Transcription
Welcome back to the Channel Friends. This week we're going to unpack one of the videos I did almost a year ago today, where we talked about the American Express black card, the Centurion card. And while I get more messages privately on this than any other video we've ever done, I can tell you there's a lot I've learned in the past year of having the card, and I'm about to share with you all here. Like, subscribe, share with your friends. And if you have any questions, as always, you can always DM me.
Making this video is not without its controversy for me, because what it's going to do is it's going to encourage a lot of people like you out there to ask me questions. And I'll leave the questions that I get asked, which sometimes are funny, and sometimes they're sad, and sometimes they're normal questions, for the end of the video. What I will tell you now is, is that my stance on having the American Express black card, the Centurion card, has changed dramatically over the last couple of years.
For those of you who don't recall, I made a video about two, two and a half years ago where I said that the value in this integration card wasn't actually real value at all. As a matter of fact, I said the Platinum Card, with an approximate just under $800 annual fee, gave you essentially the same concierge and the same benefits. I then later on, about a year after that, decided, you know what, I'm going to accept the invite to the American Express black card. And the reason why was that there were some economics that had changed for me where I thought that it made more sense, but I was still very hesitant. Is it worth the $10,000 per card and the $5,000 annual fee initially up front, and then every year after that? Was it worth it? I wasn't sure.
So what really turned my corner was, is that I'm an Equinox member. My wife's an Equinox member. So for $300 a month, I get credited for the Equinox membership. That's $3,600 I would be spending anyway for a membership to that gym that I was already going to, that the American Express black card is going to cover in its entirety. So that ate up the majority of that $5,000 a year fee. Plus, there's also a credit for $280 every quarter to Saks, which they'll credit you back. And that doesn't even begin to touch all the travel perks and benefits that you get with the card. So in my mind, for the $3,600 bucks and the $1,000 in credits alone, at $4,900, it was covering all but $400 of that initial and annual fee. Right. So it's $5,000 every single year, including the first year, and then a $10,000 initial membership fee for $15,000 up front, and then $5,000 every year after that. But I can't make sense of the $10,000. It's never going to be something you can look at and say, you know, this makes sense. And if it's not a business card, it's not technically a tax write-off. That's the decision you have to make for yourself.
My wife and I made the decision to do it. But I went into it with the hesitation, and the hesitation was, are there really benefits above and beyond the Platinum Card that really make this a value add to my life? And my first year of having the card, it started off somewhat rocky. I didn't really experiment with playing with the card or getting to know the perks of travel and all those things, because I figured I knew them from having the Platinum Card, and that was my critical first mistake.
What I can tell you is, in order to use the black card, you really have to understand the underlying benefits that they give to you. And you have to be able and willing to travel, and you have to be willing to use American Express Concierge to get those travel benefits. Because a lot of these benefits are not going to be awarded to you if you don't actually book through American Express.
So let me give you a great example of some of the things that we've learned. When we go to Las Vegas, it's not uncommon now for my wife and I to book a baseline regular room on a non-crowded weekend because we're going to get automatically upgraded to a nicer room as a black card member. On top of that, we'll get a 4:00 PM late checkout. We'll get a $100 credit to use anywhere in the resort. Typically for my wife and I, it's room service while we're there, and it covers all the costs. There's a lot of little things like that that start to add up over time that can be immensely valuable when you think about how often you travel in the year.
If you're not a travel person, and you don't go on flights a lot, or you don't go to locations, I would say if you don't have an Equinox gym membership, or you're not somewhere where that's going to be a huge value for you, then I don't know that you're going to make a ton of sense out of the card. Which is the number one thing that I ask back to people when they ask me whether they should get it or not. Well, should you get a card that's meant for travel and luxury if you don't travel or spend on luxuries? And the answer is no, you really shouldn't.
And if you are spending a lot of money on your Platinum Card and you're wondering why I haven't got the invite, it's probably because you're not doing the things that the card was built for. So their algorithm isn't going to pick you up as somebody who's going to get a tremendous amount of use out of it. A lot of people want it for the prestige, the image, the walking in and saying, "Hey, I've got a black card," and, "Oh, wow, this person and that person is so impressed." Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you. To date, not a single person has ever looked at my card and ever said anything to me. I've never felt like I was treated any different other than the experiences I get as part of the perks of the card. But if you think you're going to walk in someplace and get an instant level of respect or notoriety by pulling out a credit card, here's the sad reality for you. Most things you pay for with Apple Pay these days, or are you sliding your own card behind a register and pull it out? Or if you go to a restaurant, a lot of restaurants these days are going to wind up walking up to you with a machine, and you're going to pop it in yourself. So don't think that there's some windfall of impressed notoriety you're going to put on people because it just isn't there.
Now, if you're doing it because, "I want a better travel experience," well, you get a lot of that with the American Express black card. Not the least of which, the private terminal at LAX. One of the things my wife and I were able to do is we were able to get a free membership to the private terminal at LAX, about a $5,000, a little less value. We went to the private terminal because we booked a first-class flight through American Express. And guess what? Now, driven on the tarmac up to the plane and escorted onto the plane, so we never actually have to set foot in a traditional airport. The day we were there, Post Malone was there, and Mandy Moore was shortly after us. So there was definitely a lot of people of notable status who were there.
And the black card may give you some access to that, but this is access you already have. You just are you willing to pay $5,000 for it? And obviously, in this case, $4,000 for the room. If you wanted a private room, and most people with the answer would be no. Well, that's actually a perk covered by the card. And when you start to think about these layers of luxury and travel that you get to experience, and the cost you would otherwise pay, that $5,000 a year fee isn't so crazy when you think about it in the context of all your other spending. If I get already $4,600 between the gym and the Saks credit, and now I got a $4,800 membership to the private terminal, and they covered my first time I went there at about, I don't know, $3,000 or $4,000, considering I didn't pay it, I don't really know for sure. You can see that I've more than doubled that initiation fee and that annual membership already on the first year of $15,000, and then every year after that is only $5,000. So the perks and benefits are actually very, very good for somebody who wants that extra level of comfort while you're traveling. But if you're not traveling, not so good.
Now, some repeated questions that I get all the time, and these myths that are out there. "Hey, Chris, I spend $1,000,000 a year on my Amex black card. Why haven't I got the invite?" Well, I'll tell you right now, unless you spent over, let's say, about $350 to $500,000 a year, every single year for three years consistently, they're not going to invite you. You need to make sure you update your net worth and your income in the American Express app. And you can actually apply at the Centurion website to be considered for the card. But if you don't meet those prior requirements of spending that amount of money consistently for three years, they're not going to consider you. And even then, from my understanding, there's about 30,000 on average black card holders across the world at any given time. And you can imagine that's not a lot of people relative to the entire amount of society.
I am understanding that there's different requirements for the business card, which I do not have. I think the spend is well north of $3 million a year in the business cards in order to be considered for the black card. But do not quote me. Do not reach out to me and ask if I can put you in contact with somebody that can do this for you. No, if you do not meet those requirements, they will not consider you. I'm sure celebrities might have some level of exception, but I am not a celebrity. I don't know of anybody who can or will do that.
Another thing people will say, "Well, can you add me as an authorized user onto your account? I'll pay you $50,000 for that." No, I'm not going to put your credit and your spending on my American Express black card account so you can walk around with an American Express black card and feel good about yourself. You should have a pride of ownership and that you accomplished this in your life and you received an invite. And I didn't really truly understand that until I ran into another black card member in the Centurion Lounge in Dallas. And when I asked him why he accepted his invite, because he seemed to be a really frugal guy, he looked at me and said, "Chris, I don't wear a Rolex. I don't dress in fancy, high-end clothes. I don't consider myself to be a flashy person at all. Largely because I think a lot of those things can be faked. But this," and he pulled his black card out and he held it up, and he said, "But this, Chris, this cannot be faked. This is one of those things where you just have to do it. You have to earn it, and you have to get the invite. And I don't care if you're a celebrity or not. If you don't do those things, you're not going to get the card."
And to his point, I think there's probably some truth in that. But the problem is, is that only makes him feel better about doing it. It makes me feel better about doing it, but it really enriches our travel experience. Now, if you're going to say, "Well, Chris, I want to do this because I want to network with some high-end individuals and I want to be able to, you know, buddy buddy up with them and increase my business and my opportunities." I would say you're in it for the wrong reasons, and it's probably not the card for you. You can get a Platinum Card and go to many of the same destinations. But if you are traveling and you do want that extra layer of service, if you go to Equinox, it makes a ton of sense.
And towards the end of the year, my first year of having the card, I can tell you without a question of a doubt, my wife and I do not regret getting the card. We only regret not diving into the perks and truly understanding their value sooner. Another last side note. For those of you who are excited to get the card, they don't actually cancel your old card. Many people will now take their former Platinum Card and they'll downgrade it to a Gold Card, which gives you better perks. We actually just kept the Platinum Card for about a year, and then we canceled it because we don't have the extra need for an extra card, even though it will ding your credit score a tiny bit closing a trade line. We thought that was better for us to just have the one card each. My wife and I both have black cards.
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. There's a lot of myths out there, and there's a lot of confusion as it relates to the card. It's not an impressive thing for your friends who never see the card and don't get a benefit. It doesn't mean you're worth a lot. It just means you spend a lot. But if you're spending a lot on travel, it may be the card for you.