Best concierge for free?
 

So I know this might have been discussed in other forums but is there a thread that discusses whom provides concierge services for the various cards. I have a Schwab visa and Amex gold and was considering the platinum card for the concierge. Is the Merill lynch card any better than the Schwab Les Concierges service? I know this is a subjective question but I am starting to do more dining out and hate making reservations.

i think you'll find it hard to beat the concierge for the citi chairman amex. their services have almost always outperformed the concierges on my other cards (amex, private bank visa, etc.).

I cannot compare it directly to Schwab. However, Merrill+ has been pretty good. I have used them for simple dinner reservations and some moderately complex travel information. I have not used them for hard to get dinner reservations.

Initially I was not a fan of Chairman AMEX concierge due to some really bad service. However, they are starting to prove their worth. I use them more than Merrill+ and AMEX Platinum.

...which carries a $500 annual fee. maizeandblue is asking specifically about "free" concierge services, which I understand to exclude cards which charge an annual fee.

I already have a free citi card? Would I be able to just convert to Chairman to get the concierge? I noticed Citi has a card with priority pass for a $99 annual fee but they made no mention of a concierge.

alemdohorizonte is referring to the concierge service provided with this card...

https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/c...o?screenID=945

...which is not the same service as offered with any other Citi card.

MIA is correct. The Citi Chairman card has a $500 annual fee unless you have a large Citi Private Bank or Smith Barney account.

The Citi Platinum AMEX supposedly has a concierge. Check this thread for information: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=721401 However the Citi Platinum AMEX does not use the same concierge as Citi Chairman AMEX. I have never used the Citi Platinum AMEX's concierge, so I cannot comment on it.

In general, I can recommend Merrill+ as a concierge service. I am not a big fan of Merrill+ rewards. However the card does have some nice benefits.

If you are willing to pay for a concierge, Citi Chairman may be worth it. I used them pretty heavily during the holidays for spas, clubs, gifts, restaurants, limos, etc. They delivered every time.

From my research on this forum it appears that the best concierge is called Circles and only a few cards have it. I am thinking about making the jump to a chairmans card can it be upgraded from a current citi visa card?

Merrill+ uses Circles.

I don't know about the rest, but I used to be a travel agent for the Merrill Lynch Visa rewards program, and worked with the concierges (same office) and they could get it ALL!
Concert tickets, plays, hotels, box seated sport tix.....the works.

I'm still convinced, if I ever had 10mil to put away, I'd go straigt for the ML elite card. Those customers got mega-rewards from that card in travel.

I just got my ML card in the mail and tried the concierge. I am a bit annoyed that you have to call and use voice prompts as it takes 3 steps to speak to a person but the concierge is great. I would easily pay 20-50 a month for a service like circles.

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Perhaps you could mention examples of the types of tasks you have asked the ML concierge to perform?

The ML concierge service depends on your level with the card. If you're a +2 or +3 member you get access to a different concierge than base level cardmembers.

This is a topic of contention. I have been told that there is really no difference in the service level by the concierges. I am +2. I really have not seen a difference between that and +1.

Mia, I have used them for the following:

- Routine dinner reservations
- Finding a hotel on a certain train route in London
- Finding a hotel in Chicago when it was pretty much sold out
- Finding NCAA finals tickets

I have not used them to get into an exclusive restaurant or event. My opinion is that they are good, but tend to respond more slowly than Chairman. Often with Chairman, the service is immediate.

I asked them for some restaurant recommendations in the Detroit area and they really came through. On the same call I also asked them to locate a particular cigar I enjoy(Montecristo Series V). The best part of the experience was the concierge found a cigar friendly restaurant that brewed its own beer and arranged to have the box delivered for my after diner enjoyment. I am a +1 member and so far cannot imagine how they could improve the service. I asked if +2/3 members got anything extra in terms of service and they denied that they work any harder.

I would imagine a card like the Chairman might be helpful in cities with exclusive dining like NYC or Chicago otherwise the normal ML service should suffice.