Centurion is now Titanium

[kito]

Hi Homer

The main card # remains the same with a new expiry.

I always get to the CSR in sydney and they seem very capable of handling acct enquires/issues etc and never been diverted to Mumbai for any recalled occassions. Do you always call the same 1800 #?

And they actually called you back to inform you the progress within 24hrs.

Clubs in HK are not that good as they sound but the private members box at the HK Jockey club would worth a visit if you there next time.

Mandarin Oriental free night per stay is a good buy and we were embarassed by the treatment received when we arrived in HK. They actually get 2 staff members to greet you at the arrival gate and swift you thru the crowd in a golf cart to the very front of the immigration, collected our bags and sent us in the waiting car to the hotel.

Sometimes nice treats after a 'hard days work' is definitely needed........

 

[kito]

For acct enq/serv, speak to Bradley: he is very attentive

Regards
Kito

 

[Amex]

I agree with Kito re the free night per stay at the Mandarin Oriental. This also works well in Singapore.

Rgds.

 

[Homer]

Thanks Kito

We have previously used the Mandarin Oriental free night/upgrades and found them very good.

I didn't mean to imply that my call went to Mumbai. It was answered in Sydney, just by someone without a really good grasp of English. My point was that for the fee, the customer service experience should be better than that. It wasn't just the accent of the rep (which really was terrible) it was also the attitude. I had to ask him three times to escalate my call. I have a saying - "I'd like to speak to someone with a last name" - which means that I don't want the virtually anonymous call centre rep with just a first name reading me a script from their intranet. I want someone who can empathise and puts his/her name on the line.

Anyway I'm over it now. I'll get my titanium Centurion card "upgrade" (which I heard about first here on AFF - not from AMEX) and see how I'm feeling come renewal time in December.

Cheers

Homer

 

[oz_mark]

You have both made comments regarding AMEX customer service. Today I was referred to variously as "Mr Simpson" or "Homer" (I don't care what people call me, but for $4,300 a year I want it to sound a bit better than an outsourced call centre); I've spoken to someone who barely spoke English and I've been told that there isn't a "client relations" team at Centurion - just that "our supervisors handle it". I've spent some time in the US and I don't for a second believe that American Centurion members would tolerate this sort of customer service. Now we get to pay a much higher membership rate - I hope American Express diverts some of those funds into their call centres.

Maybe they can use the Japanese call centre - located in that well known Japanese city called Sydney.

 

[Thudd]

My boss recently received his titanium card and showed it to me, and we also theorised about the airport scanners too - although generally the wallet goes into the tray and through the x-ray machine separate from the walk-through scanner. We also thought, what if you sharpened up the edges of the card? That would make a pretty decent cutting tool, perfect for holding at the throat of a hostage, wouldn't it?

 

[Homer]

I've had my card for a couple of months and as I don't put my wallet on the tray I can confirm that my card hasn't set off any airport scanners yet.

So far the only problem we've found is that some EFTPOS machines can't handle the card. My wife's card would not swipe through a machine that was slightly curved because the card does not bend as much as plastic cards. And last night, when I went to buy a six pack of beer to watch the mighty maroons defeat a hapless blues side my card was too thick to fit into the EFTPOS machine at my local bottle shop. I resorted to Visa. I might provide this feedback to AMEX at some point as they may be missing out on merchant fees on a larger scale....

 

[kito]

Few months of usage of this metal posed no problems so far but I will always present the plastic A.C. card if I sense the eftpos machine may be a bit 'curved' to take the metal version.

 

[Homer]

Good idea kito, except in my case I also requested a titanium a/c card so my only plastic card is a Visa...

It is my understanding that once your plastic a/c card expires they will send you a titanium a/c card if you don't request one sooner.

 

[kito]

Hi Homer
I understand that they will replace all the a.c. with metal ones by the current expiry but I recalled once I spoke to a CSR that they still have a plastic version if a member requests that unless they have changed their policy again:?:

Amex told me that one card member had her metal card stuck in a taxi eftpos for a good half an hour and god knows what she used to extract that out........while the meter still ticking.......

and for the fun part I weighed the metal on a electronic scale and read 14.9g compared to a 4g plastic card

still havent decided who to give the comp QC membership to mom or partner, how abt u?

Thx
Kito

 

[simongr]

I am sure you could ebay it - but given that you are a centurion holder a couple of hundred dollars on ebay may not be a major revenue enhancement

 

[Homer]

It makes sense that they would still have plastic cards available if you want them. Still I think I will keep my titanium a/c card for now. I don't carry it with me anyway - one titanium card adds enough weight to my wallet - I am thinking of using it for direct debits and just leaving it locked away in a safe place.

I signed my wife up for the complimentary QC membership. She might use it, but it would be rare. We almost always travel together. And even if she was travelling by herself my wife is just as likely to spend her pre-flight time browsing a bookshop or something instead of enjoying the QC.

 

[Amex]

I tried to use my titanium card in a cab a while ago and it wouldn't even fit. Must have used a fair amount of force to get one stuck in the machine. Easier to use eftpos or pay cash.

Gave the QC membership to my wife.

Rgds

 

[kito]

Wilson Carparks in Perth are installed with self-pay kiosks which require the insertion of the credit card into the machine and I am still using the plastic a.c for the payments: you never know when the machine decides to 'retain' your card esp. on a long weekend with no car park attandants floating around........:-|

Woolworths, Aust Post & BP pose no problems with the metal verison using their Eftpos machine.

Regards
Kito