60,000 BONUS POINTS: Why Fine Hotels & Resorts is one of the best Amex Platinum benefits
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American Express is currently running a ‘never seen before’ bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points when you take out The Platinum Card.
This would convert into 60,000 Avios or lots of other great travel rewards.
Our main article on the Platinum 60,000 points offer is here. Last week we looked at:
Today I want to look at why the Fine Hotels & Resorts booking scheme is one of the best American Express Platinum benefits.
You can apply for The Platinum Card here.
One of the most useful benefits of having an American Express Platinum charge card – and one which genuinely helps me justify the £575 fee – is the Fine Hotels & Resorts programme.
How does American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts work?
FHR, as it is known, is a collection of 1,200 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.
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. This website is a little confusing because it talks about 1,800 hotels. This includes 600 in ‘The Hotel Collection’ which is a different, less generous plan for both Platinum and Gold cardholders.
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 young 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.
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 £175 for a standard room at a city hotel via FHR, as I do sometimes at Park Hyatt Hamburg. 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 too 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.
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 60,000 points bonus on The Platinum Card, our core article on the deal is here. You can apply here.
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