The American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) programme is a collection of more than 2,600 luxury hotels worldwide where AMEX Platinum Charge and Centurion Cardholders enjoy additional elite-like benefits, such as free breakfast and guaranteed late check-out.
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| AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts |
These stays price the same as the hotel’s best flexible rate, and while this might not necessarily be the cheapest (compared to non-refundable rates at least), the added benefits can make it more than worthwhile.
In this post, I’ll go through everything you need to know about the AMEX FHR programme, as well as some commonly asked questions.
Who can book AMEX FHR rates?
The AMEX FHR programme is exclusively for principal and supplementary AMEX Platinum Charge and AMEX Centurion Cardholders. It is not available to AMEX Platinum Reserve or AMEX Platinum Credit Cardholders.
Bookings can be made online through this link, or via the AMEX Travel Concierge.
What benefits do AMEX FHR rates enjoy?
Hotel bookings made through AMEX FHR enjoy the following benefits:
- Daily breakfast for two guests
- A room upgrade, subject to availability
- 12 p.m check-in, subject to availability
- 4 p.m check-out, guaranteed
- Min. US$100 hotel credit per stay
- Welcome amenity
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
In addition to this, you can sometimes take advantage of 3rd, 4th or 5th night free offers through FHR. You can see the full list of available offers here.
In its marketing materials, AMEX claims the FHR benefits are worth S$750, based on a two-night stay.
Of course, the actual value will vary:
- Daily breakfast is a great perk to have, and can save you a lot of money at more expensive resorts
- The US$100 hotel credit is great too (and sometimes hotels upsize it to as much as US$150), though do note that some properties may limit its use to the spa, which drastically reduces its usefulness
- Having guaranteed 4 p.m check-out can be a lifesaver, especially when you have a late departure.
- 12 p.m check-in and room upgrades are subject to availability, though in my experience most properties try their best to do so. You might not get a suite, but thankfully I’ve never received the dreaded “view upgrade” before either. Every room upgrade I’ve received has genuinely been a bigger room, though YMMV
- The welcome amenity is usually a fruit basket, box of chocolates or bottle of (cheap) wine
- Complimentary Wi-Fi is more or less standard these days so it’s nothing to shout about
Could you get S$750 of value? Sure, but it really boils down to where you’re staying, whether you get an upgrade, and whether you’d have been willing to pay for that upgrade in the first place.
Do AMEX FHR bookings cost more?
Yes and no.
AMEX FHR bookings price the same as the hotel’s best flexible rate. For example, the Conrad Centennial Singapore costs S$539.55 nett on the AMEX FHR portal…
…which matches what I see on the Hilton website.
But there are cheaper rates available. If I were a Hilton Honors member, I could get that same flexible rate for S$507.45, and if all I cared about was the lowest possible rate, then a non-refundable advance purchase rate would cost S$410.06.
So the FHR rate will not always be the absolute lowest possible, but you will have the added benefit of flexible cancellation, plus the additional benefits mentioned earlier.
How do I book AMEX FHR rates?
To book AMEX FHR rates, visit this page, login to your AMEX account and enter your search criteria.
You’ll then see FHR-participating properties in grey and black. By default, prices will be displayed in SGD, inclusive of all taxes and fees.
Select whichever property you like, and proceed to complete your booking.
You have the choice to pay now (in SGD), or pay at the hotel (in local currency). I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t choose the latter, unless:
- you want to use Membership Rewards points to pay for your booking (bad idea, at 1,000 points= S$6)
- you’re trying to meet the minimum spend requirement for a sign-up bonus and need to charge the expense sooner rather than later
Remember, stays follow the hotel’s flexible cancellation policy, so even if you pay now, you can still get your money back if you change your mind later.
| โ The Hotel Collection? |
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While browsing the results, you’re likely to see stays labelled “The Hotel Collection” as well. Think of this as FHR’s cheaper sister, for upscale hotels that don’t quite meet the luxury criteria such as Andaz or Fairmont. These require a minimum two-night stay, and offer a room upgrade, noon check-in and late check-out, subject to availability. A US$100 hotel credit is also given. |
Can you enjoy elite benefits and earn points?
Generally yes. Unlike regular third-party bookings like Hotels.com or Expedia, AMEX FHR bookings are eligible for elite benefits and points with loyalty programmes like Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt.
However, since many of the benefits are duplicative, there might not be many incremental perks to enjoy (maybe Your24 if you’re a Bonvoy Ambassador). Therefore, the real benefit is to earn elite night credits and hotel points.
That said, I did encounter one case where a Six Senses booking did not earn IHG One Rewards elite credit or points, and it took several emails before that was sorted out. Be sure to monitor your account, just in case.
Can you pay with a different card?
The AMEX Platinum Charge (0.78 mpd) and AMEX Centurion Card (0.98 mpd) don’t have the best earn rates, so is it possible to pay with a different card?
It depends. Some properties have insisted that I use the same card for payment, others don’t care so long as you’re paying with an AMEX of some sort (which then lets me switch to the AMEX HighFlyer Card for a better 1.8 mpd).
For what it’s worth, the T&Cs state that payment must be made in full with an American Express Card in the Platinum/Centurion cardholder’s name, not necessarily the Platinum/Centurion card itself.
Can you make back-to-back bookings?
Since the US$100 hotel credit is granted per stay, you might be tempted to book back-to-back one-night stays at the same property, so you can enjoy it multiple times.
AMEX is well aware of such behaviour, and explicitly disallows it in their T&Cs.
| Back-to-back stays booked by a single Platinum member, Platinum Members staying in the same room or Platinum members traveling in the same party within a 24-hour period at the same property are considered one stay and are ineligible for additional FHR benefits (“Prohibited Action”). |
If you make multiple back-to-back bookings with a single card, they’ll be considered as a single stay, and the credit granted only once.
To get around this, some people have tried using a ” two-player approach”, where one person books one night, the other person the next, and so on. But the T&Cs also prohibit such a practice.
If you ask me, the risk is much greater if your roommate is a supplementary cardholder. If he/she has their own principal card, it feels like it’d be harder to detect, though as with all things you’ll need to decide for yourself whether it’s worth the risk.
Does AMEX FHR stack with AMEX Offers?
Yes. If the FHR booking you’ve made is at a property that’s also participating in an AMEX Offer, you can enjoy the AMEX Offer too provided you hit the minimum spend requirement.
For example, I recently made an FHR booking at the Ritz-Carlton Perth, which was also a participating property for the Marriott Bonvoy spend S$400 get S$80 offer. Since the final amount was charged by the hotel itself (and not AMEX), that triggered the offer.
Can you book multiple rooms?
Yes. According to the T&Cs, each cardmember can book up to three rooms per stay. All three rooms will enjoy the AMEX FHR benefits.
Can you book on behalf of someone else?
No. The T&Cs state that the stay must be booked in the name of the cardholder.
How is the US$100 hotel credit converted?
The US$100 hotel credit will be converted into local currency, at the hotel’s rate. Sadly, this is at the hotel’s discretion, and can be very poor. For instance, in my two stays in Perth, one hotel gave me A$125, and another A$130 (the actual rate should have been closer to A$150).
Could you get the same benefits without AMEX FHR?
As valuable as the AMEX FHR programme is, there are other alternatives available through luxury travel advisors that can offer similar perks, without the need to have an AMEX Platinum Charge or Centurion.
These include:
- Accor STEP
- Four Season Preferred Partner
- Hilton Impresario
- Hyatt Prive
- IHG Luxury & Lifestyle
- Mandarin Oriental Fan Club
- Marriott STARS
- Peninsula Pen Club
- Shangri-La Luxury Circle
- Virtuoso
The easiest way to book these rates is to download the HoteLux app and sign up for a membership. This in theory requires paying an annual fee, but HoteLux practically gives away memberships so you should never be paying out of pocket:
- World Elite Mastercard: 12-month HoteLux Elite Plus Membership
- PPS Club: 12-month HoteLux Elite Plus membership
- World Mastercard: 12-month HoteLux Elite Membership
- KrisFlyer Elite Gold: 12-month HoteLux Elite membership
Keep in mind that guaranteed 4 p.m check-out is what sets AMEX FHR apart from the rest; not every alternate programme guarantees the benefit.
Full terms & conditions
The T&Cs of the AMEX FHR programme can be found below.
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Conclusion
American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts is a great way for non-elites to enjoy elite-like benefits on their stays, or at nonchain hotels which don’t offer a loyalty programme. It’s ideal for one-night stays, since the US$100 credit is fixed, but longer stays can sometimes be rewarded too with 3/4/5th night free offers.
Even though stays should price the same as the hotel’s best flexible rate, always make a point of checking the hotel’s official website for special packages they might be offering.
What have your Fine Hotels & Resorts stays been like?
Great benefit only for plat charge and cent.