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American Express has had a slew of new offers out today, including 2x Membership Rewards points at a number of retailers through December 31st and a targeted $100 back on $300 or more at MR PORTER (we pointed out that a good use of this one would be for a GoPro). A third offer that is widely available is a $100 statement credit on $600 or more in prepaid hotel bookings at Amex Travel.
The Deal
- Spend $600 or more, get a $100 statement credit
- Valid only on prepaid hotel bookings at amextravel.com
Key Terms
- Must book by 5/31/17
- Excludes Fine Hotels & Resorts
- Excludes any type of booking other than a prepaid hotel
Our Thoughts
This could be a decent deal if you are making a booking and do not care about elite benefits or credits as most hotels will not typically honor benefits or give credit for prepaid 3rd party bookings. In the right situation, this could be a good chance to save a hundred bucks. Keep in mind that prepaid does not necessarily mean nonrefundable. Edit: For clarity, I am not suggesting that you book to get the credit and then cancel later. I assume Amex would claw back the $100 statement credit. I’m merely emphasizing that this deal doesn’t lock you into dates that you can’t change/cancel. You can choose hotels with a flexible cancellation. You’re only giving up elite benefits/status/things like free wi-fi which may only be free for members who book direct.
For an example, see this hotel stay I looked up for Tuesday, November 7th, 2017:
Furthermore, folks with an Amex Platinum card — whether Personal or Business — should qualify for 5x points:
Lest anyone think that hotel is not prepaid, here is the payment page:
So this hotel would both earn you 5X Membership Rewards points (3,050 points) and trigger the $100 back on $600. In the end, you’d earn about $61 worth of points toward airfare if you’re a Business Platinum holder (or $66.19 if our predictions are correct) on top of the $100 back on $600. That’s not a bad deal. $600 for a room in NY on a Tuesday in November, on the other hand, isn’t anything to write home about — it was just an example for illustration :-).
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[…] $100 back on $600 at Amex Travel (works on refundable hotels) (Expires 5/31/17) […]
Looks like this offer has dissapeared. I checked all my amex cards, it is on none of them anymore (was there few days ago).
[…] $100 off a GoPro and $100 off $600 in refundable (but prepaid) hotel reservations […]
Really, you are asking people to book and refund, this is clear cut cheating. I am reporting this site to your advertising partners saying you are suggesting fraud to people
You should probably read the article and comments again.
The author made it clear that he wasn’t suggesting that, and also that it wouldn’t work anyway.
(Reminds me of what “Bulldog”, on Frasier, used to always do. In case anybody watches re-runs.)
Didnt previous Amex travel booking offers gave more cashback? Something equivalent to 20% back. Amex gabe you 5x MR instead of the old 2x but discount is less than 17%. You can get a better deal at Hotels.com using discounted gift cards.
Many of the amex offers has a specific tern where they won’t credit you until after the offer expires. I’ve waited 6 months for a credit from last year. I think they do that to avoid hotel rebookings be it intentional or skirting the terns.
For clarity, I was NOT suggesting that you book and then cancel to keep the statement credit — though, on second reading, I can see how it could have been interpreted that way. I simply meant that you aren’t locked into a nonrefundable hotel reservation. When I hear “prepaid hotel”, I typically assume “non-refundable” — and that doesn’t appeal to me since plans change.
I have updated the post to make it clear — because you’re right. I would assume the statement credit would be clawed back (and you’d lose the offer as I believe they won’t re-add it to your account if memory serves me correctly).
You’re right that Amex is very good about taking back the offer if the charge is refunded, so even if someone tries what you’re not suggesting, it likely will not work. There is a potentially shady way to do it I can think of, but I’m not going to try it or go into any detail.
Anyway, the main thing I wanted to say is that usually if you refund an offer, it’s still on your card. So if you did cancel your hotel, Amex would take the $100 back, but if you rebooked your hotel with the same card, you should be able to get the offer again. I’ve done that with other offers anyway.
20 months ago on a previous version of this offer, I had to cancel a booking. In addition to clawing back the $100 (as they should have), the Offer disappeared; and a telephone call asking them to reinstate it was to no avail.
+1 to what Richard said. Amex has clawed back a statement credit after I cancelled a reservation last year, with a similar offer. Datapoints on Flyertalk, for some people it resulted in FR. Be extra careful (I would say it’s not worth it).
If you cancel the hotel booking and the money goes back to your card, Amex will pull back the $100 statement credit. Trust me, I’ve done it before with them. (Not intentionally. I swear.) However, I will log into my Amex account after returning something from an Amex offer, and they take back the money they gave from the offer.