Visa Infinite personal concierge
 

Does anyone have experience with the personal concierge service offered by Visa Infinite? I'm going on a trip to NYC and am not sure if the concierge would be able to help with trip planning. I would like to hear your stories.

Yes, assuming you're talking about Canadian Visa Infinite cards. My experience after a couple of times using the concierge to book restaurant tables, or get restaurant recommendations left me with the opinion that Google is by far the better option for doing this type of research.

Mondial Assistance USA
 

We do not have Infinite in the U.S. The highest Visa card platform in the U.S. is Signature.

The Visa Signature Concierge is administered by Mondial Assistance USA (formerly World Access).

http://www.mondialusa.com/en/busines...e-services.htm

I receive mixed responses from the concierge for everyday tasks. Sometimes I am impressed and they save a lot of my time. Sometimes I realize when I read their reply that I wasted my time sending the request. My opinion is the more detail and direct you are with your request the better the experience. For example, instead of asking them to find a great hotel for you in NYC you might first narrow down your choices to three of four hotels and then ask the concierge to research and compare the location, amenities, historical significance, etc. of your top three of four choices.

If by 'trip planning' you mean recommendations and such... don't even bother. They'll fax you a Googled list of hotels and restaurants. If you know exactly where you want to stay, what you want to visit, where you want to eat and you have all the details at hand, then send them the details and they'll make the appropriate reservations. Don't expect any benefits either.

Amex is a little better at this sort of thing, but not by much. A dedicated travel agent is your best bet.