I am both a American Express Personal & Business Platinum cardholder. I use the concierge services of both (even though they are pretty much the exact same), and I am currently looking into another concierge service called Quintessentially. The reason is because lately AMEX hasnt been able to get me into certain places and events. I know AMEX outsources their concierge service to a third party company which I do not like. I am looking for a concierge service with STRONG connections in multiple cities in the US and Internationally. Anybody can pick up a phone for someone and make dinner reservations but its another thing to get them into a hard to get into club........I have two friends that have the Centurion card and they have trouble getting into places as well..... Is there anybody that is a Quintessentially member? Are they better or worse?

Thanks!

KC

I am not sure how this works, but circles, the Concierge that is used by AMEX, is great. In the last 5-8 times I tried to get a reservation and could not my person got me in. In fact, about 2 months ago it was 7:20 and I called for a 7:30 reservation. The hostest said soonest they could get me in was 8:30 and I tried pretty hard. Hung up 2 mins later I had my reservation confirmed at 7:30. When I first started using the service it seemed pretty blah, but in the last 6 months it seems to have gotten much better - esp. at getting reservations after I get told no. Bottom line if you are looking for paying for a concierge service I would definitely check out circles. Maybe you just need to request a higher service level than platinum gives you.

I spent a good deal of time talking with a Quintessential rep as well as several others concierge services. I was disappointed that Circles couldn't get me into Club 33, so I decided to call around. At the time, my test was if you can get me into Club 33 (Disneyland club) I will buy whatever service can do that. No one could and it seemed in general none of the services did anything more than my current person - (I was looking at ANY service level they provided). Though I no longer need access to Club 33, I would be interested in any service that by paying the anual fee could get you in. I am assuming that this is good indicator for getting into membership only type clubs.

I have some experience with tenUK (to whom Centurion UK were outsourcing some concierge duties recently). I can say from my experience that they were probably the most inept and hopeless company I have ever used in the service industry. Example: I moved house and need to have someone unpack and install a new Mac G5 computer. I called tenUK and explained the situation and was told someone would get back to me within 24 hours. 2 weeks later (seriously) I got a 1 page fax from them with a list of yellow pages computer engineers!
Have heard mixed things about Quintessentially. I believe if you pay for one of the higher levels of membership you get a much better service than the standard entry-level fee gets you. No surprise there then.
I generally have been very happy with Centurion concierge over the last 3 or 4 years and wouldn't consider moving from them.

I think one has to set expectations - I've seen all the marketing spin for most of these concierge companies (AmEx, TENuk, Quintessentially etc) and have to just sit and laugh. Some events are exclusive and are not for people to buy into or attend - seriously what do you expect for the annual fee. Is �650 really going to get you a connection to attending the Oscars? No.

TENuk are indeed inept - I have yet to hear a good word about them, they 'supply' concierge service to certain employees at my workplace and they are useless. They can't even master the basics.

I have no experience of Quintessentially, but it all seems a bit up itself and hype in my opinion.

At least the AmEx concierge comes as one of the 'benefits' of membership, its not the only one. You have to remember that the service is only as good as the people that man it - unless you get a really good person that has some brains and common sense, you will be disappointed. AmEx have surprised me at times at their ability to actually do something well - they usually can get things done, but sometimes at a cost - tickets can be obtained for concerts but at a cost from brokers, you can sometimes take face value and multiply it several times. Simple things they are okay with so booking tables, theatre tickets, ordering flowers etc... Give them something more challenging and you may encounter some stupidity. I've asked for them to research something and I get a mail back with some Google links. But then at other times they have been really good - I got lost driving in London once going to an event, and the concierge was fab and she found a map online and spent 30 minutes on the phone talking me through the directions. She passed my simple test of whether staff give a toss or not, the phone line dropped at one point, and she called me straight back. I didn't have to phone back - she was genuinely helpful.

So basically it depends on who you speak to.

Thanks,
Richard

I have a friend who swears by Quintessentially, but more for Use in the UK, Europe and the middle east. Also keep in mind that they have several tiers and the prices go up dramatically for the top service...

Quintessentially is incredible.

It starts at $1500/year. Compared to $2500/year for CENT, which is dropping benefits fast.

While I don't know if CENT has cheaper prices than Plat, I can give you a recent comparison. Plat wanted $2750 for Hollywood Premiere of Miami Vice.

Quintessentially wanted $750 for the London Premiere. (in fact, GBP325, which I would have grabbed, IF the dollar was stronger)

http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article...umentid=249531

I have access to Quintessentially during my Europe trip since I'm flying EOS Airlines. (Buy 1 get 1 free for $3100) http://www.eosairlines.com/travelauction

You can check out examples of Quintessentially events weekly in New York / London on EOS's website here > http://www.eosairlines.com/cgi-bin/skylights.cgi EDIT - ok, that doesnt work, you have to go to the main site, then Service then Guest Services then Concierge...

And Quintessentially's website details all their OFFICIAL partnerships and benefits > http://quintessentially.com/home.php?zid=2&sec=0

US cities LISTED for restaurants are NY/Miami/LA
http://quintessentially.com/home.php...sec=24&id=1591

US cities LISTED for nightlife are Dallas/LA/LV/Miami/NY/SF
http://quintessentially.com/home.php?zid=2&sec=3&id=952

Remember we're not comparing apples with apples here - yes Quint starts at $1500 and Centurion now starts at $2500 in the US but then like I said, concierge is one part of the Centurion offering - not the only offering.

I'd never seen that article before and it is interesting but I will take it with a pinch of salt - AmEx do normally do okay, but its at a cost. $700 for the Ephesus tour guide seems a bit steep. I always get put off reviews of Quint that have to rely on reminding us of the Royal (allegedly) connection. If it was really that great, it shouldn't need to trade on a connection/anothers name.

Platinum Concierege is not a like-for-like comparison with Centurion - you get what you pay for to be honest. Platinum is a free for all now and the concierge are only really concerned with the simple tasks - back when it was invite only and the membership base was more manageable the service was much better. Its not easy to be a concierge it takes a certain skill and ability - not one that can be easily trained and sadly AmEx have not quite worked this out yet.

Thanks,
Richard

Found out I have access to Quintessentially from now until and including the night of my return flight since I've paid for my ticket.

Things I'm looking at now for NYC >

Day of departure (arrive JFK @ 8AM, depart @ 8PM) >
Access to Restaraunt, Bar, Drawing Room, Pool @ Soho House
Elizabeth Arden ("preferred rates") or Cornelia (20% off) Spa

Day of return
Preferred reservations @ Le Miu + Garden of Ono
VIP @ APT


I'm getting their price for the LA premiere of Miami Vice so I can have a direct comparison between them and AMEX PLAT.

They also came through for VIP access @ http://www.amphi-festival.de/home.html for 80 euros. (only 25 euros more than standard ticket )

No go on access to common areas at Soho House. I guess going for a swim is a different animal.

Anyone with experience with les concierges? Does it/can it compare to circles?

I�ve been a Quintessentially member for a couple of months now and would never again call Amex concierges for anything.

Quintessentially got me VIP A -tickets for this seasons last Rangers playoffgame in NY. With a premium of course, but they did it!

No problem getting reservations on short notice to best restaurants in town, but some people seem to forget the fact that there can be millions of people on certain cities, and some restaurants and events just do sell out.


IMO Quintessentially is cheap in case I want to spend time with my wife and travel somewhere for a weekend. It feels they can make it special on short notice!

Forgot to mention before, Quintessentially had tix to the MTV Cannes party for $1K or $2K US. (In response to the comment about the Oscars :P) They also had a few extremely exclusive events in the UK, forget which now..

Calling again tomorrow to discuss:

-Confirming price for LA premiere of Miami Vice to compare with AMEX PLAT
-Possibly getting tickets to screening of Superman Returns this Monday
-What VIP access entails at Embassy and SO.UK Soho in London
-If they can get me on the guest/VIP list for 90 Grad in Berlin (not listed on Q's site)

Two things I plan to do in London while there (thanks to Quintessentially)
- Eat @ Kensington Rooftop Gardens
- Clubroom > Bar for Jazz @ Morton's

Oh, and the only "preferred rate" at Elizabeth Arden is 20% off Signature Massage + Facial package. So I'll be going to Cornelia.

I recently quit Quintessentially due to a string of disappointing incidents. First, I found their "exclusive" access to be overstated. Sure they have connections at a few spots, but when it comes to restaurants they got the same results as I would have gotten (and I tested them on this more than a few times). On several occasions they mis-read my emails and booked tables on the wrong days/times.

Keep in mind that the staff at Quintessentially are young and probably not too well paid, so their knowledge of the best hotels, restaurants, shops, etc. is not first-hand. In one case the rep I spoke to was unfamiliar with basic NYC neighborhoods.

When it comes to managing basic tasks they were fairly inept. I asked for help in finding a new place to park my car and they were unable to do that. When I actually found the time to do it myself it only took about half an hour, so I'm not sure what their problem was.

When I made management aware of these issues they gave me a string of excuses, basically saying that they're a start-up company that's growing too fast without enough office space, etc. As you can imagine, that's not a good answer to give a disgruntled customer. They finally agreed to refund my membership fee, but only the unused portion. Again, not a good answer.

Basically a waste of money IMO.

Currently working with Amex on a 2-day trip to Agra, from Delhi, in India. The first time we made the request (private car, tour of Taj) they pretty much screwed everything up regarding what we asked for, but that's okay because they never called us, either. We're on Round 2 now. There will not be a Round 3.

Mike

Join a club corp club or foundation room with signature gold club corp for 3500 or 2500 if you have a visa signature. Or 1500 per person if you have a corp membership with five or more people.

One option that has not been suggested (perhaps because of the thread title) is the Citi Chairman card. I don't have personal experience, but the general consensus in this and other flyertalk forums has been very positive. People who have Plat and the Chairman card seem to prefer the Chairman concierge desk to Amex. Just my $0.02.