Spotlight On A Reader - Chris
This week’s spotlight is on another young cardholder, Chris. Chris was one of the first readers to send in pictures of his black card earlier and most graciously agreed to be profiled on the site.
What is your name: Christopher Hall
How old are you: 26
Where are you from: Denver, CO
Where do you live now: Parker, CO
Describe what you do for a living and how long you’ve done it: I am the Chief Operating Officer of a medium sized telecommunications company called Vitelity outside of Denver, CO. I oversee the day to day operations, develop scalable network planning, and help manage the nearly billion telephone calls that our company handles.
How long have you been a Centurion card member: Nearly a year.
Are you happy with the card, if so what are your favorite aspects: Yes. Automatic first class on many airlines and guaranteed seating nearly anywhere good are my favorite features.
Roughly, how much do you spend per month/year: On average, $100k per month.
Have you ever been treated differently because you have it: One time a waiter took the card from me, took about four steps, turned back around and asked, “omg is this what I think it is”. Then he left with the card and showed some of his co-workers who were pointing and starring at us. Reactions have varied from “wow why is this so heavy” to “how do you get one of these, are you a celebrity”. Once I was at a family dinner with about fifteen people and I decided to pick up the whole tab quietly; the waitress decided to make a big deal about the card, and that wasn’t fun. The next day I purchased a platinum card to use when the black can be annoying.
Do you ever use it to buy small stuff just to show it off, be honest: When I first had the card I used it everywhere for everything. Everything from $5 at the store to $600 dinners.
What is the largest ticket item you have purchased with it: $45,000 on a telecommunications-related expense.
What is your most expensive month if you remember: About $130,000.
Have you used the concierge service, if so what for, and have you used it for anything ridiculous: On occasion when I’m standing in line at a popular restaurant I will call concierge to get seated without waiting. Getting car service is also very fast and easy as they take care of everything.
The attention of the Black card was funny at first but can be embarrassing especially with family, close friends, or important business people. I suggest keeping the platinum card. I find myself using the platinum more often now.
The card is worth it for anyone who travels a lot, as the travel features are the best part, or for anyone who prefers a lot of attention, because you will get the attention nearly everywhere you use it.
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Comments
Everyone has different spending habits. I’ve done between ~45k-65k a month consistently on my plum card for the last 6 months because the stuff I’m buying has a monthly payment and it isn’t changing much.
I’ve written an “article on the black card”, which uses (and cites) this blog. Anyone reading this who’s interested in the Centurion, please have a look at the article and post feedback. With so much info about it shrouded in secrecy, I want to make sure it’s accurate!
Andrew, I read through your page on Mahalo and there is some factually incorrect info. You don’t necessarily have to be a platinum holder. While I think most go from Platinum to Black, I do know of people who went from Gold to Black. It is really about meeting the 250k spending minimum and having been an amex member for a year or more.
I have a Platinum myself, and I can’t help but wondering… For Chris, an average month is around $100K and the most expensive month is $130K…? The spending habit seems to be too “average”. No exeptional spenditure? No exeptional item bought on a normal $100K month? My average month is maybe $5K with my most expensive month at roughly $85K, the difference is farely big.