Amex Black Card Slows Down Bullet, May Have Saved Man’s Life

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I’ve been skeptical of the recent trend towards metal credit cards. When the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card first came out without raised numbers and the card numbers printed on the back made out of a heavier card stock than we were used to seeing it was downright sexy.

‘Real metal’ cards like the JP Morgan Palladium were cool 4 and 5 years ago for sure.

But now that everyone is doing metal (I think the best looking broadly available metal card is the Platinum Card by American Express) it’s no longer quite as exclusive.

As a result I’ve questioned the value in the additional expense. I’d rather see the few extra bucks per card go into benefits rather than bling. (In fairness Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Platinum Card by American Express are no slouches there either.)

However the chilling story of an assassination attempt on a Canadian CEO may have just made me a convert to metal credit cards.

Police have released chilling new photos from the scene of a targeted attack against a prominent Calgary estate developer who was ambushed and shot outside his Mount Royal home last December.

Riaz Mamdani, chief executive and founder of the Strategic Group, was on his way to a board meeting on the morning of Dec. 19, 2016, when he was confronted by a gunman who fired six rounds into his Rolls-Royce.

The man’s windshield was “pierced by bullets” and guess what they hit? His Amex Black Card.


Credit: Calgary Police Service

Riaz Mamdani recovered from his wounds. CanuckFlyHigh asks, “Did a Centurion metal card save this Canadian CEO’s life? … One must wonder if it slowed the bullet down just enough to save him?”

American Express doesn’t say much about the details of the American Express Centurion (“Black”) Card). That’s probably a good thing, or else they’d have to be asking themselves whether to update the benefits page in light of this incident.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.

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Comments

  1. While you may be guilty of occasional clickbait, pomposity, and verbosity, I don’t think you need to worry about acquiring metal cards for added protection.

  2. Where was the card when it stopped the bullet? My cards are in my wallet in my back pocket, so while it is possible to get killed by a bullet to the buttock, it’s probably not that likely.

  3. @Mike D I keep my wallet in my left breast pocket when wearing a jacket, which is probably what this guy was doing. That being said, if someone starts shooting at me, I’m more likely to get shot in the ass running away!

  4. The question to ask is how many AU black cards can one get? To make a vest out of them of course.

  5. American Express Centurion Card Benefits:
    – lounge access
    – Delta Platinum
    – Hilton Diamond
    – no foreign transaction fees
    – occasionally stops bullets

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