Centurion Card
[7] In 1988, an article in The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported that an exclusive black American Express membership card that was never advertised had been discontinued a year earlier.
The article claimed that during a trial run that lasted almost four years, the card "was held by an ultra-select group of consumers who numbered fewer than 1,000 around the world.
Services included "dispatching limousines or helicopters for clients, booking their vacations and finding medical care in exotic places."
Doug Smith, the director of American Express in Europe, told the fact-checking website Snopes.com that there "had been rumors going around that we had this ultra-exclusive black card for elite customers.
The website lists unverified descriptions of cardholder requests, such as dispatching a motorcycle rider to the shores of the Dead Sea to retrieve a handful of sand and couriering it back to London for a child's school project.
Select media reports speculate an annual spending requirement of $500,000 to $1,000,000 on the Platinum Card to be considered for eligibility.
[12][3] In most countries where the card is issued, it is made of anodized titanium[3] with the information and numbers laser etched into the metal.
In some locations, such as Israel, EMV "chip" plastic cards, which also include the ExpressPay contactless payment technology, are issued.
[15][16][17] The card, available for personal and business use, offers services such as a dedicated concierge and travel agent; complimentary companion airline tickets on international flights on selected airlines with the purchase of a full-fare ticket; personal shoppers at retailers such as Gucci, Escada, and Saks Fifth Avenue; access to airport clubs; first-class flight upgrades; membership in Sony's Cierge personal shopping program and dozens of other elite club memberships.
[40] Singers including Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Bow Wow, Nelly Furtado, Lil Wayne, and Nickelback, among others, also mention black cards in their song lyrics but not a specific American Express product.
In Quantum of Solace, James Bond hands a Centurion card to a travel agent with a private jet chartering company to pay for a flight to Bolivia.
The payment is declined by MI6 as the intelligence service seeks to strip Bond of his duties and revokes his credit cards and passports.
[41] In two episodes of the HBO comedy-drama show Succession, Kendall and Siobhan Roy, heirs to a media fortune, use their Centurion cards at a bar and a coffee shop.
"[43] In Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode, Ryu reveals to the player character in a conversation that he has a black card given to him by Ken Masters, which holds money he's earned from winning tournaments, guest appearances, and solving local crises.
