If you have never heard of the or the Centurion card as it is often called maybe it is because this card is exclusively for those who meet the strictest of standards set by American Express. This is an exclusive credit card for those who have an income and credit rating unlike most of the country.

The Centurion Card is offered through an invitation sent from the American Express to cardholders who met certain criteria according to the strictest standards. The introductory credit card charge before was $1000, now the cardholders are required to pay $2500 annual charges and $5000 initial fee. This card is really meant for individuals who are financially capable of paying the charges and fees.

The black credit card started from a legend which states that American Express issued the black credit card to its cardholders; most of them are celebrities and well-off personalities, allowing them to avail high class products and services from high class establishments. The fact behind this rumor was the information card issued by the American Express to cardholders containing important American Express Travel numbers and hotel assistant services numbers.

When the Centurion credit card was first heard of there were a number of rumors that surfaced about the mysterious black credit card. One was that if you had one of these types of cards you could buy anything you wanted to buy. There never was actually anyone who had this card but they had friends who had seen someone using one of them.

American Express used the rumors that had circulated about the black card that was so special to start the Centurion card in the fall of 1999. This card was only available to those who had the Platinum card and instead of being made of plastic; this card was made of metal.

American Express sends invitations to qualified cardholders. Once the cardholder is qualified to have met the criteria, he will then be invited to avail the Centurion card. For cardholders located in different countries, they can also be qualified as applicants by the American Express through sending the invitation. The Platinum card will serve as the exclusive "invitation only" Centurion Card that is electronically linked to the American Express.

Because of its expensive charges, from its introductory annual charge of $1000, it has now been raised to $2500, only those who are rich and financially powerful individuals and celebrities are qualified to avail it. Among the first recipients of the Centurion Card was Jerry Seinfeld, a comedian and a former spokesperson of the American Express.

Centurion Card became famous around the business industry because of the urban legends in circulation. The rumors about the black credit card continue to circulate to all people concerned. Although the rumor was not true, new rumors and tales would still come up. This will make the Centurion Card more controversial and the promotion would generate more applicants as well.