American Express has launched a new set of staycation offers that runs from 20 April to 11 July 2021.
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| AMEX Staycation Offers |
Cardholders will enjoy hotel statement credits, discounts with selected OTAs, and enhanced value when redeeming Membership Rewards points for charges at selected hotels.
Statement Credits for Hilton, Hyatt, Millennium Hotels and Pan Pacific Group
American Express cardholders can now register for the above AMEX Offers via the AMEX app or online banking portal.
| ❓ What are AMEX Offers? |
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AMEX Offers are opportunities to earn bonus miles or Membership Rewards points, or discounts in the form of statement credits. These are available to Platinum, True Cashback, and KrisFlyer cobrand cardholders, and can be found in the “Offers” section of the AMEX app or web portal.
Registration is required, and some offers may be targeted. These are not applicable to DBS/Citi/UOB AMEX cardholders. |
Registration is on a per card basis, so if you have two different AMEX cards, you can register both and enjoy the offer twice. Supplementary cardholders can also register, but out of consideration to others, please don’t register more cards than you’ll need.
These offers are valid for transactions made by 11 July 2021, and can be used for dining, spa treatment or stays at participating hotels (see next section).
| Chain | Offer |
Max Uses Per Card | Reg. Cap | |
| Spend | Credit | |||
 (T&C) |
S$300 | S$60 | 1 | 6,000 cards |
 (T&C) |
S$300 | S$60 | 1 | 12,000 cards |
 (T&C) |
S$300 | S$60 | 1 | 20,000 cards |
 (T&C) |
S$300 | S$60 | 1 | 10,000 cards |
| All offers valid for spending made after card registration, up till 11 July 2020. | ||||
Payments must be made in-person at the hotel, with the exception of Millennium Hotels & Resorts, which allows for payments via its website (millenniumhotels.com).
| Online | In-person | |
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✕ | ✓ |
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✕ | ✓ |
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✓ | ✓ |
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✕ | ✓ |
The implication is that any rates which are prepaid online will not qualify for the offer, even if they’re booked via the hotel’s official website. That’s a downer, insofar as the prepaid rates are usually the cheapest, but some people managed to get around this restriction during last year’s campaign by emailing the hotel to make a booking, then physically going down to swipe their card at the front desk to pay (in advance of their actual stay).
| ❓ What about post-paid OTA bookings? |
| Many OTAs allow you to book flexible rates that are paid upon check-in at the hotel. However, AMEX has confirmed that bookings must be made directly with the hotels in order to trigger the credit. |
Spending can be spread out across multiple transactions; there’s no need to spend the entire amount at one go (I’ve confirmed this with AMEX). For example, the Hyatt offer requires S$300 in cumulative spending to trigger a S$60 statement credit; you could achieve this with three separate transactions of S$80, S$100, and S$120. In fact, the transactions need not even be at the same property; you could combine spending at both the Grand Hyatt and Andaz Singapore to trigger the credit.
Full list of participating hotels
The following hotels, dining outlets and spas are participating:
| Chain | Hotels | Dining Outlets |
| (Full details) |
Conrad Centennial |
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| Hilton Singapore |
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 (Full details) |
Andaz Singapore |
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| Grand Hyatt Singapore |
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| (Full details) |
Orchard Hotel Singapore |
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| M Social Singapore |
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| Studio M Hotel |
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| Copthorne King’s Hotel |
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| M Hotel Singapore |
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| Grand Copthorne Waterfront |
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(Full Details) |
Pan Pacific Singapore |
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| PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay |
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| PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering |
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| PARKROYAL on Beach Road |
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| PARKROYAL on Kitchener Road |
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| Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Beach Road | N/A | |
| Red= Hotel not approved for staycations yet, credit can be used for F&B only Blue = Restaurant also participates in Love Dining |
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The sharp-eyed amongst you may have noticed that some of these restaurants participate in the Love Dining program. The Love Dining and AMEX Offers will stack, and it all boils down to the nett amount charged to your card.
For example, if I spent S$600 at Oscar’s with a 50% Love Dining discount, then S$300 is charged to my card- sufficient to trigger the S$60 statement credit. You probably won’t spend S$600 at one go, but remember: it need not be in a single transaction.
Discounts with Agoda and Expedia
American Express members can also enjoy 8% off Agoda and 12% off Expedia hotel bookings in Singapore. Unlike the statement credit offers above, no registration is required.
- Agoda (www.agoda.com/amex)
- Book by 11 July 2021, stay by 31 March 2022
- Enter AMEX card details at payment page, and savings will be automatically triggered
- Expedia (www.expedia.com.sg/amex)
- Book by 11 July 2021, stay by 31 October 2021
- Promo code: AMEXSG12
Bookings must be made via the special reservation links above, and it’s good practice to compare this with other OTAs to make sure you’re not paying above the odds.
The full T&Cs can be found here.
Redeem Membership Rewards points for hotel statement credit
From 20 April to 11 July 2021, AMEX cardholders can redeem Membership Rewards points at an enhanced rate of 1,000 points= S$6.00 (usual: S$4.80) for charges at the following hotel partners:
- Andaz Singapore
- Agoda (www.agoda.com/amex)
- Conrad Centennial Singapore
- Copthorne King’s Hotel Singapore (F&B Only)
- Princess Terrace Authentic Penang Cuisine
- Tien Court Restaurant
- Princess Terrace Authentic Penang Cuisine
- Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore (F&B Only)
- Grissini Italian Grill Restaurant
- Food Capital
- Tempo
- Expedia (www.expedia.com.sg/amex)
- Grand Hyatt Singapore
- Hilton Singapore
- M Hotel Singapore (F&B only)
- Café 2000
- Café 2000
- M Social Singapore
- Pan Pacific Singapore
- PARKROYAL on Beach Road
- PARKROYAL on Kitchener Road
- PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay
- PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering
- Studio M Hotel Singapore (F&B only)
- MEMO
- Orchard Hotel Singapore
While that’s a 25% boost compared to normal, it can’t beat the 1,000 points= S$9.60 rate that AMEX offered up till 20 July 2020.
So should you take advantage of it? Well, if you’re an AMEX Platinum Charge or Centurion member, that’s the equivalent of accepting 0.96 cents per mile (1.08 for all other AMEX cards, thanks to the different conversion rates). It’s not fantastic, and unless you’re really flush with points, it’s better to sit this one out.
The T&C of this offer can be found here.
How does this compare to last year’s offer?
You may recall that American Express ran a similar offer in August last year. For the sake of comparison, last year’s offer was slightly better for both statement credits and Membership Rewards points redemptions.
Last year’s statement credits offered a discount of up to 30% (not to mention the inclusion of Marriott), versus 20% this time round:
- Hilton: Spend S$400, get S$120 (30% off, maximum of 3 times)
- Hyatt: Spend S$300, get S$75 (25% off, maximum of once)
- Marriott: Spend S$400, get S$100 (25% off, maximum of once)
- Millennium Hotels & Resorts: Spend S$500, get S$100 (20% off, maximum of once)
The rate for offsetting hotel charges with Membership Rewards points last year was also superior at 1,000 MR points= S$6.50, versus S$6 this year.
So on the whole this isn’t as exciting as last year’s promotion, but still worth taking note of.
Conclusion
If you’re able to find a hotel rate that hovers around S$300 nett, this would be a good chance to bring it down by a further 20% or so. Otherwise, it’s an opportunity to get a further discount on dining.
I wouldn’t advise people to use their Membership Rewards points to offset staycation expenses however, unless they’ve got a genuine abundance on hand.
