Making best use of Platinum benefits for hotel bookings in Japan

[bowenm187]

I am travelling to Japan for 3 weeks in November and starting to look at accommodation. Rough itinerary is Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo with some locations off the beaten track.
I have a platinum card and am trying to determine how best to use the benefits including hotel loyalty or whether I should just use regular search approaches.
For most of the nights I will be looking for a budget of £100-150 and would consider doubling that for a few special locations.
So far the Amex travel site seems to capture a wide range of hotels and includes the Fine Hotels and Resorts. It also gives extra reward points.
Are there any tips for making bookings e.g. pre-pay or pay at hotel. Better options than Amex travel.
I currently am not collecting hotel rewards. Main airmiles are Avios although I am wanting to collect Krisflyer points also.
Also are there any specific recommendation for hotels in those towns (realising that Tokyo has many areas)
I will be arriving into Osaka and departing HND on morning ANA flight

[hw-99]

Not hotel related, but if you still have some of your abroad dining credits available. I can really recommended Amex’s pocket concierge. Had an amazing dinner for two in Tokyo off the back of the aforementioned at KIRAMEKI.

Booking process was easy, received the credit back to the card within a few days. And any extras like drinks were charged to the Amex without having to present any payment on the night. One of the highlights of the trip.

[Jipster]

I did a Japan trip and I would suggest the following:

Keep an eye on Hilton and Marriot points purchase offers as you have gold via your platinum. There are some really good redemptions on offer seeming randomly so start an excel and start looking ASAP

I’m also assuming you can xfer Amex membership points, we got lucky that marriot was running a 30% xfer bonus too so keep an eye on these.

Hilton seems to be better at upgrading rooms etc, we had a great cash stay in Hiroshima, breakfast inc. upgraded etc.

Otherwise also keep an eye on any hotel cashback offers from Amex… Albeit these seem to have dried up recently.

For normal cash searches use Expedia etc, again keep an eye out for Amex cashback offers….

and the avios shopping portal as they also run offers… Via Expedia… so make sure you use normal as well as via avios as the prices can vary between the two sites. Again excel is your friend!

Good news is you can’t go wrong really. Japan is epic. The service is excellent everywhere for everything.

Enjoy!

[bowenm187]

Thanks both 👍🏻

[Gagravarr]

If you don’t mind a small room, and don’t mind a later checkin / earlier checkout, then many of the Japanese 2* / 3* chains are worth a look. Much much cheaper than western chains like Hilton! eg APA or Sotetsu. (You won’t get any Amex benefits)

Also try to stay at least one night in a Ryokan, ideally with an onsen, for the experience. Headline price might seem a bit higher, especially if it’s a half-board stay (as most are), but it’s a lovely experience and when you factor in the food it isn’t always that bad.

But if you want a huge room, staying in a business focused Hilton / Marriott on a weekend with status in the way to go! Otherwise think small…