of benefits, I think the Amex Centurion Card could be worth it, at least if you’d otherwise pay for an Equinox membership. Admittedly that doesn’t account for the initiation fee, which changes the economics the first year.
On an ongoing basis you’re paying $5,000 per year, and here’s how I generally view the value of these benefits:
- If you’d otherwise pay for an Equinox membership, that recoups roughly two-thirds of the annual fee right there
- The $1,000 Saks credit can potentially be worth close to face value
- The hotel status is useful, but you can get that with other cards too — the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express (review) also offers Hilton Honors Diamond status, and the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (review) also offers IHG Rewards Platinum status
- The Delta SkyMiles Platinum status is also useful if you fly Delta with any frequency, but personally I wouldn’t value that at more than $1,500 or so
- Then there are the standard lounge access perks, CLEAR credit, etc., which can add up as well
- Most of the other perks involve improved “soft” treatment, and everyone will value that differently; it’s hard to put a value to the concierge service, reserved seating in Centurion Lounges, etc.
For the right type of consumer, I do think the ongoing $5,000 annual fee can be justified based on the perks.
The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and Centurion Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The problem with the Amex Centurion Card
Let’s be honest, most people who want the Amex Centurion Card don’t get it because they want an Equinox membership. They get it because of the “cool” factor, and because they want to use it for in-person transactions.
And that’s where this card is so brilliant from Amex’s perspective, as it has a pretty uncompetitive rewards structure. The Amex Centurion Card offers a flat 1x points on all purchases, except purchases over $5,000 earn 1.5x points, with some caps.
The opportunity cost of spending money on this card is massive. Based on my valuation of points:
- There’s up to a 1.7% opportunity cost to putting everyday spending on this card
- There’s up to a 6.8% opportunity cost to putting dining spending on this card
You’re truly giving up value with every dollar you spend on the card, and that’s something I can’t wrap my head around. I know some people will say “well people who have the kind of money required to get this card don’t care about points.”
I don’t think that’s accurate. I think some people may value impressing others over getting the best return on their spending, but most people get rich by being smart with their money, and not flushing it down the drain. To me, sub-optimally using credit cards is like flushing money down the drain.
If you get the Amex Centurion Card and spend a lot of money on it, arguably the biggest “cost” of having the card would be the opportunity cost of your spending (which could be thousands of dollars in value), rather than the annual fee as such.
The information and associated card details on this page for the Centurion Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
The Amex Centurion Card is the most famous credit card out there. Its invitation-only status plus high annual fee creates a lot of hype, and that’s understandable.
Forgetting the initiation fee, I do think the $5,000 annual fee can be justified pretty easily for the right type of consumer, especially if you’d otherwise pay for an Equinox membership. What I find much harder to justify is actually putting spending on the card.
Card rewards structures have improved so much over the years, but the Centurion Card is stuck in the past in that regard, offering 1x points on a vast majority of purchases, and up to 1.5x points on large purchases. There’s a huge opportunity cost to putting spending on the card.
Even so, people do spend a lot on the card, and I imagine it’s not because they’re looking to maximize their rewards.
What’s your take on the Amex Centurion Card? To OMAAT readers who have the card, what do you make of the value proposition? Do you use the card for spending, or just for the perks?
The information and associated card details on this page for the Centurion Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Ben,
Are you sure that you get access to the First Class lounge with the black card?
Carl's comments are spot-on. I've been a Centurion cardholder since 2009 and *very* reluctantly renewed this past November. It was a fairly straight-forward renewal in 2021, as they extended a $2,000 AMEX Travel credit which effectively made the annual fee $3,000 instead of $5k. Not so this year. No travel credit. No anything. I've spoken with several members of the customer service team including my "dedicated" rep who while friendly, are tone-deaf and clearly just...
Carl's comments are spot-on. I've been a Centurion cardholder since 2009 and *very* reluctantly renewed this past November. It was a fairly straight-forward renewal in 2021, as they extended a $2,000 AMEX Travel credit which effectively made the annual fee $3,000 instead of $5k. Not so this year. No travel credit. No anything. I've spoken with several members of the customer service team including my "dedicated" rep who while friendly, are tone-deaf and clearly just towing the company line. Though they did give me a whopping 20,000 membership reward points last week when I complained. LOL
Contrast this more recent approach to service, or lack thereof, to even two years ago when I called about a lack of lounge access in Managua due to Priority Pass closures - they immediately credited my account for a sky-high day pass at an affiliated lounge. Fast forward to last week when the DEN Centurion Lounge was closed at FIVE PM on a week day! Not even so much as an apology - just blame covid like everything else.
I know AMEX is taking substantial losses from traditionally profitable departments like corporate travel. But doubling fees while simultaneously substantially reducing practical benefits (I'm not in an Equinox market either) is nonsensical - and frankly pretty insulting.
I prized my Centurion for many years - especially in the beginning when of course the novelty was pretty darn cool coupled with benefits (including random gifts valued at around $1,000/year) at nearly every turn. It paid for itself every year... but unfortunately it'll be time to retire it come Nov.
i spoke to an amex rep, the approx spend is actually 300k+ per month. he won't even nominate me if my spend on one card is less than that! Lucky my spend is more!
My brother in law and I both have the goal of getting it for one year. Yes we compete but its friendly. Will either one of us get it. Doubtful. My amex platinum was my mid life crisis to me gift
Once you have the card there is no need to keep spending on it so the opportunity cost discussion is moot.
You can skip the qualification requirements by having a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management account and some minimum amount invested.
One perk you didn't discuss which is worth quite a lot IMO is Hertz Platinum because they bring the car to you curbside at most airports removing the most unpleasant part of renting a car.
The Hertz service has been suspended since Covid started. It was not always convenient or provided even prior to Covid - depending on staffing or using the excuse that the airport didn't allow it.
I personally valued the Hertz Platinum status at $2,000/year because it literally saved me from missing flights multiple times. However, the pickup and drop-off stopped in March or April of 2020 and has yet to return.
Carl - pre-covid, my experience was about 80% of terminals supported it. PHL was an exception. At LAS, they could bring the car to the short-term lot and always pre-paid the parking ticket.
Are you required to charge a certain amount to the card to keep it? If not, one could continue to charge dining expenses to the AMEX Gold and airfare to the AMEX Platinum, while still enjoying all the Centurion perks if they are worth the fees.
You are not required to put spending on the Centurion card.
The perks are not worth the fees, in my experience.
I spent and paid off $700,000 on my personal platinum last year, $500,000 the year before and $450,000 the year before that. Never received an invite. Cancelling the Platinum and moving over to the Citi AA Executive Platinum.
You are canceling the Plat because you never received a Centurion invite, or independent of that?
I think it's more an "aspirational card" and the people who get this is the one that want to show their money power/position period. They don´t care about any of the benefits.
"most people get rich by being smart with their money, and not flushing it down the drain. To me, sub-optimally using credit cards is like flushing money down the drain."
To them, spending time to optimally use and redeem points between 2+ credit card is like flushing money down the drain. But most importantly people being smart with their money probably don't think this card is worth it but have it for other reasons.
And...
"most people get rich by being smart with their money, and not flushing it down the drain. To me, sub-optimally using credit cards is like flushing money down the drain."
To them, spending time to optimally use and redeem points between 2+ credit card is like flushing money down the drain. But most importantly people being smart with their money probably don't think this card is worth it but have it for other reasons.
And people much wealthier than this group actually carry nothing at all, not even cash. They have their entourage taking care of everything.
Am I wrong that the 1.5x on purchases over $1500 and the 50% pay with points rebate are for the Business Centurion only?
The card also has Centurion FHR, which is better than Plat FHR, and as someone already mentioned, international arrival service when flying in J or F to certain cities.
You are correct. The 50% rebate is for the biz version on the card only. The personal version gives a paltry 20% rebate. Which is why I keep a biz plat along with my personal centurion.
I had a Centurion Card for almost fifteen years. If I remember correctly I did not pay any initiation fee at all, and the annual fee may have been sub-$2000. When I first got it there were no Centurion Lounges. The card came with good status at Continental Airlines, USAir, and Delta. It also came with top tier SPG and HHonors status. And it came with Hertz Platinum which included car delivery and driveback service....
I had a Centurion Card for almost fifteen years. If I remember correctly I did not pay any initiation fee at all, and the annual fee may have been sub-$2000. When I first got it there were no Centurion Lounges. The card came with good status at Continental Airlines, USAir, and Delta. It also came with top tier SPG and HHonors status. And it came with Hertz Platinum which included car delivery and driveback service. It was implied that if you used your Centurion Card at hotel check-in, you would have a solid chance at a suite upgrade regardless of how you had booked the hotel room. Further there was the promise of exceptional concierge service and travel bookings.
The airline and hotel status benefits were fairly cool and were the primary reason that I kept the card. I never once experienced better treatment at a hotel because of the card itself and on one cared if I used it. I did not find the concierge service very useful, nor the travel agency.
Over time the elite travel benefits eroded. Continental and USAir have disappeared. Delta Platinum status, which is really Platinum lite as you don't get all the benefits that earning Platinum by flying gets you, is at best a mid-level status and you won't be getting any upgrades to C/F with that. SPG status got downgraded from Platinum to Gold, which isn't much, and as you have pointed out anyone can get HHonors Diamond.
Hertz has shut down the car delivery and driveback service, and my experiences renting with Hertz since their bankruptcy have not been good. In most cases they won't issue you a receipt when you return your car, so you have to rely on their IT and in one case they didn't promptly close out the rental causing unwarranted extra charges and becoming a pain to correct, and in another, while I gave the key to a manager, they could not find the key and wanted to charge me for a lost key.
The Centurion Lounges were a main added benefit. When they opened they were by far the best airport lounge experience in the U.S. and they made Centurions feel a little special. Then they became overcrowded. While the waitlist skipping was nice, in order to avail yourself of it, you have to behave a little like DYKWIA? You almost need to be boorish to get in if there is a line. What good is it if you are supposed to be at the head of the line when there is an 8 person line with a rope and no way to get to the front without being obnoxious and self-important?
Then they doubled the annual fee to $5000 while it has less benefits than the Platinum card. It earns less points on travel bookings than the Platinum card and they took away the $200 airline fee credit. I live in a major city which has no Equinox clubs and no Saks retail store, and frankly the breakage design of the Saks credit where you have to remember to use it each quarter is insulting. And if traveling to another city, unless I were to plan around it, it's hard to make much use of the Equinox membership.
As to the vaunted customer service, it didn't amount to all that much. They were friendly on the phone, sometimes to a fault that it feels like Dale Carnegie mind games, but they stick to whatever Amex policy is. What really ticked me off is that a benefit of the card is to pay for Global Entry. I got Nexus instead since it has additional benefits traveling to/from Canada and includes Global Entry. They refused to reimburse that. So much for valuing membership.
I got rid of my card. I didn't see the value any more. High annual cost. Fewer benefits than Platinum. The air of exclusivity without any reality. Really no looking back. The only thing that I miss a little bit is knowing that I have the right to cut the line at a Centurion Lounge, if I am willing to call attention to myself, and to use it on arrival. Neither of those are enough to justify the annual fee - I don't need a lounge on arrival very often, and I don't like the linecutting process and it means that the lounge is full.
In my opinion the people striving for a Centurion card have a need for validation, to show off or brag for others, or don't really care or understand the points game and elite status, or don't care about value for money. That's not who I am and it's not who I want to project to be. Good for Amex if they can make profits off a specialized segment of insecure people who want to show off that they are part of this special cohort.
Indeed. If a person needs the card for validation, then the person is lacking in self-image. If a person needs to flash the card to garner oohs and aahs, then the person is lacking in more.
I was nominated for the card by my Amex business relationship manager -- between business and personal, my wife and I have seven-digit spend each year -- in the end, I decided it really wasn't worth it. Additional cardholders pay the same annual fee. To your point about opportunity cost, given our spend pattern, we would lose $20k to $25k in points value given our spending pattern -- add that to the $10k annual fee...
I was nominated for the card by my Amex business relationship manager -- between business and personal, my wife and I have seven-digit spend each year -- in the end, I decided it really wasn't worth it. Additional cardholders pay the same annual fee. To your point about opportunity cost, given our spend pattern, we would lose $20k to $25k in points value given our spending pattern -- add that to the $10k annual fee for two cardholders.
There is absolutely no way the benefits can offset this total -- even if we lied to ourselves and said the various tier statuses were actually worth something. The guaranteed room upgrade at the time of booking -- at select properties and given the upgrade policy at those select properties -- ends up being worth about $100 to $200 per night. The beautiful people will simply pay for the better room.
If the argument is that the beautiful people don't need the points value -- it's beneath them -- the Coutts Silik Card allows one to donate that points value to charity. In that context, I ain't leaving that money on the table.
I agree with BC that the international arrivals program can be very useful -- but, one can obtain such service from various providers -- think PS at LAX and the private terminal at LHR. And, the beautiful people don't mind paying for it.
As for the Centurion concierge -- which Brian Kelly touts so much -- it is primarily smoke and mirrors. While the Centurion concierge team itself might perform requests when those requests are not associated with travel. But, if your requests are associated with travel, the team will (strong-arm) task your hotel's concierge with the laundry list . . . with an attitude of "if you know what's good for you." The hotel concierges are gracious but dislike the attitude. When the hotel provides the itinerary to the Centurion concierge team, it cuts-and-pastes the text onto Amex letterhead. One is better off saving the money and time by going straight to the hotel concierge. Alternatively, if one can afford the card, does one not have a personal assistant?
Next, try calling the Centurion concierge in the middle of the night and see what percentage of the time someone answers. To this last point, if someone actually wants a truly global 24/7 concierge service as a card benefit, the person would turn to the Coutts Silk Card, which is only available to clients of that private bank.
Lastly, the web is filled with articles about "the" mysterious and elite cards of the rich and famous. Many of those articles talk about the Stratus Rewards Visa "white" card. It is shrouded in mystery and, strangely, no one knows what bank issues it. That's because the card has not existed for years. For well over a decade, bloggers have referred to it but none have fact-checked . . . they've simply republished and republished.
You also get access to Lufthansa First Class lounges (but not the First Class Terminal) at FRA and MUC.
I have the card and, with a few exceptions, only use it for purchases of $5K+ as they trigger the 1.5X points bonus. In terms of redemptions, I nearly only use it for Pay for Points where I am getting both 50% of points back AND the benefits of being on a revenue ticket (miles, status, etc…). The value of the card seems to diminish annually and I think there is a reasonable chance that...
I have the card and, with a few exceptions, only use it for purchases of $5K+ as they trigger the 1.5X points bonus. In terms of redemptions, I nearly only use it for Pay for Points where I am getting both 50% of points back AND the benefits of being on a revenue ticket (miles, status, etc…). The value of the card seems to diminish annually and I think there is a reasonable chance that I abandon ship soon. The Equinox membership is nice if you live in a big city (I do) and there are a few other great benefits (concierge arrival services in various world cities where you forgo “normal” customs and have your bags brought to you in a private lounge). Other than that, it’s increasingly difficult to justify.
Punt.