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About the Author

Ellen Cannon is editorial director of CardRatings.com. She has covered personal finance for nearly 20 years at Bloomberg and at Bankrate.com, where she specialized in credit cards.

You probably think the holders of the very best credit cards, such as the American Express Centurion (the "black card"), are all celebrities. But that may not be the typical Centurion member. Perhaps a better example is Taysha Valez, the 29-year-old founder of myTAY PCS, a mobile phone and Internet company. Valez lives in Hawaii and New Jersey. We chatted with her  to find out how she uses the infamous credit card.

IN HER WORDS

EC: How did you get invited to be a Centurion member?

TV: The invite was the same [for business and personal]. You must be a current AmEx card holder and spend a minimum of $250K in one calendar year. In 1999 our [business] spending was well over $250K a month on the card. I have never personally had a Platinum AmEx card. So the myth that you must have a Platinum card in order to be invited is not true. I am not sure if that has changed since, but in my experience it's not true.

EC: Is this Centurion card related to business or personal use?

TV: Both. My first one was related to business use. I've had my own business since I was 15. At that time I was a cardholder on my parents' AmEx account. Then by 18 I had a personal Gold card, and I would send American Express a check covering my expenses at the beginning of the month so that they would raise my limit. I went from Gold to Black by 19.

My current card is Personal. Most of my expenses on my personal card are still associated with my business because my business and personal life overlap. Being the "Princess of Pricey" is a pricey gig. I personally pamper my clients, friends, and family without a write-off.

EC: Does having the card make you feel special or different? Do you feel part of an elite club?

TV: I feel different and special at the same time. And yes, I do feel a part of an elite club. It's a blessing to be able to afford to pay the dang bill every month! LOL All from my hard work, you know--do what I love to do, not what I have to do. So that's the club, that's where the specialness comes from.

Everyone I know who has the card is an entrepreneur. We all had a vision, went after it, took the risk, and delivered, and are handsomely rewarded for believing in ourselves and seeing our visions through to success. The Centurion card represents that. Hard work pays off. Anything is attainable. The card represents a limitless life. And I love that!

EC: Tell us about your business.

TV: myTAY PCS is beauty, tech and telecom. In a nutshell we handle everything that has to do with the Internet and mobile. myTAY.tv, myTAYISP, myTAY.com, myTAY.in, GildedGosSIP.com, myTAY.mobi and ShopMrCruz.com--we power about 30 different niche social recommender communities. We're family-owned and homegrown.

Our core client is 24-34, women, no children, and graduate school-educated. myTAY PCS is the only telecom that caters to activating and servicing high-fashion phones. Most of our clients are lovers of fashion and shopping. It's almost a sport for them, and we provide the services to keep them connected at all times. More than a few of our clients are Centurion card holders from around the globe.

EC: What is the most you've charged on the card in one month's time?

TV: The most was about $930K and it was for a home-decorating project that went way over budget. LOL But it was worth it. Gilded mirrors and antique washbowls and Swarovski crystal-lined whirlpool baths add up!

EC: Do you consider yourself wealthy?

TV: Yes, but not because of the card. Because wealth is an abundance of health, affording yourself options of all sorts, and having an abundance of love and joy in your life. So yes, I consider myself extremely wealthy and extremely blessed.

The BBC's David Sillito: "Her private life was something of a mess."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that a 27-year-old woman had died in Camden and that the cause of death was as yet unexplained.

London Ambulance Service said it had been called to the flat at 1554 BST and sent two vehicles but the woman died.

The troubled singer had a long battle with drink and drugs which overshadowed her recent musical career. She pulled out of a comeback tour last month.

Winehouse cancelled the European tour after being jeered at her first gig in Serbia, when she appeared too drunk to perform.

For 90 minutes, she mumbled through parts of songs and at times left the stage - leaving her band to fill in.

Daily Telegraph rock critic Neil McCormick said he was "utterly shocked" at her death.

He said she had appeared focused when giving an "incredible performance" for a recent studio recording of a duet with Tony Bennett.

"It's deeply sad. It's the most completely tragic waste of talent that I can remember," he added.

Winehouse made her last public appearance on Wednesday night when she joined her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield on stage at The Roundhouse in Camden.

The singer danced with Bromfield and encouraged the audience to buy her album in the impromptu appearance before leaving the stage.

At the time she pulled out of the tour, her spokesman had said everyone wanted to do everything to "help her return to her best".

The NFL Players Association and the league's owners have reached agreement on the remaining points needed in their 10-year labor deal, sources from both sides said.

Click the pic

Despite the fact the new agreement will require a majority vote from the players, that part of the deal between the two sides is considered a formality, according to sources.

The NFLPA is making plans for a major press conference Monday. But first the player reps' executive committee is scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C., on Sunday so they can vote Monday.

According to the NY Post, Tanya Williams, Jayson Williams' estranged wife, has taped three episodes of VH1's "Basketball Wives: LA." And though Tanya is in the middle of divorce proceedings with Jayson she told paper,

IN HER WORDS...

"I signed on to participate in the show to elevate the negative perception . . . that [it] is purposely filled with flighty, overly emotional and sense lessly dramatic women. Yes, my life is chaotic, dramatic and surreal, but I am also a businesswoman."

And if you thought Jennifer and Eric had a messy marriage, wait till you get a load of Tanya and Jayson. You may remember that Jayson was acquitted in the accidental shooting of his limo driver. And while all that mess was going on, he had series of negative press reports involving drinking, drugs and a suicide attempt.

He is currently behind bars after accepting a plea deal for trying to cover up the accidental death. But guess what.....he is up for parole next month when the show premieres.

From NY Post’s Page Six:

Which hip-hop artist drove up to his agent’s office in a $200,000 car, wearing a $50,000 wristwatch, to beg for money because he’s “dead broke” and needed $5,000 for child support? . . .

Since causing an uproar last week with “Uncle Otis”, Game is taking it a step further and releasing a new mixtape entitled, Condoms & Coronas. No date yet, but this would probably serve as an appetizer to The R.E.D. Album August 23rd.

IN HIS WORDS...

Game: I like to do my mixtapes like albums, put them in album format and make sure everything is sounding good from beginning to end, sorta put out a single with it. “Uncle Otis’ is the single off the Hoodmorning (no typo) Mixtape called, Condoms & Corona, I stole a page out of the Hangover and I woke up in East LA in a house full of Latinas and a house full of bad Mexican bitches. Wit condom rappers and Coronas everywhere.

AllHipHop.com: (laughs) That’s crazy man
Game: Yea, I’m crazy man, or at least I want people to think I am.