American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Program

Many might not realize that you can actually enjoy luxury hotels, with upgrades and benefits, without having any hotel status. The most well-known way to pull this off is to use hotel booking programs from credit card companies. One such program is the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) program. Because of that, I wanted to put together a guide on how to use the Amex FHR program – including how to book a hotel and maximize some of your credit card perks.

RELATED: Why I Just Spent $900 On a One Night Hotel Stay & Actually Saved Money

The FHR Program Is Even Sweeter With The Amex Platinum Card

There is a reason this program is very popular among us in the points and miles hobby. The American Express Platinum card, and other platinum cards like the Charles Schwab Platinum, have a $200 credit towards a prepaid stay with FHR or the Hotel Collection. There are some differences between the two programs rules and benefits.

Benefits

Here are some of the notable benefits of the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection programs.

Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR)

With FHR, you’re essentially booking a hotel through American Express Travel. You get some included benefits with the hotel booking, which include:

• Room upgrade when available
• Daily breakfast for two
• Guaranteed 4pm check out
• Noon check in when available
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• $100 credit for things such as spa or food and beverage

Keep in mind that the $100 credit is actually per stay and not per night. This differs from the breakfast benefit, which is daily. The $100 credit is usually towards a spa treatment or for food and beverage. 

The Hotel Collection (THC)

• Two night stay minimum
• $100 credit for things such as spa or food and beverage
• Room upgrade when available
• Noon check in when available
• Late checkout when available

You will notice a couple of significant differences between the two programs. The Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program requires only one night, which makes it the more popular option. It also gets a guaranteed late checkout and a breakfast credit, which The Hotel Collection doesn't offer.

Stacking Hotel Elite Status With Your Booking

A nice perk of the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program is that you may even earn your elite status benefits or nights in some cases. An example would be earning Hyatt status benefits or elite qualifying nights on an FHR booking. This can also be true with Hilton, where you get all the FHR benefits, plus (in many cases) Hilton Diamond / Gold benefits. This includes additional food and beverage credits while on property from your Hilton status. As we like to say, your mileage may vary here (ymmv) as this varies by program and by property.

Another popular option among the many procrastinators, like myself, is using my credit towards the end of the year for a stay in the following year. I then used my following year benefit, which resets after January 1st, for the same trip. Multi-night rules can come into play here, which we will discuss more on that later.

Booking An American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Hotel

Booking is pretty straight forward and all done via American Express Travel. Some tips to keep in mind

• According to the FHR terms & conditions, bookings must be in the cardholder's name and paid using the card that has FHR access or another American Express card.
• You will need to show your American Express card at check-in, which will be swiped for incidentals. You technically do not need to present the card you used to make the booking; any American Express card will do. But many hotel employees may not know the fine print and could give you a hard time for not presenting the card used for booking.
  • It's important to understand that if you closed your Amex Platinum card before showing up to the hotel for your FHR booking.
• You want to ensure the hotel you are choosing is clearly marked as FHR or THC eligible as shown in the steps below. You can filter by these programs, since they also show hotels outside of the programs on searches too.
• The $200 credit is ONLY Valid with Personal Platinum cards!
  • Other American Express cards do give you access (Business Platinum for example) to book via FHR and THC, but you do not receive the $200 statement credit.

How To Book Your FHR Stay

There are various ways to get to a search screen. I prefer just going to the Amex Travel website. You can also go to the American Express FHR website, log in, and do a hotel search. The American Express site is not user friendly for these searches due to their constant logging you out if you wait too long.

You will have a list of hotels to scroll through. Make sure the hotel is marked as a FHR or THC hotel (as you can see in the photo above). Make sure you log in before proceeding through the booking.

Once you click on a hotel, you will be able to choose from various room types and pricing available.

Keep in mind you do not want to use points here! You are going to select Pay Now – Pay with Card, which is the cash rate, so you will get the $200 statement credit. Plus, points booking only redeems points at 1 cent per point, which is typically not a good use or value of your Membership Rewards.

If you want to use your Platinum credit, then choose a room that is at least $200 to pay today. Any other fees (if applicable) will be charged during your stay and will be shown on this screen under due at hotel

In this search, the total comes to $265.09 after all the taxes and any fees are added in, which would be paid today. That means your stay would only cost $65.09 if you were to use the $200 credit. This booking would also get you daily breakfast for two, a late checkout, room upgrade and also a $100 F&B credit. At the bottom of the screen you will have a drop down of cards to choose from. Then simply choose and pay with your Amex Platinum card and you are booked.

Booking Multiple One Night Stays

This has also evolved with the program. If you have multiple Amex Platinum cards in your household, or you travel partner has one, you used to be able to utilize these back to back. American Express recently added “anti-gaming” language that limits this and the benefits you may receive. 

Back-to-back stays booked by a single Card Member, Card Members staying in the same room or Card Members traveling in the same party within a 24-hour period at the same property are considered one stay and are ineligible for additional FHR benefits (“Prohibited Action”). American Express and the Property reserve the right to modify or revoke FHR benefits at any time without notice if we or they determine, in our or their sole discretion, that you may have engaged in a Prohibited Action, or have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with your FHR benefits.

So while you still may be able to utilize the $200 credit, your additional benefits may be limited. That can vary by each resort in how they handle it. This is also true if you book a night with your credit this calendar year, and then book a second night with the same card the following year. Even if you used different credits for the stay, you will only get one set of perks since they are back-to-back nights.

Sometimes switching from one person to the other from night to night will work, but I wouldn't count on it.

A Few Tips For Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts Bookings

The program has evolved and eliminated many of the sweet spots that used to only exist in Las Vegas. However, I still often find good value in plenty of other cities, especially if you have flexibility. Additionally, not all hotels may be available at all times ands are subject to availability. I recommend planning early and not being a procrastinator like me at times.

• Do you have multiple cards? Spreading your nights across different hotels where possible will get you a separate $100 experience credit at each hotel. Major cities, places like Las Vegas, can work well if you don't mind hotel hopping.
• Authorized users can use the $200 credit, but you only get one credit per card account.
• I have heard of people getting resorts to convert the spa credit to food & beverage if an appointment is not available at the spa during their stay.
• If you're staying multiple nights at the same resort, check the FHR special offers page, which includes added perks such as the third or fourth night free and added benefits.
• Always make sure the email and charge on your card specifies an FHR booking.

Amex FHR Credits: ToP Thoughts

While this is technically a portal booking, I have been impressed with the smooth and seamless process in my bookings. The one time I needed customer service assistance it was fast and friendly, unlike other banks travel portals. The Fine Hotels & Resorts program is a great way to enjoy great benefits at hotels when you don't have elite status. Plus, with the $200 credit on Amex Platinum cards you can save even more money.

Have you used the FHR or THC program? Come over to our ToP Facebook Group and share how you've maximized the FHR program.