With the ever-changing landscape in the world of hotel reward points, I am always prudent to choose whether to pay in cash or with points.
When the point value doesn’t align with my target assessment, I’ll instead look for ways to reduce my out-of-pocket costs, through special discounts or unique booking channels that extend the value I get from each dollar – a prime example is American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) Activities.
Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is offered through American Express Travel, the financial institution’s internal travel agency. Eligible Cardholders who book accommodation in selected luxury properties will receive lots of additional benefits and advantages.
The title Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) is reserved for high-wealth or luxury organizations, where the “mid-range” or “advanced” category is more likely to be part of the property. American Express Hotel Collection, Although the two programs work similarly.
How to book Amex Fine hotels and resorts
The Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program is reserved only for the most premium clients of American Express: Platinum Card, Business Platinum Card, or Centurion Card issued in any country.
(Although any Amex cardholder can Books Hotels that are part of the FHR program through American Express Travel, only Platinum cardholders have access to FHR Advantage For them to stay.)
To get started, click here to access the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts landing page, or you can navigate to the American Express Travel Portal from the menu at the top of the Amex website.
Here, you can search like any other booking site, indicating the location where you want to search, the date of your stay and the number of guests.
The hotels participating in the Fine Hotels & Resorts program will look like this, clearly indicating that there are additional facilities to enjoy while you are staying.
Aside from the added benefits of hotels, one of the main reasons to look at fine hotels and resorts is that the Canadian-issued American Express Platinum Card offers $ 200 annual credit per membership per year, while US-issued Platinum Card per year Offers an annual US $ 200 credit.
The annual US Platinum Card credit, in particular, is only eligible for direct bookings with American Express Travel for hotels participating in the FHR or Hotel Collection program, so if you want to maximize your benefits from the card, you’ll want to book this way at least once a year.
It is noteworthy that unlike other hotel booking channels, sometimes the FHR rate will be higher than the flexible rate, membership rate or discount rate that the hotel itself advertises publicly.
In this case, you should think about how much you value the increasing Amex FHR benefits compared to the rate difference to determine which channel to book through.
The last thing to note is that when booking a non-prepaid stay through FHR, you will be asked to settle your bill after checking out using an American Express card; However, it doesn’t have to be the American Express card that you originally used to secure storage.
What are the advantages of Amex Fine Hotel and Resort?
You will be offered a standard facility whenever you book through the Fine Hotels and Resorts program. These include:
- Every morning breakfast for two
- 4pm late checkout confirmed
- 12pm Early check-in, subject to availability
- Room upgrade, subject to availability
- US $ 100 unique property credit for each stay
The first four facilities listed here are standard across all Amex FHR properties, where US $ 100 unique property credit can vary from hotel to hotel.
It usually takes US $ 100 credit to spend on any event on the property, but sometimes it can be more limited in nature, such as food and beverage credit, spa credit, or airport transfers.
Some of these features may sound familiar, as they actually match the hotel’s elite status levels such as Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite, Hilton Diamond, or Hyatt Globalist.
In fact, if you choose to live in an Amex FHR property where you are also an elite member, there will be some overlap in the benefits you get.
Some of these elite benefits may be stacked on your Amex FHR facility, while others may not. It depends on your specific status level and convenience.
For example, if you are in a luxury hotel brand that includes breakfast as an elite facility like St. Regis, breakfast offered through FHR will not be extended or useful.
Check-out or early check-in facilities at 4pm will not be guaranteed, as these are already available to all Marriott Forest Fear Platinum Elite or High Dignity members.
However, if you book a property that No. Include a free elite breakfast, such as Ritz-Carlton or EDITION brands, then the convenience of Amex FHR-included breakfast is a must pay attention and is a big reason to choose Amex FHR from direct booking.
Meanwhile, an advantage like a complimentary room upgrade can be combined with your elite status, in the sense that a hotel may give you more priority for an upgrade as an elite member who has booked through a premium channel – could potentially upgrade you Twice Compared to upgrades you will get based entirely on elite conditions!
How to make the most of Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts
Now that you know all about American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts, let’s talk about some strategies for when to use the program and how to maximize its offers.
Earn 5x points on Amex US Platinum cards
Most Amex FHR bookings have flexible cancellation terms and you can pay at the time of initial booking and checkout. Remember that you need to present an Amex card for payment on the site.
However, there is a good reason why you might choose to prepaid in advance: both the Amex US Platinum Card and the Amex US Business Platinum Card offer 5x US membership reward points on prepaid hotel bookings made through Amex Travel. The best way to stay at any fine hotel and resort is to earn maximum points.
Elite nights and earning points
Bookings for Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts are eligible for elite qualifying nights and points with major hotel loyalty programs such as Marriott Forest Fear, Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt and more.
Unlike third-party online travel agencies like Expedia or Hotels.com, hotel staff and management members who book through Amex FHR are just as likely to book guests directly (and sometimes even better!).
To take advantage of your elite benefits or if you want to earn elite nights and points, include your subscription number in the appropriate field during your Amex FHR booking process and the reservation should be automatically linked to your hotel loyalty account.
Doing so will enable you to access the hotel’s live chat feature via the app, which is a way to “suit-talk” and request an upgrade before your arrival. Repeating this request at check-in may result in an upgrade that would not have been possible if you had booked directly.
Try a new hotel brand with elite-like amenities
If you are accustomed to enjoying elite privileges through a large loyalty program such as Marriott Forest Fear while staying at your hotel, the Amex FHR program can help you unlock elite-like facilities while trying an independent hotel or A luxury brand with a generally accessible loyalty program.
For example, Fairmont, Four Seasons and Shangri-La are known as one of the top hotel brand brands in the world, although none of their loyalty programs make it easy for the brand to earn points and redeem for free stays or gain meaningful benefits without significant loyalty.
By booking through Amex FHR, you will at least get the benefits that are equivalent to a high-level elite status treatment, while sampling a new experience with a different chain.
The same idea applies if you happen to keep any status with a hotel chain By There is an offer of loyalty like Hilton or Hayat.
Alternative one-night stage with partner
A creative way to maximize Amex FHR benefits is to have the option of a one-night stay between you and a partner, if you travel together. Since US $ 100 is applied once per property credit stay, you will technically be eligible to receive credit this way per night.
This will not work if you want to make separate bookings in your own name, since staying in separate bookings in the same guest name is considered to be almost universally the same, resulting in only one property credit.
Of course, before deciding to follow this strategy, it’s worth it if you arrange an alternative overnight stay, as well as the potential hassle of changing how likely you are to take advantage of each US $ 100 property credit. .
Property-specific promotion
Each hotel booking channel can offer their own unique promotions to encourage travelers to book through their channel, and Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is no exception.
You will often see limited-time discounts or property credit offers for different hotels, which can significantly improve the price offer if you consider staying on this property.
For this reason, it is always worthwhile to check the Amex FHR rate and compare it with your other options when deciding how to book.
Conclusion
As a special feature of the Global American Express Platinum Card, the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program allows travelers to enhance their luxury hotel accommodations with a wide range of the world’s best properties through a wide range of amenities and amenities – which continues. Earn elite qualifying nights and points in the Hotel Loyalty program of your choice.
If you live somewhere without ideal points, want to use your annual Platinum Travel Credit, or are interested in splurge on luxury hotels while maintaining elite-like amenities, consider booking through Fine Hotels and Resorts for your next height – stay late .
