American Express Cards: A Special Offer for HNWIs that Open an Account in Switzerland

HNWIs are treated by the banks in a special way: they do not generate a lot of profit for the financial institution but create considerable reputational advantages. This is the main reason why banks offer customized cooperation terms to such customers, and the bonuses focused on the HNWI segment will also be interesting for ordinary people.

Special Centurion American Express cards (Black cards) can be obtained if you open a personal account in Switzerland. Financial analysts say that this is an exclusive service, and it is really hard to get an Amex Centurion Card. If you decide to obtain it on your own, you will need a special invitation from American Express. The list of requirements set by the issuer company (that takes 63^rd place in the Forbes Global 2000 rating in 2023) is not publicly available. Compliance criteria include not only financial solvency but also an informal level of the potential customer’s attractiveness to the company, so rejections are not that rare.

The Centurion American Express (Black) card provides a lot of benefits and advantages that are of interest to wealthy people. However, the customers of the financial institution rarely receive a special invitation. In this case, you can choose a Platinum, Gold, Blue, or Standard AmEx card. However, they are considerably inferior to Centurion by a number of criteria.

Are there any guaranteed ways to obtain the Black card? Formally, they do not exist as the American Express does not provide any alternative channels of obtaining the Centurion card. However, this opportunity still exists (and it is 100% legal, with no grey schemes involved), and it is provided by some Swiss banks.

Main advantages:

• you will get your American Express Centurion card in a matter of several weeks
• you don’t need to wait for a special invitation letter
• there are no credit history requirements
• you don’t need to provide a history of income/expenses for 12 months
• you are not required to prove a minimum income (you are typically required to get at least 1 million euros, US dollars, or Swiss francs a year).

Obtaining an elite AmEx Black card through opening an account in Switzerland follows a simplified procedure. The customer’s verification is mandatory, but you can prepare for it in advance. If you work with our expert, you will have no problem collecting the required package of documents. We took into account the requirements of potential customers, so obtaining a card is not connected with any hassle or delays for us.

Potential AmEx Centurion Holders

Those who do not belong to the HNWI category often think that the elite AmEx Centurion cards do not give any real benefits to their owners, and this opinion is more or less true on the level of everyday life. However, if we recollect that an AmEx Black card is an offer targeted at the most demanding customers, it becomes clear that the services of such a high class are very popular.

Typical examples include participation in an auction, buying an expensive car/yacht, replenishment of a personal collection of paintings, or economic citizenship programs. All these situations have one thing in common: the amount written off your bank card is considerable as you cannot make such transactions using cash.

If the transaction is paid by bank transfer, problems arise as well. Ordinary cards set payment/transfer limits you cannot circumvent. Therefore, if you have to pay an amount that exceeds the limit set by the issuer, you will not be able to sort it out quickly.

Similar problems arise on the seller’s part. For example, the auction house Sotheby’s imposed a 1.6 million US dollar limit on payments by bank card, and many of its lots are much more expensive. If you have an AmEx Centurion card, there are legal ways to circumvent the limit (preliminary card registration and verification). If the buyer has an ordinary card, there are technical difficulties that you often cannot overcome conveniently, and there are a lot of such examples.

The unofficial statistics of large auctions (Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Dorotheum, MacDougall’s) says that the majority of purchases are paid for by transfer. But if the customer prefers a bank card, it will be in most cases an American Express Centurion (Black) card or a similar card.

Bank Support

Financial companies that issue elite credit cards do not cooperate with all potential customers – therefore, it will not be very easy to open a bank account in 2023. However, if we are talking about HNWIs, we see an absolutely different approach, and this is the reason why wealthy people take advantage of numerous benefits and privileges, inaccessible (and often unnecessary) to other customers, free of charge.

Advantages for Customers

The owners of AmEx Centurion cards are accomplished people who do not need to prove anything to their friends, partners, or customers. As a result, they are not interested in standard loyalty programs offered by large banks or financial structures. With that in mind, American Express has elaborated an expanded incentive program for Centurion card owners.

What AmEx Centurion card owners get:

• 1 Membership Rewards point per each US dollar spent
• A special status in leading hotels (HG Platinum Elite, Hilton Honors Diamond and Marriott Bonvoy Gold)
• An elite status in Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion program (priority registration, best service class on the plane, best conditions in the waiting hall, access to the Global Lounge Collection, etc.)
• Hertz Platinum status/membership in Avis club (the highest customer status in car rental companies)
• Membership in Equinox gym
• 24/7 concierge service

American Express employees say under non-disclosure terms that the customers may have different requirements. If the request is not connected with breaching the laws, it will be treated seriously, and the cases of forced (!) refusal are rare and are usually connected with technical reasons. For example, there were cases when AmEx customers requested the company to get invitations to the US President’s inauguration ceremony or arrange a dinner with famous or influential persons. And the customers got what they wanted!

What Does American Express Get?

It is not a good practice to count the income of others, but it would be interesting to understand what motivates a serious financial company. The answer is evident: it earns its profits on wealthy people, and this is proved by official sources. An ordinary person will find it too much to pay 7,500 US dollars when the card is opened and 2,500 US dollars as annual maintenance fee. However, the target audience (HNWIs) will not consider such rates exorbitant, and American Express will agree with them.

Therefore, we have a more plausible hypothesis: elite products (and AmEx Centurion is one of them) is useful for customers and profitable for the company in terms of its influence in the international financial world. The factor of prestige is more important than income or good reporting indicators. So, American Express tries to satisfy the customers’ requests if they hold an AmEx Centurion card, and this is quite logical and understandable.

Opening a Personal Account with a Swiss Bank

The citizens of the USA, EU countries, and solid Asian jurisdictions will not face any difficulty opening an account. But if we recollect that the banking sector has been living in accordance with transparency and deoffshorization laws for 10-15 years, unexpected barriers may arise. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you take advantage of expert assistance if you need results.

Basic requirements/conditions:

• age — at least 18 years
• Swiss banks unwillingly work with the residents of some countries (international sanctions, black lists)
• Clean criminal record

Basic package of documents:

• civil/international airport
• a source of income confirmed by documents
• physical address of permanent residence confirmed by documents

Factors to be considered when you open a personal account (not only in American Express but also in any bank/neobank/payment system of Switzerland):

• a possibility of incoming/outgoing transfers to a particular country
• a possibility to obtain a debit card
• online banking 
• credit limits
• the basic rates charged by the bank
• additional services
• minimum balance requirements.

Swiss banks that work with foreigners:

• Cantonal banks. These are owned by the state, and non-residents can open an account here though it will not be easy.
• Retail banks. This is a good option for foreigners.
• International banks. These are focused on non-residents. There are branches in other countries, and all employees speak English.
• Investment banks. If asset diversification and/or protection is your priority, consider these banks first of all. These financial institutions are in most cases focused on wealthy customers and HNWIs, and their services are aimed at this category.

Swiss banks that are best suited for non-residents:

• PostFinance
• Migros Bank
• UBS Group
• Valiant

Swiss Banks and Customer Confidentiality

Potential customers often ask us whether their anonymity is guaranteed when they open an account with a Swiss bank. Can you get an account and an American Express Centurion card while remaining invisible for the tax service? Unfortunately, it is impossible. We cannot speak about guaranteed confidentiality in 2023 when transparency is a prerequisite for the functioning of any bank.

However, it does not mean that the bank will make your personal data available to the public: the information about your financial affairs will remain private unless the institution receives a duly executed legal request. The only exception is made for US citizens/tax residents.

FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) instructs US tax residents and the banks that open accounts for them to transfer the financial information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The information that will be transmitted:

• Full name of the account holder
• Bank name/address
• Account number
• Account type
• Maximum account value per year

Therefore, US citizens should take into account all factors if they opt for a Swiss bank, and we cannot say that this is a universal option.

See you at a personal meeting!