Amex Centurion card: do the UK benefits justify the £3,400 annual fee?

What is the American Express Centurion card? What does it cost and what are the benefits in the UK?

We very rarely write about the UK American Express Centurion card, or ‘The Black Card’ as many people call it. This isn’t unreasonable, since it is ‘by invitation only’ but we thought you might be interested in a look behind the veil of secrecy.

The Centurion Card was relaunched in 2022 with “a renewed focus on the art of living” (and a £1,200 hike in the annual fee). Here is 3-minute promo video for the new benefits which manages to say absolutely nothing …..

We have put this article together with the help of some UK Amex Centurion-holding HfP readers. If you have the card and notice any errors, leave a comment and we will update it.

What does Amex Centurion cost?

There is a £3,400 joining fee and a £3,400 annual fee. Unsurprisingly, the annual fee is NOT waived in the first year.

The costs have jumped up sharply since the card was launched. Anecdotally, Amex Centurion also seems to have tightened up on the type, rather than quantum, of spending they are looking for. We know some cardholders offered the card at launch who were only spending relatively modest sums with Amex, almost all of which was B2B purchasing. This is unlikely to get you across the line now.

What are the invitation criteria for the Amex Centurion card?

The American Express Centurion Card is by invitation only.

Whilst American Express does not publish its criteria (and there may not even be any fixed criteria) there are a range of behaviours that are likely to improve your chances of invitation.

Having a strong Amex history is key. Anecdotal evidence suggests that high spend is particularly effective on cards such as The Platinum Card (review here).

You are likely to be spending at least £25,000 per month, if not considerably higher, before you are on Amex’s radar. Spending on travel, luxury goods and other personal expenses is likely to be viewed more favourably than pushing high figures through for Google Adwords or Facebook advertising.

You may undergo a credit check during the application process. It is not clear if there is an income requirement.

Amex knows the calibre of individuals it wants to invite and offers are likely made on a case-by-case basis. In theory there is little opportunity to game the system if you don’t lead the sort of lifestyle American Express wants.

In 2023, slightly oddly, Amex launched a limited time ‘refer a friend’ promotion for The Centurion Card. You had to email a specific address to express your interest. Rob did so, in the name of research, received an automated reply and did not hear a word afterwards …..

Do I still earn Membership Rewards with The Centurion Card?

Yes, although only at the same rate as the majority of Amex cards.

You earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your Centurion card, or 2 per £1 spent on Amex Travel services.

Rather like The Platinum Card, it is likely that Centurion cardholders will put the majority of their spending onto other, more lucrative, cards.

For example, a small business owner will earn double the return – 2 points per £1 – on £120,000-worth of spending per year on American Express Business Platinum. If you value the points at 1p each, this is an extra £1,200 you would earn by moving spend to that card instead of your Centurion. You will also receive a sign-up bonus worth 120,000 Membership Rewards points from Business Platinum if you apply by 9th April.

Supplementary Centurion cards

The main card holder gets one titanium card.

You also get one free supplementary titanium Centurion card as well four additional supplementary cards as standard, for a total of five free additional cards. You can choose from Platinum, Gold or Green American Express cards.

You can also pay for additional supplementary titanium Centurion cards for £1,700 each per year, as well as other Amex consumer cards.

Additional cards for your own spending count as part of your supplementary card allowance.

What benefits does the American Express Centurion Card come with?

The Centurion Card comes with substantial benefits, as you would expect from Amex’s most premium card.

Top tier status with airlines and hotels

The Centurion Card bestows top tier status in a variety of loyalty programs.

The UK Centurion Card gives you Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold and Emirates Skywards Gold status. It is the only UK credit or charge card to offer free airline status. Emirates Skywards Gold is only for the primary cardholders whilst Virgin Atlantic status is also given to supplementary Centurion cardholders.

You also get status with six major hotel groups:

• Hilton Honors Diamond
• IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite
• MeliaRewards Platinum
• Radisson Rewards Premium
• Jumeirah One Gold

This is a slightly eclectic list. Hilton Honors Diamond and MeliaRewards Platinum are top tier and so worth having.

However, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite and IHG One Platinum Elite have virtually no benefits and are not top-tier. Marriott Bonvoy Gold isn’t even ‘second to top tier’ – it is trumped by Ambassador, Titanium and Platinum.

These benefits are also available to your supplementary Centurion cardholder.

Top tier status with car rental companies

Centurion cardholders are also bestowed with top-tier status at Avis and Hertz.

As a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle member you get:

• a free additional driver
• guaranteed vehicle availability
• guaranteed one-car-class upgrades with every rental
• 50% bonus points on all Hertz rentals

Whilst Avis Preferred President’s Club members get:

• a free additional driver
• guaranteed one-class upgrade
• double upgrade upon availability at weekends

Airport lounge access

The Centurion card has virtually identical lounge benefits to The Platinum Card.

This includes a free Priority Pass membership that gets you and a guest free entry into any of the 1,400 airport lounges in the Priority Pass network.

You also get access to Amex’s own Centurion airport lounges, including the Heathrow Centurion lounge in Terminal 3 which we reviewed here. Whilst Platinum cardholders can take up to two guests, if you have Centurion you can take your entire immediate family.

Centurion cardholders also get a complimentary glass of champagne or top-shelf whisky at Centurion lounges. There is also generally a table reserved for Centurion cardholders which can be useful given how busy the lounges can get.

Amex Centurion also gets you into Plaza Premium lounges, as well as the Eurostar Business Premier lounges, Delta Sky Club lounges and various Lufthansa lounges.

Additional benefits at top-end hotels

Centurion cardmembers get additional benefits at the smaller luxury hotel chains – Aman, Auberge Resorts Collection, Mandarin Oriental, Oetker Collection, The Peninsula Hotels, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis and selected Waldorf Astoria properties – when booking through the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts programme.

You receive:

• a room upgrade at time of reservation (if available)
• an additional $200 food, beverage or spa credit with a minimum two night stay.

These bookings must be made by telephone, unlike standard Fine Hotels & Resorts bookings.

International limousine and Meet & Greet service

When you book a business class or first class flight through the Centurion Travel service you get a free limousine service from the airport to any destination within 20km of the city centre.

The service is available in the following cities: Bangkok, Chicago, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, New York JFK and LGA, Orlando, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto.

Some destinations offer an International Meet & Greet service, where you and your guests can be met at the aircraft door on arrival and escorted through immigration and luggage collection.

These include: Bangkok, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney.

Domestic airport transfers

In addition to the international limo service you can also get up to eight UK round trip airport limo transfers per year. Your return flights must be booked via Centurion Travel. Any class of travel is acceptable.

The range limit is 40 miles and there’s a 48 hour notice period for bookings, although in practice this doesn’t seem to be strictly enforced. Those who live further away can still use the service but with fewer free trips (eg 4 x 80 miles per year instead of 8 x 40 miles).

You can see the airports serviced here. The service is provided by Blacklane.

Airport Fast Track

You can use Heathrow’s Fast Track security lanes simply by flashing your Amex Centurion card and a valid boarding pass. Both you and your supplementary card holder can take one guest each, so the benefit covers a family of four.

This service also operates at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.

Choose your own card design

Part of the Centurion refresh was the launch of several new ‘art cards’. You can either choose the standard plain metal card or one of two cards designed by architect Rem Koolhaas and artist Kehinde Wiley:

You can also opt into the Prada Centurion Wearable, a leather bracelet with an embedded chip for contactless payments. Feedback on this is mixed, to put it politely.

£1,000 cashback annually at Harvey Nichols and Clos19

Similarly to the Platinum Card, Amex has introduced regular cashback offers at Harvey Nichols and upmarket wine and champagne retailer Clos19.

£125 is available quarterly, per retailer, for a total of £1,000 per year. You need to opt-in to the cashback via Amex offers.

Events, restaurants and concert venues

Having a Centurion card also gets you access to a variety of American Express events and private suites.

For example, Amex is a sponsor of the National Theatre. In addition to the ticket access, Amex Centurion cardholders are invited to exclusive pre-show champagne receptions with cast and crew.

Other regular events include the London Film Festival, Harvey Nichols launches and more.

American Express also holds a suite at the O2 that is available for booking. This is similar to the suites held by other companies such as the Marriott Bonvoy suite.

Other benefits include Centurion Spa & Fitness (extra benefits at selected leading spas) and special privileges at the Bicester Village shopping centre.

Centurion cardholders also get improved access to top restaurants. This is supposed to include last-minute reservations but in practice is more likely to be improved tables etc.

Travel insurance

Like The Platinum Card, the UK Centurion Card comes with comprehensive insurance cover.

The policy is fundamentally the same as the Platinum travel insurance here (pdf), but it does have slightly higher payouts and covers you up to 80 vs 70 for Platinum.

For example, you receive £5,000,000 for necessary medical costs during your trip rather than £2,000,000 on the Platinum card. You can claim up to £12,500 for cancellation and postponement (up from £7,500) and up to £5,000 per trip from lost or stolen belongings (£2,000 on the Platinum card.)

Will I still have to pay foreign transaction fees?

Oddly, yes. You would think Amex would waive FX fees for a card with such a high annual fee and premium proposition, but it doesn’t. You still have to pay the 2.99% fee on all foreign transactions.

Is the UK Amex Centurion card worth it?

For the vast majority of people, spending £3,400 per year on a card fee may seem ludicrous. For some, however, it clearly makes sense.

The headline benefits of the black Amex Centurion card are likely not its biggest appeal.

The cardholders I spoke to valued access to exclusive events and experiences more highly than the published card benefits. That said, many complain that the events fill up quickly.

Unlike The Platinum Card, where a high-end traveller can relatively easily make a case for getting £650 of value from the card benefits – especially given the £300 annual dining credit – it is very difficult to justify £3,400 of value from The Centurion Card. This is especially true if you look at the difference between the Centurion and Platinum packages, which is not huge given the 6x fee differential.

The cardholders I spoke to also suggested that the customer service was a step above, with requests and queries simply sorted out rather than resorting to a scripted response. Things just get done. On the other hand, this Flyertalk thread contains numerous complaints from those who find the travel and concierge staff to be poor.

Here’s a January 2024 comment from the Flyertalk thread:

I joined in November and I’m already thinking of cancelling, to get as much of the annual fee back as possible. The joining fee is a painful write-off. I feel quite the fool for joining. The concierge has never come through with dinner reservations, the flights/holidays they’ve quoted have been much more than BA and I don’t need the card as a status symbol.

If you just want hotel and airline status there are likely easier (and cheaper) ways. Most people don’t need status with six hotel chains – a focus on achieving one via the ‘traditional’ avenue may actually be better. Equally, taking out The Platinum Card can be a cheaper way of achieving mid-tier status at a number of chains.

If the American Express Centurion Card still appeals, however, you should get yourself the Platinum version and start putting substantial sums of money through it …..

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