Two ‘not so special’ Priority Club promotions from Amex

There is something distinctly weird about Amex Platinum and their special promotions. For every one they send you that might possibly be useful, there is one that is just fundamentally odd or poor value or downright deceptive.

If you have Amex Platinum, you probably received an email last week along these lines:

Enjoy 3 nights for the price of 2 at selected European InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

Simply book between 13 June 2013 and 23 February 2014 for stays from and including 18 June 2013 to 28 February 2014.

REGISTER NOW – bookings must be made five days in advance. Escape to Europe and get even more out of your journey with your Platinum Card by your side. Offer is based on stays of a minimum and maximum of three consecutive nights based on two adults sharing standard twin/double room, on a room only basis.

On the face of it, this could be a decent deal. (Let’s ignore for a minute the fact that I have 3 nights already booked at the IC Dusseldorf and the promotion is not valid for those dates!)

However, it turns out that this is the same 3-for-2 deal that Priority Club has been offering for years, covering InterContinental plus Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Indigo and Holiday Inn Express!

I wrote about the Priority Club 3-4-2 it back in August 2012 in this article. If you click on the link in that post for the 3-for-2 deal, it shows you the same deals as with the Amex promo. And you don’t need to pay or even have an Amex Platinum to take part, neither do you need to register with Amex!

Meanwhile, over at Amex Network, the American Express special offers site, they are promoting two further Priority Club deals. These offer 2 nights for the price of 1, or 35% off.

Guess what? These are also the same deals that Priority Club has been running forever, and which can also be booked via the links in the post I wrote in August.

It is all rather odd. Amex has basically hijacked promotions that has been running for years and is implying that it is a unique deal for cardholders, when it isn’t anything of the sort! That isn’t to say that these are bad deals per se – they aren’t, I have booked them myself in the past – but they are open to anyone.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee 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 Gold

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

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company 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 on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review