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£400 + 40,000 POINTS: Why Fine Hotels & Resorts is one of the best Amex Platinum benefits

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American Express is currently running an excellent sign-up bonus of £400 of Amex Travel credit and 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you take out The Platinum Card.

The points would convert into 40,000 Avios or lots of other great travel rewards. Even better, you qualify for the bonus even if you have a British Airways American Express card as long as you meet the other criteria.

Our introductory article on the ‘£400 + 40,000 bonus Membership Rewards points’ offer is here. Remember that you can still get a pro-rata refund on the annual fee as long as you cancel by ‘late 2024’ – Amex isn’t being more specific than that.

The Platinum Card application page is here. The offer runs to 27th August.

American Express Fine Hotels Resorts benefits

Last week we looked at:

…. and we will cover some other features in the coming weeks.

Today I want to look at why the Fine Hotels & Resorts booking scheme is one of the best American Express Platinum benefits.

How does American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts work?

One of the most useful benefits of having an American Express Platinum credit card – and one which genuinely helps me justify the £650 fee – is the Fine Hotels & Resorts programme.

FHR, as it is known, is a collection of 1,500 luxury hotels worldwide which commit to offering special benefits to American Express Platinum cardholders when you book via Amex Travel.

FHR bookings can be made online so you don’t need to spend any unnecessary time on the phone.

How does American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts work?

These special benefits vary in their usefulness, to be honest, but do add up.  They are:

  • Noon check-in when available (I value this at nothing – I want it guaranteed or it is useless)
  • Room upgrade on arrival when available (can be very good but not guaranteed)
  • Free breakfast for two people (very valuable at expensive hotels)
  • GUARANTEED 4pm check-out (very valuable)
  • Free in-room wi-fi (valuable at the admittedly few luxury hotels which still like to charge)
  • An additional benefit worth $100, usually a $100 food and beverage credit per stay

You can check out the full list of participating hotels in FHR at this special Amex website.

American Express Fine Hotels Resorts

The key, for me, is the guaranteed 4pm check-out

Where FHR really works for me is the guaranteed 4pm check-out.  If you are on a short break with an evening flight home, you really don’t want to be checking out of your hotel at noon.  Yes, the hotel will store your bag for you, but it isn’t the same as having full access to your room.

On our occasional trips to Four Seasons Hampshire, pictured above, using FHR allows us to stay one night less and save a significant sum.  With kids in tow, you don’t get much done in the evenings anyway so leaving at 4pm the day before doesn’t make a lot of difference compared to leaving the next morning. When we just go for the weekend, getting a 4pm Sunday check-out is invaluable.

On one night stays, you’re laughing

Another situation where FHR comes into its own is on one night stays.  The value here can be amazing.

Let’s imagine you’re paying £250 for a standard room at a city hotel via FHR, as I used to do a lot at at Park Hyatt Hamburg on my way to/from my in-laws. (This hotel is now sadly closed for refurbishment and will become Conrad Hamburg next year.)

You will get free breakfast AND $100 of food and beverage credit AND a guaranteed 4pm check-out AND a potential upgrade.  Your upgrade chances are improved on a one-night stay as the hotel doesn’t need to have a better room available for multiple nights.

You can clearly see how you can get real value here.

You also earn your usual loyalty points and elite night credits if you pay on departure

All FHR stays are fully qualifying for loyalty points and stay credit with one condition – you must choose to pay on departure.

A strange quirk of the scheme is that if you choose to pre-pay your room (there is no price difference for pre-paying, so I don’t know why you’d do it) the booking is usually treated as ‘third party’ and you won’t earn any points or elite status benefits. American Express does not make this clear but trust us – this is how it works.

Check the pricing though

One downside of Fine Hotels & Resorts is pricing.  It is not necessarily linked to the Best Available Rate, although it usually is. This means that you can often get surprises, both on the upside and the downside.  That said, on a short stay the $100 food and drink credit will offset any higher headline price and you still have the benefit of free breakfast, late check-out and potential upgrade.

UK Platinum members should book via travel.americanexpress.co.uk – make sure you are logged in or the FHR rates do not appear.

If you want to learn more about the current special ‘£400 + 40,000 points’ bonus on The Platinum Card, our core article on the deal is here.

You can apply here.

Category

American Express Platinum card

Comments (36)

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

  • jj says:
    23 Jul23 July 05:57

    Definitely check the pricing, but not for the reason the article says. I have more than saved my membership fee this year on a couple of bookings where FHR had a ‘Stay x night’s, get one night free’ offer that I couldn’t match elsewhere, including directly with the hotel.

    I don’t often stay on FHR-type properties as I prefer smaller boutique places. If you’re a regular 5* stayer, you might save even more. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, though.

  • masaccio says:
    23 Jul23 July 06:28

    I know Rob loves the late checkout thing but am I alone in not giving a stuff? If I have a late flight, I just want bag storage. Is this a kids thing?

    • Rhys says:
      23 Jul23 July 07:16

      It’s nice to be able to have a shower etc before flying, isn’t it?

    • Mark says:
      23 Jul23 July 07:23

      I have kids and find 4pm checkouts a core benifit. Not only can we get out on the last day of a holiday and explore, but we can also shower and freshen up before a long flight home. It’s not always required, but makes such a difference when needed

    • jj says:
      23 Jul23 July 09:13

      Given the horrors of the British climate, I normally want to change before heading home. Showering off suncream is another big benefit. On a sporting holiday – cycling, skiing, etc – changing clothes and showering is essential.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      23 Jul23 July 09:13

      No kids and still really enjoy a 4pm checkout. Gives you time to relax on that last day of any trip and shower etc just before you set off.

      Especially great on U.K. breaks if combined with an early check in.

    • CJD says:
      23 Jul23 July 12:09

      Depends where you are.

      We had a late flight (after 10pm) home from Cyprus last year – we couldn’t get a late check-out but the hotel did have a room we could use for half an hour at around 6pm to shower and get changed – made a huge difference to the final day as we could spend the day by the pool knowing we could freshen up prior to our flight home.

    • babyg says:
      23 Jul23 July 15:47

      late check outs are really good to have, gives you an entire free day at the hotel which is handy if you have an afternoon / eve flight..

  • HampshireHog says:
    23 Jul23 July 06:59

    Do you need to hold the card at the time of your stay?

    • Rob says:
      23 Jul23 July 07:10

      You need to hold AN Amex, if you’re paying on departure, as hotels are meant to insist on using one – only about 50% do though.

      • jj says:
        23 Jul23 July 09:13

        Never been asked to pay with an Amex myself.

        • Rob says:
          23 Jul23 July 11:50

          I’d say its 50/50. I’m pretty sure Amex audit this.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          23 Jul23 July 15:32

          I’ve been asked for an Amex at check in a lot but at check out they never seem to remember it’s FHR and my 0% card goes in or gets tapped.

          • qrfan says:
            23 Jul23 July 17:43

            Yeah if you’re paying with apple or google pay there is almost no way to enforce this. The staff don’t know what card you’re using with a mobile wallet and as the system will almost certainly take mastercard or visa credit then unless they refuse to take mobile payment you’re good.

  • NS says:
    23 Jul23 July 07:13

    Whether pay on departure FHR bookings earn nights and loyalty points is a lottery in my experience – most recently Hyatt refused (repeatedly) to credit my stay at the Gainsborough Bath Spa (back when SLH was linked with Hyatt) because I had not booked directly through Hyatt but through American Express – the fact that I paid on departure at the hotel was completely irrelevant to them.

    • Paul T says:
      23 Jul23 July 08:05

      Did The Gainsborough provide anything else though? When I stayed – not only did I get all the FHR benefits listed they also left a bottle of wine in the room (go a one night stay) extra as well.

    • memesweeper says:
      23 Jul23 July 08:27

      That might be because SLH is not a “proper” chain. I’ve never had an issue at the Hyatt’s I’ve stayed in (admittedly few!).

    • TGLoyalty says:
      23 Jul23 July 09:15

      Hyatt was correct they only earned their commission etc if the SLH property was booked via them as it wasn’t a proper Hyatt brand

  • Tiberius says:
    23 Jul23 July 08:36

    Are there any hotel sweet spots where you can get outsize benefits such as in old Hamburg Hyatt?

    • Ken says:
      23 Jul23 July 08:51

      IMO Germany was the best value.

      RC Berlin and WA Berlin used to be on FHR (it’s a while since I had access) and you can get rates under £250 for a weekend non refundable booking.
      I’d guess add £70 – £100 for going through FHR with a flexible rate and you should be able to get one for around the £300 mark.

  • Jamie says:
    23 Jul23 July 09:28

    Is there any way to use Hilton honours discount with FHR if you call them or something?

  • meta says:
    23 Jul23 July 09:47

    I’ve never had loyalty benefits honoured (usually double upgrade) or points not posting on pre-paid FHR bookings whether it’s Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott or Accor.

  • Josh B says:
    23 Jul23 July 10:34

    It can be a great way to book (and indeed to find hotels) but make sure to check pricing. I just booked a hotel in Florence and the Amex rate was significantly higher than via Booking (not itself known as the cheapest either!)

    • TGLoyalty says:
      23 Jul23 July 15:34

      100%. @JDB would say it’s best to co fact the hotel themselves too as they can sometimes do even better.

      But in my experience no one wants to know for 1 night and Emyr / FHR usually do a fine job.

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

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