Liu Yigian, a Chinese billionaire paid $36 million dollars in April 2014 for a rare Ming dynasty porcelain cup that had chickens on it. What’s even more fascinating is that he put the purchase on his American Express Centurion Card, also known as the “Black Card”, and received a special reward for doing so.

Yigian and his wife, Wang Wei, were avid art collectors, and as of 2012, had used a reported $217 million to amass an impressive art collection. In April 2014, Yigian took things a step further when he purchased the rare “Chicken Cup” at a Sotheby’s Auction in Hong Kong. The cup is 500 years old and is one of only seventeen in existence in the world today. Yigian had to use his American Express Centurion Card, informally known as the “Black Card”. The card is an invitation only card issued by American Express for platinum members who meet certain criteria, such as being extremely wealthy. Yigian had to use the card because only $50,000 is allowed to be moved out of the country. He had to sign twenty-four credit card transaction slips since there is a maximum limit on each allowable transaction.

But what is more interesting is that Yigian, for using the card, received points from American Express on each transaction. He received 422,860,000 reward points for purchasing the cup. Yigian also managed to produce some controversy when he decided to drink tea out of the cup, as if paying $36 million for a cup wasn’t enough.



At the time, what kind of things could Yigian have gotten for his purchase of the chicken cup?

James R Moder Maria Theresa Chandelier

Points: 17,387,600 Cost: $86,938.00

VRX iMotion Z 55 Racing Simulator

Points: 12,300,000 Cost: $61,500

Or if he was in the mood for multiple items to give as gifts: