Can we see the Harrods AMEX card maybe?
#4 Amex Centurion
Centurion never shies away from sending you stuff, so I have more emails from Centurion from all my other cards combined. I also got the UK Centurion card right before 2020 and in the middle of their modernisation drive. I had another ICC dollar Centurion before, but obviously, I didn’t bring the boxes with me when I moved to the UK.
All mails I’ve kept for the Centurion card stacked together and a “banana” for scale.
The original box of my UK GBP Centurion card. I recall both the main and the AC cards were on the left, and there was another empty slot presumably for another supplementary card.
The UK card was still titanium with raised card numbers when I first got my card. But it soon switched to contactless composite. The AC card also stopped being made of plastic and switched to the same new design. I requested my AC card to be replaced, and the replacement came with a card explaining the design change.
The first generation of contactless Centurion cards were still part titanium, and they had serious durability problems. They switched to stainless steel in 2022 when the relaunch was completed.
They first mailed out a letter explaining that the annual fees would go up together with a book introducing the new credit, UK airport chauffeurs, and the design option. The letter was personalised but the content were akin to regulatory disclosure.
Content of the UK version
The US version came with an extra book for the launch of Centurion living events, but the British version already had a series of events running. The UK events were run better than the global ones, so they are kept separate to this date. In the US, even hotspots like NY probably only get at most a fifth of events as London does (especially the free ones).
Then, Amex mailed out the second-gen contactless cards in mid-2022. Both existing and new cardholders all got a set of boxes. The photos of these boxes have been shared many times, and the design is universal except for the signature of the Amex executive. The concierge team definitely looked at people’s travel schedules before mailing out the boxes. I was on a trip at the time, so my supplementary cardholder got their new card in June, but mine only came a couple of days before I arrived back in London.
What people don’t often post about are the periodic events and travel catalogues, and the magazine. There is a quarterly events newsletter and they also send you about new hotel deals. These arrive in square black envelopes and will give you a heads-up about events before they are bookable.
The UK version of the magazine is still going strong, but I heard other countries have axed it. The style was also changed in 2022 so I don’t think they will get rid of them anytime soon.
Old design before 2022 and what I assume to be a failed attempt in early 2022 before settling with the current design
The magazine is obviously just a huge stack of ads - there were usually a few exclusive deals that required you to ring them and tell them you saw it in the magazine. I guess that’s a way of making sure people do not trash them immediately.
On top of the regular ads - there are also occasionally entire sponsored inserts. The most recent one was from Accor - Amex is changing the hotel programme for Centurion so I wouldn’t be surprised if Raffles entres the Centurion FHR officially.
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Sorry again raised card number + middle initials printed. I could stick 100 post-it notes on top I still have an irrational fear they can train an AI to guess what’s underneath.
Good idea!
Smart!
@Not With the AMEX Black I know you have to spend something like 250K on your platinum card to even be offered the chance to Apply but do you have to continue to spend 250K to keep the card?
Not even close - the most I’ve spent per year was low 100k. Most people get it via their private bankers and Amex credit/risk team would also refer people if they think you are a good fit after account review/enhance dd/manual limit adjustments.
They don’t make nearly as much on your spending as they do on travel (10-15% on three 15k trips per year adds up).
Nice to see a fellow AC holder on here, along with Coutts!
Did you take up the Prada wearable bracelet?
I was not to keen on the idea to say the least, so decided to solely use the card.
I presume you make use of the Centurion Events too?
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Reposting cos I needed to fix the photos
#2 Coutts Silk card
The left is for the card, and the right is for a contact card for the concierge (rest in peace) & travel insurance teams.
Under the cards are a few booklets for the concierge service and regulatory disclosures.
I am not sure if they made a mistake with the lining on the inside of the lid if they expect you to open top-to-bottom and never side-to-side.
Compared with the debit card, the packaging for Silk card was quite underwhelming. My card was originally their standard credit card, and when they decided to stop charging AF on Silk, all standard cards were upgraded. It may have had more impressive packaging when it had a fee.
Now Silk cards have bit the dust effectively as all features have been removed - I wonder if new cardholders will get even cheaper packaging. They did mail out the legal pamphlets when the old card expired, so I am not sure if that’s all you get as a new cardholder now.
They tried positioning the concierge as a premium travel agent and posted a snarky letter attacking Amex on FX fees and a list of hotels Ten had a deal with in 2019.
I suspected they hoped the cut of commissions from concierge hotel reservations could make the service profitable. The hotel collection was similar to Virtuoso but the rates were often inflexible. Ten’s staff training was poor. I remember trying out once and realising Ten doesn’t know how to play around with GDS to get the cheaper fares, so I never made a single booking with them.
Overall definitely not surprised they pulled the plug on it.
I found this on one of the pages where Ten claimed to have a Miami office - given their size, there might be half a dozen outsourced call centre staff, but there is hardly an office.
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Holt’s still the best in that pic
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Blu Tack or Chewing Gum?
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Hell of a lot of duplicates. Are you “losing” them and reordering for the sake of it?
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Bluetack
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Ah, but sometimes that envelope will come in a bigger envelope with the address printed in a fake handwriting font, with an actual stamp stuck to the envelope - a disguise that surely wouldn’t fool even the most naïve of crooked postie.
(Or is that just an East London thing?)
I love that you put blu tak over the details 
When does this become a addiction?
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Maybe one day 
.
The first rule about card addiction is not to mention card addiction
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and the point it becomes an addiiction is when you have to go to Ikea to buy a Billy Bookcase to put your cards on…
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