Question
Anyone have an idea which concierge service is better amongst the non-elite cards?
Citi PPE
Merril+
Visa Signature
Generic World Mastercard
Answer
In my experience, the Merrill+ and Visa Signature are better. Also, I find the Visa Signature concierge website helpful when researching a destination and it is the best integrated I have seen including the specials and discounts for Visa cardholders.
Answer
Anyone have an idea which concierge service is better amongst the non-elite cards?
Citi PPE
Merril+
Visa Signature
Generic World Mastercard
Merrill+ has done well on arranging entertainment activities, dinner, spas, etc. I have not tried the others.
Answer
merrill+3 ($50K/year spend) = best, possibly same as centurion card (circles) considering its free, you cannot come anywhere near that.
citi chairman card is not a concierge, they are a personal assistant. regular citi mastercards dont even act as a personal assistant, making them pretty worthless. (vipdesk PA and vipdesk)
citi amex cards have entre, and im not sure what concierge that uses..
Answer
I like the World Wlite over the Visa Signature, though both have trouble getting me a table on Friday night with 1hr. notice :D
I don't have a world card but does that use the same concierge services as the world elite?
Answer
merrill+3 ($50K/year spend) = best, possibly same as centurion card (circles) considering its free, you cannot come anywhere near that.
citi chairman card is not a concierge, they are a personal assistant. regular citi mastercards dont even act as a personal assistant, making them pretty worthless. (vipdesk PA and vipdesk)
citi amex cards have entre, and im not sure what concierge that uses..
Since I don't have a chairman, what's the difference between a PA and the normal vipdesk?
What types of things can the PA do that the normal vipdesk can't?
So far I've used the normal vipdesk to book me reservations and do research on an area that I was visiting for business.
Answer
vipdesk PA = "personal assistant"
"research on an area" like what kind of information did they give you?
and were they able to secure any quality reservations?
Answer
I had the AMEX PLAT and thought the concierge service was ok...nothing to write home about....
with Chairman's PA -- I love it...but I have no need for reservations at the last minute and trying to get in hot clubs....since I am not single and that phase of my life has passed...I do not think "hot clubs" allow 17 month old kids...;) ;)
I need a PA....someone to handle plane tickets, hotel bookings and so forth....
example: My wife and I are planning to go to Maldives in Jan 2008 and are staying at the Taj group of hotels. I used to be a SILVER card holder with them but it has been 3 yrs since I have used them. I told PA to call them and try to see if they will extend the status....mission accomplished...I am now again a SILVER member and will stay at their hotel in Maldives...and after this stay I will be GOLD
I could have called Taj directly in India, but that would have wasted a lot of my time....
Answer
with Chairman's PA -- I love it...but I have no need for reservations at the last minute and trying to get in hot clubs....since I am not single and that phase of my life has passed...I do not think "hot clubs" allow 17 month old kids...;) ;)
Loving it Anaggie. I would assume that there is little difference among the non-elite concierge services. I could be wrong, however. I have yet to use the Saks WEMC concierge service (nor do I have the number handy) but will try it out and report back with comarision to AMEX Centurion and Citi Chairman if anyone wants...
Answer
that comparison should be amusing :)
Answer
one must remember that as in all phases of life, one saying holds true -- "You get what you pay for"....
so in this regard, if your card if free, what type of service does it warrant? If one pays 75 and another pays 400, what service does that warrant?
PPE and Chairman use the same VIPDESK, but Chairman service is very different from PPE....trust me I know....I used to have PPE before Chairman....
Answer
one must remember that as in all phases of life, one saying holds true -- "You get what you pay for"....
so in this regard, if your card if free, what type of service does it warrant? If one pays 75 and another pays 400, what service does that warrant?
PPE and Chairman use the same VIPDESK, but Chairman service is very different from PPE....trust me I know....I used to have PPE before Chairman....
I'd love to pay the 400 for a chairman, but since the chairman isn't available I can't.
Answer
Loving it Anaggie. I would assume that there is little difference among the non-elite concierge services. I could be wrong, however. I have yet to use the Saks WEMC concierge service (nor do I have the number handy) but will try it out and report back with comarision to AMEX Centurion and Citi Chairman if anyone wants...
What is Saks WEMC?
Do you think its services would be of any greater value than the others here in New York City?
Answer
world elite mastercard = WEMC
Answer
Has anyone had really good or bad experience with the Merrill+ concierge? I am starting to use them for simple requests like Dinner reservations at restaurants and spas, but I have not had an opportunity to try anything complex. I wanted to use them for 3 Final Four tickets. The best that they could do was a block of 4 tickets. I used RazorGator instead.
If you respond, please indicate whether you are a +1, +2, or +3 (although Circles claims that the only difference is that +3 card members get a named concierge).
Answer
you're +3 right? how good were the seats they offered you? vs razorgator?
also, if you didnt see it, someone with both posted that +2 was definitely not as good as amex plat.
while we still dont know for sure how +3 compares to cent.
Answer
you're +3 right? how good were the seats they offered you? vs razorgator?
also, if you didnt see it, someone with both posted that +2 was definitely not as good as amex plat.
while we still dont know for sure how +3 compares to cent.
I am +2 after last year, but headed for +3 this year. If I find that Merrill can handle my needs, I may cancel my Chairman Card and/or downgrade my Fidelity AMEX Platinum to Gold. (I tend to waffle on this but I just paid $320 for AMEX, $400 for Chairman, and $80 for AMEX DL Platinum. The Diners bill is coming. I am grouchy for now...)
Regarding the tickets from Merrill, there were several issues:
1. Merrill had a more limited selection of seats than RazorGator. I did not want "great" seats for this event. Merrill only had great seats.
2. Merrill's price was slightly higher than RazorGator for comparable seats
3. Merrill offered tickets only in multiples of 2. I wanted 3 tickets. (In hindsight, I could have sold the extra ticket and used the proceeds to pay for the ones that I wanted. The price has gone from $300 to $1000 for the same seat at the finals.)
4. The only downside with RazorGator was that I had to pick the tickets up at a RazorGator ticket office. I would have preferred will-call type service or FedEx. However, I am not sure that was available from Merrill.
For some reason I did not try AMEX or Chairman for this request. I just went ahead with RazorGator.