Swiss Credit Card Concierge Services Explained

Smartphones may have made finding and booking restaurants and hotels, organizing travel, and shopping for special items easier. But a concierge service can still save you a lot of time by having someone else do the finding and booking for you.

What is a concierge service?

A concierge service provides many of the services which you would normally get from a personal assistant, but it is limited to tasks which can be done remotely. You contact the concierge employees and assign them tasks. 

Typical tasks performed by concierge services include researching flights, rental vehicles, hotels, experiences, specialized services, restaurants, shopping requests, or gift ideas. They can also make reservations, bookings, or purchases on your behalf. More exclusive concierge services will also perform more complex tasks such as planning private parties or even weddings, or helping you buy, sell or rent a property.

What are the advantages of a concierge service?

Take a moment to consider how much time you actually spend on things like browsing online shops, searching hotel or flight booking websites, reading restaurant reviews, or planning a family excursion. Even with apps and search engines, these tasks can take up a lot of time.

Concierge services are beneficial if you do not have the time to do research and make purchases yourself online, or if you prefer to spend your time in other ways.

In the case of high-end concierge services, there is an added advantage in that they can often have access to hotel rooms, restaurant tables, event tickets, or services that are not available to the general public.

What are the disadvantages of concierge services?

Concierge services are more about saving time than money. The prices you pay are often higher than those you could find if you did your own research online. One reason for this is that concierge services often earn sales commissions for purchases or bookings they make at certain partner merchants. A few Swiss credit card concierge services charge an extra service fee every time they make a booking or other purchase for you.

If money is worth more to you than time, you can generally find better deals yourself.

How does one subscribe to concierge services?

You can subscribe to a concierge service directly, in which case you pay a monthly or annual fee for the service. Alternatively, you can use a Swiss credit card which includes concierge services as a complimentary benefit.

Which Swiss credit cards come with concierge services?

Many Swiss credit card issuers offer at least one credit card which has a complimentary concierge service. Simply select the “concierge service” filter in the interactive Swiss credit card comparison to find all cards which include this benefit. You can find details about the concierge services on individual card information pages.

What should I consider when using credit card concierge services?

Some credit cards limit the number of tasks you can give the concierge service, and charge a fee for additional requests. Some concierge services offer unlimited research requests, but charge an additional fee whenever they make a booking or purchase for you.

There are also concierge services which only provide travel-related services, such as itinerary planning and travel bookings.

You can find out which concierge services come with Swiss credit cards here:

Credit card	Issuer	Included concierge services	Concierge service provider
American Express Platinum Card	Swisscard	30 complimentary requests per calendar year, then CHF 50 per additional task	Ten Lifestyle Management
American Express Credit Card Gold	Swisscard	Unlimited requests. CHF 20 per booking	Ten Lifestyle Management
Cornèrcard Platinum	Cornèrcard	Unlimited requests	Sincura Group
Diners Club Class	Cornèrcard	Unlimited requests	Sincura Group
PostFinance Visa Platinum Card	PostFinance	Unlimited requests	Allianz Assistance
Swisscard World Mastercard Platinum	Swisscard	Unlimited standard requests.	Ten Lifestyle Management
UBS Platinum Credit Card	UBS	Unlimited requests	Europ Assistance
Visa Bonus Card Exclusive	Bonuscard	Unlimited requests	Allianz Assistance
Visa Libertycard Plus	Bonuscard	Unlimited requests	Allianz Assistance
Viseca Platinum Credit Card	Viseca	Unlimited requests	Allianz Assistance

 

Are there differences between concierge services?

Yes. Standard concierge services perform basic tasks which you can generally do yourself online or over the phone. The main benefit is that they save you time. But there are also concierge services that perform additional tasks or provide benefits which you would otherwise not be able to access on your own, or would have to pay for.

Standard concierge services:

• American Express Credit Card Gold concierge
  Operated by Ten Lifestyle Services, this is a standard concierge service that can handle many tasks which would otherwise occupy your time. These include:

  • Booking travel, hotels, rental cars, and chauffeur services
  • Making restaurant reservations
  • Organizing conference facilities
  • Organizing interpreters and other professional services
  • Buying tickets for events
  • Ordering flowers or other gifts on your behalf
  • Making purchases that can be completed remotely
  • Researching information.
• Europ Assistance
  This is a standard concierge service that helps you:
  • Research information
  • Make travel, rental car, and hotel bookings
  • Reserve tables at restaurants
  • Get recommendations for gifts, activities, or events
  • Send flowers
• Allianz Assistance
  As a standard concierge service, you get similar services to those offered by Europ Assistance and the American Express Gold concierge. This service can:
  • Reserve tables at restaurants on your behalf
  • Make travel and hotel bookings
  • Order the delivery of gifts and flowers
  • Research information
  • Recommend events or activities.

Concierge services with additional benefits:

• American Express Platinum Travel & Lifestyle Service
  This concierge service is also operated by Ten Lifestyle Services Switzerland. These services are offered in addition to standard concierge services:

  • Late checkout, room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, and use of amenities at many high-end hotels booked through the concierge.
  • Access to reserved tables at many upmarket restaurants, and organization of supplementary dining-related experiences.
  • You can buy tickets for events that are already booked out to the general public, and get the best seats.

• Sincura Group
  In addition to standard concierge services, the Sincura Group offers these services:

  • Organizing private parties or other events and putting together tailor-made travel programs.
  • Exclusive events for members
  • Access to an art consultation service
  • Assistance with financial services

Other concierge services:

Some cards come with concierge-like services which are limited to specific tasks. For example, the American Express Gold Card comes with a travel service that can help you plan trips and make bookings, much like a travel agency. The Mydrive American Express Gold credit card has a car concierge which only provides services related to traveling by car (such as car rentals or ferry ticket bookings).

More on this topic:
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