Anyone pay a CC annual fee willingly because of a benefit?

[scbelleatheart]

Yes, the Amex Plat is a great card too with about 80% of the benefits you get from the Black for about 25% of the annual fee. I upgraded from a Plat that I've had for several years and it was my go-to card for most purchases.

Incidentally, the Priority Pass membership you get with the Centurion is different than the Plat in that it allows for free admission of guests too, and the concierge (Centurion Concierge) is different. The Avis membership you get with Plat is Avis Preferred while with Black you get Avis President's. There are also quite a few more smaller but nice benefits you get with Black that you don't get with Plat.

Amex is really secretive about what their criteria is for who gets a Black invitation. It used to be a minimum spend of $250,000/year but rumors are that minimum has recently increased to $500,000.

We both have cards so no need for the guest with Priority Pass. I would love to know the criteria but I still wouldn't get Black. We should qualify sometime soon. We use the Plat for all travel and we order all our business supplies on it. Around $50,000 a month in sheet metal and shipping to job sites alone. Just with Membeship Rewards alone I can plan several free vacations for ourselves and adult kids.

 

[Interpol]

We both have cards so no need for the guest with Priority Pass. I would love to know the criteria but I still wouldn't get Black. We should qualify sometime soon. We use the Plat for all travel and we order all our business supplies on it. Around $50,000 a month in sheet metal and shipping to job sites alone. Just with Membeship Rewards alone I can plan several free vacations for ourselves and adult kids.

Membership Rewards points are the bomb. I love being able to transfer MR points to frequent flyer miles 1:1 or better for a bunch of airlines or hotels.

Getting an invite is really hit or miss. I know people with annual spends on their Amex Platnium cards of $750,000 in personal and business expenses and they haven't been extended an invitation yet. My average annual spend over 3 years was about half of that amount. I would really love to see the algorithm they use to generate invites.

If you really want to see something crazy, check out copies of Bernie Madoff's Amex statements here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15027931/Bernies-Credit-Card-Statements

The guy, with family and associates, spent upwards of $169,000/month on his Amex Platinum. $441 at a bagel shop??