The gifts card concierges are hunting this Christmas
Avoid the crowds this Christmas and get your credit card concierge to do your gift shopping this holidays.
Crowded malls, long queues, anxious shoppers and all of the usual Christmas trimmings! Let’s face it, shopping for Christmas presents can be daunting. If you have a premium credit card that comes with a complimentary concierge service, you could save time (and your sanity) by getting them to do your Christmas shopping for you.
A concierge is a complimentary service offered with some premium credit card products. Acting almost like your own personal assistant, you can call on them for almost anything from making dinner reservations and getting tickets to a sold out concert to organising an entire holiday for you.
So if you’re too strapped for time or ideas this Christmas, your personal concierge service could handle the hard work this year.
All you’d need to do is call your concierge service, give them a list of the items or experiences you want to gift and they’ll organise it for you. You could even request for the present to be delivered to your loved ones if they live overseas or you want to surprise them with a gift sent to their door.
Stuck for ideas?
Your credit card concierge could also come in handy if you’re low on gift ideas. Give your concierge a list of your Mum’s hobbies and interests and they’ll return with a hand-picked list of gift suggestions. You can even give them a budget to follow to make sure you’re not blowing the bank. Then all you have to do is select the gift (or if you’re feeling generous, gifts) you’d like and they’ll order it for you. Of course, you’ll have to cover the cost of the present, but the convenience of having it picked and ordered is a complementary feature of your concierge.
Plenty of Australian credit cards come with a complimentary concierge service that you can use for your Christmas shopping and beyond. Each complimentary service is different, but we’ve used American Express’ platinum concierge to show what yours can (and can’t) do for you this Christmas.
Currently, both the American Express Platinum Credit Card and the invite-only American Express Centurion co
me with a complimentary concierge. The Platinum card comes with a team of experts to assist you with requests that can span the exceptional to the everyday. Meanwhile, the Centurion card comes with a dedicated point of contact within American Express to serve all of the cardholder’s card, travel and lifestyle needs.
What could I use the concierge for?
Using your credit card concierge to cover your Christmas shopping isn’t a new idea and the holiday season is one of the busiest times for American Express’ concierge team. In 2016, some of the most popular gift requests range from the opulent to the almost non-existent.
Popular products include
- XBox One S,
- Nintendo Classic,
- Monsieur de Chanel (Chanel’s first dedicated men’s watch)
- and of course, Christian Louboutin shoes.
Experiences are also high on cardholders’ wish lists, including requests for tickets to the sold out Broadway musical Hamilton in New York, the two-part Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play in London and Adele and David Attenborough’s respective tours down under.
Gift suggestions don’t have to be so traditional, though. So if you want to give a gift to remember this year, feel free to start thinking outside of the box. Some of American Express’ most outlandish requests have included celebrity guest appearances at Christmas parties and a case of ice delivered to a yacht in the middle of a harbour on New Year’s Eve. One card member also asked to restore an antique teddy bear that she found in her attic and is gifting to her granddaughter. Adorably, AMEX’s concierge team have even been busy playing Santa’s little helpers and responding to children’s letters on behalf of Father Christmas. As long as the request is legal, ethical and moral, your concierge has got it covered.
What can't I buy?
Concierge services are certainly convenient, but they’re not miracle workers. So when planning the perfect Christmas gift or party 
this silly season, be realistic about your expectations. For example, if you want to organise a Christmas or New Years party it’s best to get in quick. Your concierge service will do their best and put their connections to work, but there’s only so much you can do when you’re looking for a booking the night before. It’s also important to remember that some items are also off limits purely because of waitlists and restrictions. For example, Yeezy sneakers are only available by a lottery ballot and you must be present in store when your name is called. Similarly, some luxury handbags have to be purchased in store and have really long wait lists.
So it’s a good idea to check with your concierge first before promising your best friend those new Yeezy kicks for Christmas.
With only a few weeks left until Christmas, time is running out to get your Christmas shopping done without having to resort to buying your dad some dorky socks. If you want to get the perfect gift but don’t know where to start, give your credit card concierge a call to get started. As long as you keep your requests realistic, there should be no reason why you can’t give your loved ones the perfect gift without too much effort on your part this year!
Image: Shutterstock.
