Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Centurion Card

[For when you get phat money.]
The Centurion Card, popularly known as the Black Card, is American Express's most exclusive charge card. Urban legends of a special, black-colored card offering dignitaries and celebrities unlimited spending power and after-hours access to high-end stores circulated in the 1980s. [1] While the rumors were false, American Express decided to capitalize on them by launching the Centurion Card in October 1999 to selected holders of The Platinum Card®, with an annual fee originally at $1,000.

The card is available only by invitation and, as of January 1, 2006, requires minimum annual spending of $250,000 on another American Express card and exceptional credit history among other requirements. Certain requirements have been known to be waived for major celebrities and business figures. "Charter" cardmembers that joined at the $1000/year annual fee are "grandfathered" at that rate as long as they hold the card. If they cancel and re-join, it will be at the higher rate. As of 2006 the annual new cardholder fee was $2,500 and it is estimated that there are fewer than 10,000 cards issued worldwide. The card offers numerous exclusive privileges, including complimentary companion airline tickets on trans-Atlantic flights, personal shoppers at retailers such as Escada, Gucci and Saks Fifth Avenue, access to airport clubs, first class flight upgrades, membership in Sony's Cierge personal shopping program, and dozens of other elite club memberships. Centurion membership also includes personal services including a personal concierge and travel agent. The program offers many hotel benefits, including a free one-night's stay in every Mandarin Oriental hotel worldwide (excluding the New York City property) once a year....

The card is available both as a personal and a business card. A new Centurion card crafted from anodized titanium [2] is being issued as a replacement for all U.S. Centurion plastic cards in the first half of 2006. Centurion members in other countries have previously received this titanium card....

Several rappers have referenced use and possession of the black card in their lyrics. For example, Kanye West's lyric, "She was like, 'Oh my God, is that a black card?' / I turned around and replied 'Why yes, but I prefer the term "African American Express"'", and Bow Wow's reference in the track "I Think They Like Me (Remix)" with the line "I ain't got to act hard / I'm under 21 with a black card"....

[More....]

7 comments:

Miguel said...

For anyone who is not eligible for the Centurion black card, I’d be willing to make a deal to list you as an additional cardholder. I’ve listed the terms of the deal here:

http://blackcardforum.com/index.php?topic=71.0

Basically I’m eligible for the Centurion Card (at least for the next month) and the deal is that you pay the setup and ongoing annual fees for both of us. And you promise to pay your bill on time. My email is mediasolutionschennai@gmail.com and my blog is http://foridic.blogspot.com.

No freaks or timewasters please!

Miguel said...

TRADE: I get you an Amex Centurion Card, You Pay Both Our Annual Fees

I still haven't found anyone trustworthy to do this deal with, so here goes again:

For anyone who is not eligible for the Centurion black card, I’d be willing to make a deal to list you as an additional cardholder. I’ve listed the terms of the deal here:

http://foridic.com/blackcard

Basically I’m eligible for the US-based Centurion Card and the deal is that you pay the setup and ongoing annual fees for both of us. And you promise to pay your bill on time. My email is mediasolutionschennai@gmail.com and my blog is http://foridic.blogspot.com.

No freaks or timewasters please!

Unknown said...

Centurion card is also known as black card. These card are very popular in America. They were mostly used by celebrities in 1980 for high level spending.
Plastic Card

Life is Beautiful said...

You can get a real Black American Express Centurion Card (aka Blamex, Black Amex) - If you really want a Black Amex (the real thing) and can afford it, email icurme @ gmail .com

Thomas said...

I can assure that none of these people can get you an american express black card lol. However, if you really want a high-end luxury credit card, you might try the Visa black card, which was intended to be modeled on the amex...

MDCF said...

Farhad,

Can you please remove all my comments above? You don't have your contact info on your profile page, so I'm hoping you'll read this...

Thanks!

Miguel

Ciaran Maguire said...

Good article, Free Samples Plastic Id Cards