Amex Hotel Credit Changes
Well, there goes one of our favorite ways to use the Amex Hotel credit. American Express Platinum Card® and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express can officially wave goodbye to one-night Fine Hotels + Resorts stays, with a two-night requirement beginning January 1, 2027. Amex is rebranding the cards’ $600 annual Hotel Credit as a Lodging Credit. It’s all part of a new partnership with Airbnb, including access to Airbnb Luxe and the introduction of a new $250 annual Airbnb Experiences credit. But don’t be fooled. The Airbnb credits will be hard to use, and this is simply another devaluation masked as an upgrade. Let’s take a look at the Amex Hotel Credit changes.
Hotel Credit Becomes Lodging Credit
The $600 annual Hotel Credit on the personal Platinum Card and The Business Platinum Card is becoming a $600 Lodging Credit. While the annual benefit amount stays the same, the minimum-stay requirements will not. Here’s how the Amex Hotel Credit changes will work:
- Eligible prepaid bookings will now include Airbnb Luxe: Airbnb Luxe reservations booked through Amex Travel and paid for with an eligible card will now qualify for the credit, in addition to properties that are part of Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection.
- Minimum stay requirement increases to two nights for all brands: Beginning January 1, 2027, Fine Hotels + Resorts stays will require a two-night minimum to trigger the credit. Airbnb Luxe stays also require at least two nights. There will be no changes for The Hotel Collection, which has always required a two-night minimum.
- Up to $600 in credits annually: This will continue to be split into two $300 statement credits. One is available January through June, and the other July through December.
The change to FHR is the real gut punch. Currently, cardholders can book a one-night stay through Fine Hotels + Resorts and potentially cover most—or even all—of the room rate with one $300 semiannual credit. Now, we’ll have to book at least two nights to access the credit. Before, it was one thing to book a 1-night stay around $400 or $500 and pay $100-$200 out of pocket. Given the stays’ included perks like complimentary breakfast for two, a $100 property credit, late checkout and more, that was still a great deal. But it hurts a lot more to imagine now needing to book a hypothetical $800-$1,000 stay at those same properties instead.
What Is Airbnb Luxe?
Did your ears perk up when you first read that the Amex Hotel Credit changes would now include an option for Airbnb stays? Well, I’m sorry to say you shouldn’t get too excited. Airbnb Luxe is basically Airbnb’s version of a curated collection of bougie properties, a la FHR. Think: lush villas or fancy private estates. But the prices are mostly unapproachably high. One study of listings across 10 different states found that the 2025 average minimum price per night ranged from about $629 to $1,118. Median pricing was even worse, from $1,369 to $2,661. Um, yikes. While I hope that there will be sweet spots to be found, a $300 credit would barely make a dent in a two-night stay at pricing levels like that.
The footprint of these properties is also limited, representing a small fraction of Airbnb’s more than 9 million listings globally. It represents a very small (and expensive) slice of Airbnb’s complete portfolio. For perspective, here’s a search on Amex Travel for a random 2-night stay in Chicago next May. Not only would the cheapest stay run more than $3,400, there are only five properties available that weekend. In all of Chicago!
What Is the Airbnb Experiences Credit?
In addition to the Amex Hotel Credit changes, there is also a brand-new $250 annual Airbnb Experiences credit for personal Platinum Cards and The Business Platinum Card. These experiences include things like cooking and baking classes, guided tours and more. Awesome … ?! Not so fast. This credit will probably be mostly useless, because it’s directly tied to those uber-expensive Airbnb Luxe stays. Here’s how the new credit works:
- You need to unlock the credit first: Cardholders must first book a qualifying prepaid Airbnb Luxe stay through Amex Travel.
- Get up to $250 in statement credits per calendar year for Airbnb Experiences: They must be purchased directly through Airbnb using the eligible card after the Luxe booking is confirmed. Note that experiences that redirect you to certain third-party booking platforms won’t qualify.
- Expiration timeline: The credit is available only through the end of the calendar year in which it’s unlocked.
Unfortunately, you’d have to first spend hundreds (or more likely, thousands!) of dollars on a luxury rental to unlock that $250 credit. And if you make that booking toward the end of the year, you won’t have much time at all to use the credit before it expires.
Amex Hotel Credit Changes: ToP Thoughts
Pour one out for one of the most valuable uses of the Amex Hotel Credit. Starting next year, we will no longer be able to use it for one-night FHR stays. To add insult to injury, we expect the new Airbnb benefits to be useless for most cardholders. Airbnb Luxe properties are crazy expensive. And unless you book one of them, there’s no way to even access the new $250 annual Airbnb Experiences at all. This is a missed opportunity, because a broader Airbnb credit would have added value to the cards, especially for family travelers. While Amex frames this as an improvement, it’s simply another devaluation. Do the Amex Hotel Credit changes alter your thoughts on keeping these cards in your wallet? Come over to our ToP Facebook Group and share how you’ve maximized the FHR program.
