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Is the American Express Platinum ‘UK Hotel Collection’ a good deal?

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American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders get a number of decent hotel deals, mainly through the Fine Hotels & Resorts programme (late check-out, upgrade if available at check-in, free breakfast, bonus amenity).

A relatively new venture over the last 5-6 years is the Amex Platinum UK Hotel Collection. It now showcases 31 top properties, both city and country, such as Chewton Glen, Gleneagles (below), The Grove, Coworth Park, Lucknam Park and Cliveden.

There has been quite a lot of churn in the portfolio since it launched and the total number of hotels keeps getting smaller.

Unlike many hotel promotions, this scheme manages to tick all my boxes:

Your upgrade – it is guaranteed AT TIME OF BOOKING

Late check-out – GUARANTEED for 2pm, except at two properties

Breakfast – included for two guests per room

And a special amenity, which is often a food and drink credit so as good as cash

Rates are guaranteed to be no higher than the Best Flexible Rate offered by the hotel itself. This means, if you need a cancellable rate, you will get value here as your only alternative is Best Flex from the hotel without these benefits.

If you are happy with a cheaper, non-refundable rate, you’d need to weigh up the benefits of this programme versus the extra cost.

All in all, this is a decent package which adds genuine value to the American Express Platinum offering (full card review here) and is worth remembering when next planning an upmarket UK break.


best travel rewards credit cards

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – November 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

30,000 bonus points (TO 18 NOVEMBER) and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review

Comments (2)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • C77 says:

    Thanks for reviewing this – as you say it’s always worth keeping in mind any lower and locked in rates compared any benefits at the higher rate. Sometimes it works, other times not.
    Any feedback/reviews of the Amex “Vacation Collection” offering open to Plat and Centurion? I believe this has been revamped from its Amex Vacations branding in recent times to be more in line with other “collections” but don’t see what sets it apart from other tour operators, other than Amex agents seem keen to market this booking channel over other companies. Thanks

  • Raffles says:

    Never looked at this, to be honest. Leave it with me.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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