Last December Rob Monster gave his wife, Jill, a Christmas gift: a $200 000 (R1.4 million) card for 25 hours of travel on a Cessna private jet.
"She was completely blown away," says Monster, who runs Monster Venture Partners, a private equity firm in Seattle.
Jill says it was "a gift of an experience of a lifetime".
Renting the finer things in life, providers of such services say, is a way to savour luxury hassle-free, enjoy variety, try something out, or taste pleasures that otherwise may be beyond one's means.
What is different now is that more consumers can gain access to more luxuries by committing less time and money.
Travel in a private jet, a two-week sojourn at a Bermuda villa, a spin in a Ferrari, golfing at a private club, and the use of a Hermes handbag and David Yurman jewellery can all be enjoyed, briefly, for a fee.
Each affluent consumer cut their luxury goods purchases by 21 percent to $12 142 in the third quarter, the steepest fall in almost three years, according to research firm Unity Marketing.
The decline reflected the dent to consumer confidence from the housing slump and higher oil prices.
Meanwhile, spending on buying experiences and renting luxuries gained 11 percent, the firm found. Unity surveyed 1 000 consumers with average annual incomes of $150 200.
"The trend is a luxury access revolution and it is accelerating at every luxury price point," says Milton Pedraza, the chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a consumer research firm in New York.
Demand has spurred entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity. It allows existing suppliers, such as private golf clubs and jet fleet owners, to fill in gaps.
With her card, Jill Monster took her family to the Bahamas, flew her husband to Mexico, and may take a trip to Las Vegas.
For Rob Monster, it is "a way to walk before you run". He is considering buying fractional ownership in a 10-seater jet.
He bought the jet card from Marquis Jet, which has an alliance with NetJets, the jet operator owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
A one-eighth ownership of a private jet could cost more than $2 million, says Randy Brandoff, the marketing vice-president of Marquis Jet.
Alonzo Sherman, an associate at a private equity firm in New York, plans to buy a membership in the Classic Car Club Manhattan for his cousin, after enjoying one received as a gift from his father last year.
Members of the club pay a $1 500 sign-up fee. Then it costs $7 500 to use any of its 50 luxury cars for 50 days a year.
Tour GCX lets golfers try the private golf club experience at more than 40 exclusive courses.
An $895 holiday package for one "tee unit" allows a foursome to play 18 holes at a partner club. It includes a one-hour private lesson with a professional golfer and a $100 certificate for a pro shop.
An entry-level Tour GCX membership is $2 450, which covers an annual fee and three tee units. In comparison, the initial fee for membership at Isleworth in Florida, whose members include Tiger Woods, is $100 000.
Handbags and jewellery can be rented on Bag Borrow or Steal, one of several such websites. There, a vintage ostrich Kelly bag from Hermes costs $816 a week. A new one, if available, sells for $11 000.