EYE-CATCHERS: The United States and Europe are on different tracks—the railroad kind—with Amtrak’s Acelas, the nation’s only express trains (130 mph max on short stretches of track), in the shop for repairs while France’s bullet trains (186 mph tops) barrel along with the TGV Mediterranée stealing more than 60 percent of the 600-mile Paris-Marseilles market from domestic airlines, according to Rail Europe (1-888-382-7245, raileurope.com)…Surprising stats from the prestigious World Travel & Tourism Council, via its consultants, Oxford Economic Forecasting: Brazil and India provide more value for the tourist dollar than any other countries; the Caribbean is the world’s biggest, most concentrated vacation area, and the Top 10 fastest-growing tourist economies over the next decade will be (in this order): Montenegro, China, India, Reunion, Croatia, Sudan, Vietnam, Laos, the Czech Republic and Guadeloupe…If you have time to kill between appointments or plane connections in Hong Kong, check out the new extravaganza, the replica of Anaheim’s Disneyland opening September 12 near Hong Kong International Airport. In the theme park’s early stages the Disney imagineers considered Chinese/Asian fairy tales as possible attractions. (I keep thinking back to the time when I saw Japanese Buddhist children at the feet of a giant Santa Claus at Christmastime in Tokyo’s profitable Disneyland.) But those thoughts landed in the reject pile. Be prepared for Cantonese, Mandarin, and English spoken at Main Street, USA; Space Mountain; and Sleeping Beauty’s castle. While she gets a good night’s sleep, Disney execs are really eyeing construction of a second Chinese park that Beijing long ago preferred—a Disneyland in Shanghai, the red-hot international port city that’s making waves. 

CONCORDE II: The Concorde reborn? When the supersonic cigar died on takeoff at Charles de Gaulle—they tried to tie the Air France crash to a metal piece that fell onto the runway from a preceding Continental jet—it was like a wake for hi-tech flying. British Airways joined Air France in embalming the breakthrough jet as a museum showpiece. For Wall Streeters   commuting across the Pond, city dealmakers shuttling between London and New York, top French executives with investments in the United States, globe-trotting Japanese who love the latest technology—well, it was a bad, two-martini (or two-sake) day when deprived of their favorite form of transportation.

“The plane was a white elephant from the beginning,” an airline executive explained to me with an I-told-you-so sourness. “You can’t reverse history,” I snapped back. “So the Concorde was a commercial failure. Hmmm…so were some of the earliest automobiles. Look ahead, not back, and I guarantee you the aerospace wizards who like sexy as well as profitable planes will come through with a new and better Concorde. It makes as much sense today as it did when President Reagan talked up the idea of an Orient Express making the trip from New York to Tokyo in a couple of hours.” 

Profitability? Ah, yes, that’s an important ingredient. But who said the question of making money has stopped new developments through the ages? Have you noticed that almost all major American airlines fly through clouds of red ink? 

All of this is a walk-up to the good news out of the Paris Air Show that Japanese and French aerospace interests are designing a Concorde that—hopefully—makes economic sense. Few details are available from Japan’s Trade Ministry, but the project calls for a hypersonic jet that can carry up to three times as many passengers as the cramped 100-passenger Concorde and fly far faster than the 1,200-mph, needle-nosed whiz built in the 1970s. The promoters are talking about NY-Tokyo in six hours (now 12–13 hours).

How the French-Japanese team can do the necessary research on a three-year budget of only $1.8 million is a mystery, but they’re tackling engine noise and high fuel consumption, two problems that plagued the Concorde. (The current killer costs of jet fuel are a discouraging omen for the project’s success.) 

But getting the plane up to hypersonic (more than Mach 2) speeds may not be that difficult, considering the Japanese have already tested an engine that theoretically can reach Mach 5.5 or more than five times the speed of sound. In fact, the Japanese bring considerable savvy to the jet market partly because their “heavy industries”—Fuji, Kawasaki and Mitsubishi—are already major component suppliers to Boeing’s new fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner. Boeing, in turn, is likely to bid on production of the final plane.

But don’t bother scheduling the inaugural flight on your Blackberry: We’ll all be years into the next decade before Concorde II takes to the airways. Unfortunately.      

TARNISHED PLATINUM: In the good old days—I’m thinking of the early ‘80s—American Express made a big fuss over its new high-priced Platinum Card. Flash it at a concierge or maitre d’ and he knew you were a big spender. (One of the ad agency operatives present at Platinum’s birth told me it was invented for travelers suffering from “neurotic insecurity” who had the money to pay for a feel-good card.)  Was it $180 a pop for membership? Something like that.

Now, two decades later, Amex is romancing me with a three-page letter extolling Platinum benefits. Buried in four-point type before the signoff is the price: $395. What does that tell me? Inflation has hit the elite-card crowd. But what else has happened? Most of all, every known plastic issuer, from Visa to Plastic (I just created a new card), has slapped the name “platinum” on one of its cards. (“Visa Platinum is the ultimate symbol of recognition,” Visa International crows. “Enjoy the Platinum life.”) They’re “by invitation only,” designed with the swank look of a wedding invite. And the annual fees are negligible, typically $140 down to “free.” So now, with the Plat proliferation, concierges and maitre d’ yawn when you book a table or pay the bill with “platinum.”

Why even bother with the outrageously priced Amex original?       

Simple. You get your money back if…if…if you fly first class or business class to foreign destinations if…if…you take a companion (wife, girlfriend, husband, colleague) along. The companion flies free, and you can pull this off as many times as you like—you know, JFK-Heathrow, O’Hare-Hong Kong, DFW-Rio, flights like that. 

You can put most of the other Amex Plat benefits—like hotel and resort upgrades, visits backstage at the Met—in the paper shredder. If you have any moxie, you can wangle most of those ego-massagers on your own.

…SUPER-CENTURION: Did I forget to mention that because of the Plat watering down, Amex now has a by-invitation-only card with a $1,000 annual fee that’s super-exclusive, the Centurion. Secrecy surrounds this “black card,” introduced in 1999. But my spies tell me that Amex solicits Centurions by picking off card users who spend minimally $100,000 a year and $8,000 to $10,000 a month and pay all bills on time. And Amex is not alone in this plot to keep card members on a spending splurge—several subsidiaries of the Royal Bank of Scotland are offering similar cards.

Let’s see how one “reviewer” rates the Centurion’s worth (letter edited):

“It depends on your lifestyle and how much luxury and special service you want. Would you like a personal travel counselor to handle all your travel needs and your own concierge to cater to your own special whims? No problem for Centurions.

“Just pick up the phone, day or night. It could be for anything from finding certain foods abroad or a doctor or even a lawyer, heaven forbid. Centurion to the rescue. (I’ve actually used their doctor service in Paris. They provide a choice of several. The doctor will speak English, if that’s the language you need.)

“How about private shopping hours at Saks? That can be arranged. At Neiman Marcus you can have a free consultation for restyling your precious jewelry.

“If you’re traveling, there are many comp upgrades to elite status available—for example, confirmed room upgrades at the Ritz-Carlton and at certain Four Seasons, as well as at more than 330 other fine (expensive) hotels, spas and resorts. Room upgrades and other benefits are also available at Starwood, Hilton, Hyatt and InterContinental. There are comp upgrades, dedicated check-in, priority boarding, and extra mileage earnings at Continental, Delta and USAirways, plus comp access to some airport clubs.

“Another perk is that a complimentary international cell phone will be delivered to you when traveling in a foreign country.  And the only charge will be the cost of your calls.

“There’s a 50 percent point bonus on all charges made with your Centurion Card at a number of Centurion partners. Altogether, the free room and flight upgrades and bonus points in the Membership Rewards Program can easily be worth more than the annual Centurion Card fee.

“How do you acquire a Centurion card? Apply for an Amex Platinum card, if you don’t already have one. Then use it frequently, especially for any travel that you book and for any expensive purchases. Above all, pay your bills promptly. Then be patient. Don’t call them. They’ll call you. Don’t worry. If you’re offered a Centurion Card, it means you can afford it.”       

I can’t. I’m outside the luxury loop. I need Neiman’s to restyle my financial portfolio so I can pay off my three credit cards from last month.