The American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts Program (FHR) lets you enjoy the beaches in Hawaii to the landscapes of Italy with premium benefits — and without hotel elite status. You’ll get cost-saving benefits at more than 2,600 top-rated properties worldwide, which can add significantly to the value of The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, the Centurion® Card from American Express or The American Express Corporate Platinum Card®.
The program is packed with perks, such as a complimentary breakfast, guaranteed late checkout and a $100 experience credit. It’s a great way to have a VIP travel experience without having to spend enough to hit elite status. Plus, your eligible card comes with its own luxury benefits that can help cover the high annual fees when paired with American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits.
Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts is a travel booking program for select American Express cardholders that provides exclusive benefits at luxury resorts worldwide. You can book these properties through American Express Travel and enjoy perks from a variety of hotel brands.
Depending on where and when you book a hotel in the program, you can earn additional savings through resort-specific special offers. This may include free night stays, food and beverage credits and discounted nightly rates.
American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts is worth it because you’ll get high-end benefits valued at around $550 per stay without holding elite status. This is a huge savings when stacked on top of rewards like 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel with The Platinum Card® from American Express. Properties in the Fine Hotels + Resorts program range from large luxury hotels like the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego and independent hotels like The Lodge at Sea Island in St. Simons Island.
The downside is you have to book your stay through the American Express travel portal, where you won’t always get the best rate. If you’re a loyalty program member, you’ll also have to skip loyalty program points, and you may have to forgo your elite status benefits.
That said, many hotels offer additional perks — like a free night — which can help bring down the total cost of your stay. Plus, you can combine other card benefits, like a hotel credit of up to $200 each year on select prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel.
American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts is available if you have The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, The American Express Corporate Platinum Card® or the Centurion® Card from American Express.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Annual Fee | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Platinum Card® from American Express*
|
$695 | 5X points
| 80,000 points
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
| ||
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express*
|
$695 | 1X - 5X points
| 150,000 points
Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
| ||
Centurion® Card from American Express*
|
$5,000 | N/A | N/A |
The American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts program has six main benefits that apply per room for up to three rooms per stay. According to American Express, these benefits are worth a total of around $550.
When you book an American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts hotel through the American Express portal, you likely won’t be able to use hotel loyalty benefits or search for the lowest price, but the $550 value of these benefits will make up for it.
The $100 experience credit is one of the most valuable benefits offered with Fine Hotels + Resorts. The hotel chooses the form of credit that you will receive, and you’ll be able to see what type of credit you’ll get upon booking. A general property credit or food and beverage credit are the two most popular credits you’ll find, but credits can be unique to each property.
The credit may include:
This is one of two benefits that’s not guaranteed at each stay. You’ll need to verify if the hotel has availability to give you an early check-in.
Room upgrades depend on availability upon check-in. American Express also notes that certain room categories are not eligible for a room upgrade.
While the $100 experience credit often applies to dining, adding on a complimentary daily breakfast can heavily reduce your food and beverage spending on your trip. Breakfast is valued at a minimum of $60 per room per day and varies by location.
With a guaranteed 4 p.m. checkout, you’ll get almost an entire extra day at the hotel of your choice without having to pay for an extra night. This can also be helpful if your flight is later in the day or you want to take advantage of additional amenities before you leave.
Although many hotels now include complimentary Wi-Fi, some hotels charge a mandatory property fee that includes Wi-Fi. If this is the case, you’ll get a daily credit for the amount of Wi-Fi applied at checkout.
Although Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts can offer incredible benefits and experiences, it’s not necessarily the best option for every trip.
Unless a participating resort is running a special offer for discounted nights, it’s hard to come by savings on nightly rates through the program. However, the program’s credits can help you save.
When you book through Fine Hotels and Resorts, your hotel loyalty status won’t get you extra perks. For example, if you book a Marriott hotel via Fine Hotels + Resorts and you’re a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite member, you won’t be able to earn 50% more points on your stay through the program.
Fine Hotels + Resorts includes over 2,600 properties worldwide. Here are a few examples of qualifying hotels’ popular destinations:
| Hotel | Special offer | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Waldorf Astoria Chicago | 25% off the nightly room rate on select rooms | Book by 3/30/25 for travel by 3/31/25 |
| Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas | 15% off the nightly room rate on select rooms | Book by 3/30/25 for travel by 3/31/25 |
| Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park | Complimentary third night | Book by 4/18/25 for travel by 4/21/25 |
| Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome | 15% off the nightly room rate on select rooms | Book by 5/15/25 for travel by 5/16/25 |
| Mandarin Oriental, Miami | Complimentary fourth night | Book by 5/27/25 for travel by 5/31/25 |
| The Peninsula New York | Complimentary third night | Book by 8/21/25 for travel by 8/24/25 |
| Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills | Complimentary fourth night | Book by 12/27/25 for travel by 12/31/25 |
Boutique or non-chain hotels don’t typically offer the option to get elite status or additional benefits. You may not usually choose a boutique hotel for this reason, but the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts program is a good solution for this. For example, the Surfrider Malibu is a boutique hotel that offers Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits.
Without the Fine Hotels + Resorts program, you’ll need to reach elite status with a specific hotel brand to get the same benefits. For example, you would need to stay 50+ nights and reach Platinum Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy to get a 4 p.m. late checkout benefit.
If you’re loyal to a hotel brand, elite status may give you more hotel-specific benefits. But if you don’t stay at a specific hotel chain enough to hit elite status each year, the Fine Hotels + Resorts program is a good choice. In some instances, you can even use your elite status and Fine Hotels + Resorts together, though many hotels require you to book through their channels to use your elite status.
The experience credit is one of the most valuable benefits you can get with the Fine Hotels + Resorts program. The experience credit is at least $100 no matter how long you stay, so you can maximize this credit on shorter trips. For example, if you’re looking for a relaxing weekend getaway to the Baccarat Hotel New York, FHR will cover $150 in spa services as your experience. This is a huge savings for a one- or two-night stay. Plus, if you find a hotel offering a third or fourth night free, you can extend your short trip at no additional cost.
The Platinum Card® from American Express also offers up to $200 in statement credits for eligible prepaid hotels through American Express Travel. This is another big way to reduce the cost of a shorter stay once a year.
Similar to Fine Hotels + Resorts, The Hotel Collection offers exclusive hotel perks to eligible American Express cardholders. The main difference is that The Hotel Collection is available with the American Express® Gold Card and the American Express® Business Gold Card — in addition to The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
Additionally, with The Hotel Collection, cardholders must book a minimum of a two-night stay to receive the benefits. The program also offers fewer benefits than Fine Hotels + Resorts:
| Hotel Collection benefits | Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits |
|---|---|
|
|
The Fine Hotels + Resort program also has more hotels to choose from. The Hotel Collection has more than 1,000 hotels globally, while Fine Hotels + Resorts offers more than 2,600.
Yes, but it may not be the best use of your points. Membership Rewards redeemed for Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts stays will be worth 1 cent — and you can likely get more value by transferring them to travel partners. So when booking stays in the program, it’s often best to pay with cash.
You can narrow down your search for the right property with American Express’s hotel search tool.
The Fine Hotels and Resorts program can offer more value, since it includes over 1,000 more properties than The Hotel Collection and slightly better benefits. But if you have the American Express® Gold Card, there are still plenty of properties to stay at while only missing out on a couple of benefits, like free breakfast and 4 p.m. checkout.
The information related to the The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, Centurion® Card from American Express, The American Express Corporate Platinum Card®, American Express® Gold Card, American Express® Business Gold Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom Unlimited® has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
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