As the big day draws near many consumers begin to panic about finishing the Christmas gift shopping. However, premium credit cardholders have help close at hand thanks to a growing number of free concierge services offered free by credit card issuers. There are more cards than ever before that offer free round the clock concierge services as a membership perk to customers.
These are useful services that can not only help customers to purchase tickets and book restaurant tables but can also offer shopping support in a number of ways.
Some of the ways that card concierge services have been helping consumers to shop include locating difficult to find gifts. Visa Signature card concierges will call around stores to find items that are only sold locally or online. In a recent survey, one cardholder described how a concierge from the service called over a dozen different stores across the United States to track down a limited edition pair of sneakers by Chuck Taylor which were sold out in most stores.
Concierges are also happy to help brainstorm gift ideas by asking a series of questions for those hard to buy loved ones. They will run through a list of what the person’s hobbies are and where they work and make some suggestions on what type of gift they may enjoy. For example, if you tell the concierge that your sister enjoys cooking then they may recommend a recently released cookbook or some new kitchen gadget that is on the market.
American Express has also recently introduced a full-service concierge who will actually shop for you. This service is available to Platinum card members as a free benefit. Consumers can simply send a list of recipients, a shipping address, and what gift they would like and the concierge service will do all of the work. This includes searching for the item and finding the best price, shipping it, and including a gift note.
They will even check to ensure it arrives on time. Other card concierges are also able to do some shopping so long as it is only one or two items and they are available online. However, American Express will do this with no restrictions on the number of gifts or where they can be purchased.
