Got the £400 Amex Platinum Marriott offer? Berners Tavern restaurant triggers it (or does it?)

Most American Express Platinum cardholders currently have a very generous offer of £400 cashback on £400 of spending at selected Marriott hotels.

In theory, the deal is probably meant to be used in conjunction with an overnight stay as it is only valid on bills settled at the hotel front desk. This is less useful for anyone who actually lives in London and who got the offer.

EDIT: You should read the comments to this article about the discussions that readers have had with the restaurant before booking

Two week ago we published a workaround for the JW Marriott Grosvenor House hotel restaurant. Recent reports suggest that the hotel is no longer willing to go through the shenanigans required to process payment through the hotel tills instead of the restaurant tills.

It seems there is another option though.

One of the hotels which qualifies for the £400 spend is the London EDITION. Unfortunately, the EDITION is closed with little sign of reopening. What IS open – at least until Wednesday night – is Berners Tavern, its acclaimed restaurant.

The problem with using this offer at restaurants is that it is usually processed by American Express under the name of the restaurant and not the hotel, and so does not trigger the cashback.

Berners Tavern spend seems to go through your Amex card as London EDITION. This means that it DOES trigger the cashback.

Here is a card statement from a HfP reader. Remember that the hotel is closed so this is, without a doubt, purely from restaurant spend:

£400 cashback was received on a £475 bill at Berners Tavern.

Of course, how to spend £400 across your household may be a problem. You MUST hit £400 or you don’t receive any cashback. There is a 12.5% service charge, so £356 of food and drink spend is required. For a couple, this is likely to mean spending £150 – £200 on wine on top of the more expensive parts of the food menu.

Remember that up to six people can still attend a meal for business purposes, however, which is an option if you have an SME.

Clearly the restaurant could change how it processes credit cards at any point, but this is how it was processing them last week. You should make your own enquiries before booking a meal at the restaurant to use this offer. It runs until 19th December and so will be continuing beyond the November lockdown.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)