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When staying at a luxury hotel or using a premium credit card, you can access included concierge services, often marketed as being able to help with “anything.” In practice, that has limits, so let’s break down what they actually do and when they’re useful.
What Is a Concierge, Really?
Concierge services help with booking tickets to attractions, restaurant reservations, arranging airport transfers, finding tour guides, and a wide range of other requests.
On the credit card side, mid- to high-tier cards typically include concierge services, such as Amex Platinum, Visa Infinite, Visa Infinite Privilege, and World Elite Mastercard. If you’ve held a card like the BMO Ascend World Elite or RBC Avion Visa Infinite, you’ve likely had access to one without realizing it.
The Tangible Benefits
The most valuable benefit of any concierge is access. I’m talking about things like securing tickets to a sold-out showing of Hamilton, buying front-row concert tickets that aren’t available to the public, or making competitive restaurant reservations.
Just as importantly, concierges can save valuable vacation time. This can be as simple as printing boarding passes or as complex as sourcing a last-minute gift. You can reach out by phone or email, and it’s best to do so as soon as possible to give yourself maximum runway to achieve what you want.
At higher-end properties, concierge services come with genuine local knowledge and established relationships, with some concierges being members of Les Clefs d’Or, a global network of top-tier concierges known for their connections and expertise. I’ve generally found find hotel concierges to be better than credit card concierges.
That said, expectations should be realistic. Every time I’ve called Amex concierge about concert tickets (that have Amex Front of the Line access, so I assume there would be some advantage there), I’m quoted prices directly from Ticketmaster resale page.
My Experience Using Concierge Services
Amex Platinum
In 2018, I wanted tickets to the premiere of Beautiful Boy at TIFF, specifically the first showing with the cast. After failing online (first screenings are extremely competitive), the Amex concierge secured two tickets at face value within hours.
On another occasion, they helped source a venue in Ottawa with no minimum spend after I had no luck on my own. I then booked the space directly with the venue.
Hotel Concierge – JW Marriott Hotel Nara
When Studio Ghibli Museum tickets in Tokyo required booking in-country with a Japanese phone number, the JW Marriott Nara concierge secured them for me and even contacted the museum to change the ticket names so I could enter. A small service fee applied, but it was well worth it.
Notably, the concierges at Mitsui and Ritz-Carlton Kyoto denied my request as I was not visiting the museum during my stay dates.
No photos allowed inside
Hotel Concierge – St. Regis New York
At the St. Regis New York, the concierge handled personal shopping while I visited the Met, delivering everything to my room. The service fee was reasonable and saved an entire day of vacation time I would’ve spent going from store to store, crisscrossing the city. Again, there was a service fee (I can’t recall the exact amount, but it was reasonable), and it was totally worth it given my limited time.
Hotel Concierge – Regent Taipei
Most recently, I was in Taipei and needed to see a dentist on my only day in town — a Sunday. Most clinics were closed, and the ones I found were already fully booked. As a last-ditch effort, I reached out to both the Regent Taipei and W Taipei concierges. The former recommended a clinic and secured me an appointment in my preferred time slot. The email exchange was smooth, with replies within hours, and they managed to book me into a clinic that had previously told me it was full.
Regent Taipei
In contrast, the W Taipei concierge was less than helpful, suggesting a clinic nearby and telling me to reach out on my own, as they couldn’t recommend specific practices.
Takeaway
Concierge services on both credit cards and hotels aren’t as all-powerful as they sound, but they can still be surprisingly useful. Usually, it’s not a magic solution for exclusive access and more of a time-saving tool that occasionally delivers big wins.
I imagine concierges at truly top-tier properties operate on another level with stronger connections and therefore better access, but I’ve yet to test that myself. Overall, I’d reach out early, and you may be surprised at what they can accomplish.
If you’ve had a great (or disappointing) concierge experience, I’d be curious to hear about it!
4 comments
Hello Rachel. I am a CIBC Visa Infinite Privilege cardholder. I have contacted the concierge service at least two times. In all cases, I have been disappointed. First example: I have requested to get a complex airline ticket itinerary issued by a travel agency since I was not able to get it done online by myself: travel agency requests using this concierge service were not free; at the end, using this concierge service would have prevented me from getting the expected travel discount. Therefore, I have cancelled my request. Second example: I had a trip planned to a small Caribbean island. The Caribbean island website was not clear about duty free items I was allowed to bring with me. The concierge I have contacted was not able to provide further information than what was posted on the website. I thought this concierge service had a network of travel professional contacts that would have provided further insight. In conclusion, when I contact the credit card concierge service, I feel that the colleague responding to the cardholder request is essentially someone who works remotely at home – typically in Europe in a different time zone – and is basically an Internet webpage reader whose motivation is to get the cardholder to pay of his or her services. Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion in my experience that complimentary AI is probably a better option than using these concierge PAID services !
Definitely disappointing on both experiences, and I wonder if an Amex (or Mastercard) concierge would’ve handled it better — would be interesting to compare the same request across different credit card concierge services.
I notice that Visa Infinite cc’s – pretty low level – apparently offer concierge service. Any suggestions for possible uses?
A few things I’d try: new city (say, London, if you’re going there), ask for restaurant recommendations and ask them to make a booking. I’d also try concert/event tickets, or booking a car service if needed.