Say what you will, I can tell you that some of my best experiences with Starwood were the times I extensively used the in-house Plat Concierge team to hammer out substantial planning details for extended trips. In each case, I was assigned to very thorough concierge agents who took copious notes and followed through perfectly -- exceeding my expectations, which is saying a lot.

One example was a ten night trip to Venice and surrounding area. The concierge, unprompted, suggested a handful of unique tour experiences that are essentially non-published. At her suggestion, we got in on several once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that we surely would've known nothing about.

Admittedly, that's been some years back, so it's possible that the Concierge program at Starwood is no longer what it once was. I've not utilized them in recent years, but I maintain that the program was absolutely launched to be every bit as capable as any AMEX program that's ever existed. And, in my experience back then, it truly was.