Imagine these scenarios: A Londoner decides that he needs a handful of sand from the Dead Sea delivered to his doorstep for his child's school project on the Holy Lands.
He calls up the card company to check if they will do it and gets the answer. Yes, they will. A French customer wants 200 white butterflies delivered for a wedding. He got them.
A jet-setter left his pack of Havana cigars on a plane. He got them located.
Yet another person wanted to locate and purchase the horse ridden by Kevin Costner in the movie Dances with the Wolves. The horse was located in a stud ranch in Mexico, purchased and delivered to Europe.
People like these don't ask what something costs before they ask for a service. They are the upper crust, people who ride the best cars, live the most opulent lifestyles and literally have the world at their feet.
A small point: they also happen to be American Express' Platinum card holders - a card that acts like a genie in their wallets and does almost everything it is asked to.
The Platinum Card is coveted the world over for its almost limitless variety of personal services and benefits, and is regarded as one of the ultimate symbols of prestige and recognition.
There is now a growing base of Indian consumers who live Platinum lifestyles. In a world where exclusivity is becoming rarer by the day, the AmEx Platinum offers professional services that are personalised, customised, and not limited by time or distance.
Platinum credit cards were supposed to signify prestige, but they quickly became about as common as copper pennies.
So to lure upscale consumers, Visa and MasterCard created 'premier' cards with extra perks for heavy-duty travelers and shoppers, which typically charge annual fees of up to $85.
However, the original 'prestige card' is AmEx's Platinum card - by far the most expensive at $300 a year.
But some frequent travelers may not find that a lot to pay for perks that include free access to Northwest and Continental airport lounges, a 24-hour concierge service, preferred seats at concerts and sporting events, and free membership in AmEx's Membership Rewards frequent-flier programme, which costs green-card members an extra $25.
If you are a Platinum member, get ready to be spoiled silly. Besides special airfares and packages for travel partners, card members also get worldwide personal assistants who act as their personal concierge worldwide.
Not satisfied? There are also travel service benefits that entail complimentary upgrades at over 600 of the world's most luxurious hotels and resorts.
The fun does not stop here. And, of course, there's American Express's famous 'travel emergency assistance.'
If a doctor certifies that it is medically necessary, American Express will evacuate you from a Himalayan mountain top or a cruise ship, transport you to a medical facility, and pay all the non-medical costs.
But AmEx is also reaching downward with a rebate card that may be the best deal of all. The no-fee Platinum Cash Back card is for big spenders: The cash rebate is minimal on the first $5,000 in purchases each year, but after that your rebate is 1.5 per cent on balances you pay off right away or 2 per cent on balances you revolve.
The interest rate, however, is a hefty 18.24 per cent after six months at 5.9 per cent.
The spoiling silly part has got a whole new meaning with the introductory request examples at the top of the article being just one of the numerous bizarre requests that are taken care of by the Platinum Card Service.
Some of the requests are what our fantasies are made of - whether it is arranging a card member's dinner with Claudia Schiffer or making a coffin from crystal for a card member.
In case you are wondering, the card member did not go ahead with the request when he found out the price Claudia wanted.
Another request for locating, purchasing and delivering two Siamese kittens from various breeders in Australia was attended to according to the card members requirements.
However, not all requests were frivolous. A card member who suffered a heart attack was repatriated via air ambulance to hospital for a successful triple bypass and given a chauffeur driven limo ride home afterward.
Likewise, the baggage of a card member who had forgot it in a tour bus while on a sight seeing tour overseas was located and delivered to her address in Thailand within four days.
India does not lag behind on bizarre requests either. One card member apparently requested AmEx to arrange meetings with hair stylists and dress designers during his honeymoon to Europe and the US in December 2002 for his newly wedded wife. It was arranged.
For another member, the Platinum Card Service actually organised the wedding event - from designing the wedding cards to drawing maps to direct guests to the banquet, renting tuxedos and shoes for guests, and preparing the hotel room with a jacuzzi for the wedding night.
Yet another card-member - an aspiring actress - wanted to be part of the crew of a weekly soap opera on television.
The Platinum Card Assistance cell helped contact the director and arrange for an audition. Another great story relates to a card-member who wanted to buy a special edition Rolex watch that was only available in Geneva for his girlfriend. The courier company was not willing to do it.
The Platinum Card Assistance cell flew down its own personnel to Geneva to purchase the watch and bring it back.
However, this one request stands out: because it was so simple. One Platinum cardholder wanted a simple lunch of Chinese rice and soup to be delivered to a unwell friend at his home within an hour. The request, needless to say, was taken care of.
What price status?
The AmEx Platinum is not for those who want to check prices. It's not even for those who may be willing to invest in it for status, for it comes to you by invitation only. For those who still want to know the price - just for kicks - the annual member ship fee is Rs 28,500 in India.
