I walked out of a meeting at 11am and felt a buzz in my pocket. I checked my phone to find 16 text messages in a group text from old college roommates, peer pressuring each other into buying presale tickets to the Outside Lands music festival in August. I debated whether or not I wanted in for about four seconds, until I remembered this delicious beast from last year:

Yeah, that’s a cheeseburger with a glazed doughnut for each bun, with sweet potato tots. Worth it.

I rushed back to my desk. Uh oh, the presale had already been up for an hour. I frantically typed my password, logged on to buy tickets and was greeted with this gem:

Too late!

Damn! Of course, presale tickets sell out in a few minutes. I resigned myself that I had missed the window of opportunity due to a work meeting. I’d have to wait for normal sale tickets, but then they’d be even more expensive and be gone even faster. Then it hit me!

The way to get magic customer service

I remembered something a coworker had told me years ago about his recent family vacation to Disney Land. He checked into the hotel and asked if the staff had any good ideas for Disney events to take his daughter to during their stay. He was informed that every day there is a breakfast with all of the princesses where little girls and their families get to eat and socialize with all of the princesses. Unfortunately for him, the event was all sold out.

Having heard about the princess brunch, Barry’s daughter was relentless. Barry tried to tell her that they couldn’t get tickets, but there was no changing her mind. She needed to go. She HAD to go! There was no way she was going to miss all of the princesses, EVER!

As a last ditch effort, Barry called the Concierge Phone Number on the back of his credit card and asked if they could help him out. About a half hour later Barry’s phone rang and the concierge let him know that they were able to get tickets, booked them on his credit card and had the tickets emailed to him.

How did it happen? When Barry called the Visa Concierge line, he got the negotiating power of a powerful financial firm behind him. Instead of Barry the consultant trying to get three tickets, now Visa was trying to get three tickets for him. That kind of leverage is tough to ignore, even for Disney.

I need to get that delicious doughnut cheeseburger

As a last ditch effort, I tried the same approach. Not knowing what to expect, I dialed the concierge line on my credit card and told them about my predicament.

Concierge: “Sir, the website says that presale tickets are currently sold out for this event” the concierge tells me.

Desperate Max: “Yeah you’re right, but I kind of heard that you guys can work miracles. Anything you can do to help me out?”

Concierge: “We’ll investigate and get back to you by 3pm.”

Two hours later I got a call back. “Sir, we were able to get an extra ticket for you at the presale price. Would you like me to charge the credit card we have on file and have it shipped to your billing address?” YES!

I authorized the charge, rushed back to my desk and checked the website myself. It still showed sold out, but they had been able to get another ticket just for me at no extra charge. So I got a ticket that wasn’t available, at a price that wasn’t available with no extra work from me – thanks Chase! That’s VIP treatment.

What else can these concierges do? A lot of things, actually. In fact, here’s a guest post on Tim Ferriss’ (author of Four Hour Work Week, Four Hour Body and Four Hour Chef) blog about the strange requests that you can use the concierge services for. They asked for help finding:

1. A giant tub of nacho cheese
2. Crossword puzzle answers
3. Finding someone to give a daily ego boost (seriously)
4. Space travel options (including medical restrictions and meal options)
5. Research on writing an article about concierge services

Max, how do I get access to this concierge magic?

I know, I know – this is VIP status. So how do you get access to these wonderful assistants available at the touch of a button? Simple – own one of these credit cards:

• Any Visa Signature credit card (includes my most recommended travel card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred)
• American Express Platinum (or higher) credit cards
• American Express Gold Corporate (or higher) credit cards
• MasterCard Platinum credit cards
• Discover Premium or Business credit cards

If you have a credit card with concierge service included, give it a shot next time you’re looking to get restaurant reservations, concert tickets or maybe just need someone to talk to.