A few weeks ago, American Express posted an announcement saying that there would soon be a “major” refresh coming to the Amex Platinum and Business Platinum cards. Since then, we haven’t learned much detail, except that both cards’ annual fees will be going up to (gulp) $895/year and that the Business Platinum will soon be ending its 35% rebate when using points to book premium cabin flights through Amex Travel (the benefit will be limited to your selected airline). Both of these changes are supposed to go live on September 18th.
But wait, there’s more.
Yesterday, a redditor captured a change to the terms and conditions on the Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) website, indicating that, starting September 18th, both the Business and consumer Platinum cards would have $300 in FHR credits every six months (Jan-June and July-Dec). The terms have since been erased from the website, but based on the screenshot, it seems legitimate.
This will be a huge change, since currently the consumer Platinum card only gets one $200 credit per year, while the Business Platinum doesn’t have any.
The News
- American Express has indicated that the are changes coming to Fine Hotels and Resorts credits on both the business and consumer versions of the Platinum card.
- The consumer Platinum will go from $200 in credit per year to $300 in credit every six months.
- The Business Platinum card will also gain $300 in FHR credit every six months. Previously, it didn’t have any.
- Both changes go live on September 18th.
- There’s no indication as to whether or not the Business Platinum’s $50/quarter in Hilton credit will be affected.
Quick Thoughts
I’m of two minds about this change. Fine Hotels and Resorts has an excellent portfolio of properties, terrific benefits, and you normally earn hotel points and elite nights (like Chase’s The Edit). I normally enjoy using our credits.
Many of us use the current, once-annual credit to book a stay as close as possible to $200 in order to get as close to a free night as possible. So while you now have to use two per year, boosting the credit up to $300 will make it much easier to use…and adding the full $600/year to the Business Platinum is a sizeable boost to that card’s annual value.
That said, very few people are asking for more travel portal credits. It’s the new ultra-vogue among ultra-premium credit cards. Every major bank offers them as a bougie-card benefit, including American Express, Chase, Citi, and Capital One. All of these credits can be dizzying to keep track of and maximize. I’m not the only one who needs a nap from the coupon fatigue.
In order to fully grasp the effect of the new FHR credits on the appeal of the Platinum cards, we’ll have to see the entirety of the new slate of benefits. $895 is a massive amount to pay for holding a coupon book credit card, and Amex will need to wow potential customers. However, adding $400-$600 of annual luxury hotel credits is a decent start.
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AMEX and CSR are moving towards irrelevance, but they will ultimately have to come back to reality. It seems that Gen Xers should be the prime target given our age and relative wealth. However, they must’ve forgot that we have Boomer tendencies such as not having time for stupid, and not paying for things you don’t need and/or can’t afford. These fees are out of pocket and I predict a large exodus from the hassle of holding these cards just to have the hassle of trying to use airline & hotel points which are also becoming more complex and less valuable.
So that leaves Millennials and Gen Z, who, as they get older, will want security with their wealth and lifestyles they’re creating and may actually start getting married, having children, and buying houses at a rate resembling previous generations. At that point, they will likely see the folly and vanity of these fees, too. People are people.
Then that leaves those who can truly afford these fees, which at these rates, seem like those with annual income approaching $1M. At that level of income, I have to assume your work keeps you significantly occupied – to the point where the coupon-style savings are a waste of your time.
These card companies need a reality check as the country – both politically and economically – seems to be moving in the exact opposite direction as these bougie-signaling fees suggest.
They were nice cards with nice perks. Now, they just seem ridiculous.
The city I stay in most frequently for leisure trips is light on FHR, but my favorite non-basic property is a THC property, so increased credit would be fairly useful to me. Obviously depends a little on how high the fee goes, and what other new credits are introduced, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see an obvious use case.
I still have $200 FHR credit to use, if use it now, will I get $300 come September 18th, my card anniversary is in November so I can double dip before deciding on keeping the card or cancelling it. Of course, if the new fee does not hit till 26, I may keep it. We had a great experience with FHR in Seattle and got lots of Hilton points as a bonus.
Couple of questions (which perhaps cannot be answered yet):
If the credit is every 6 months, will it be based on the date booked OR the date of stay? My experience has been the rates are prepaid, but refundable. Date of payment makes more sense, but not sure AMEX sees it that way.
Will the credit be limited to FHR hotels only OR will The Hotel Collection also qualify? I tend to use Hotel Collection much more than FHR.
Right now AMEX does the credit based on date booked, not date of stay. While that certainly could change it would be a big departure from how they currently operate and require some new backend support to prevent future prepaid stays from triggering the credit.
As soon as you book, it shows up in your account in 2-3 days.
The bigger question is if this increase also comes with a 2 night minimum stay requirement, much like the Edit credit.
Since most of the same hotels are on the Edit and FHR. It probably signals a change pushed by the hotels on both those programs. Probably not getting a good ROI with a single night requirement.
I really don’t understand why people are so fixated on the difference between Amex rate and the hotel rate. If FHR night costs $200 and same night directly with the hotel is $180, you still pay zero via Amex. Yes, you may not get 100% value of the benefit, but it’s not usual to value any benefit at face value. The biggest issue is FHR pricing in the US which makes it very difficult to get good value out of the benefit. Using it outside of the US is the key. I used it in Munich, Berlin and Sofia and got really good value, especially combining with buy 2 get 1 free night promos.
DoC has an article warning that the new $300/$600 FHR credit *might* replace the current $200 FHR credit . . . as opposed to there being overlap during the remainder of 2025. Out of caution, DoC encourages cardholders to use the $200 FHR credit prior to 9/18/2025.
But, there’s another nuance worth mentioning. If one uses the $200 FHR credit now and we get to 9/18, does Amex say “you have $100 of FHR credit left”? Which would defeat trying to game the credits. And, you’re left with only $100 of credit and left wondering what you’re going to do with it.
Everything is speculation at this point.
If they treat the credit this way, you should be able to cancel the reservation and get the full credit back open for your use. At least this is how FHR credits work currently.
Big negative with FHV is generally cannot get elite credits and benefits (especially lounge access). Chase seems to have it in some cases. If only a one-night stay is necessary, not that much of a negative, as can book a second night through the brand website.
FHR bookings at Hilton and Marriott generally do receive elite credit. Certain properties will not and FHR will expressly state if it is so.
FHR does not state you will not get your Bonvoy credits or benefits expressly. In fact, at Marriott, a FHR stay would generally be considered a Non-Qualifying rate for purposes of benefits. “Non-Qualifying Rates. A “Non-Qualifying Rate” is a rate a Member pays for a Stay in a guest room at a Participating Property which does not qualify to earn Points or Miles, as well as membership tier benefits. Non-Qualifying Rates are those booked using the following methods:
i. The guest room was booked through a tour operator, online travel channel or other third-party channel including, without limitation, expedia.com, hotwire.com, priceline.com, orbitz.com, booking.com, travelocity.com; or …”. Of course YMMV and many people do have success here, but if the credits and benefits are important, there is a risk. Most important is that if Amex wants to be a luxury card, it should enhance the benefits of its members without diminishing them and ensure that this happens.
In my experience both using my FHR credits and reading about the FHR credits for years and years, you can pretty much universally assume you receive loyalty and elite earning when booking through FHR (NOT The Hotel Collection, which a major distinction).
FHR are not what are considered third-party bookings. FHR bookings work basically like as if you had gone through a specialty Travel Agent in the Marriott Stars, Hilton for Luxury, or other elite Travel Agent program. When those specialty bookings are made by a Travel Agent registered in an individual chain’s luxury booking program, they are qualifying rates. AmEx just acts as the specialty agent in this case in leu of an individual person.
The Hotel Collection is the one that is basically just an elevated OTA and so you will not receive your loyalty or elite earnings.
YMMV. My understanding is that FHR bookings (at least online ones and maybe even over the phone) are now handled differently by American Express. They are now routed through Expedia which is what causes the problems. I believe that previously they were handled through GRS or something like that. Also, the issue is mostly with pre-paid bookings. This creates major issues, in particular, with Marriott, which says third-party bookings, including Expedia, are Non-Qualifying rates. They might have some notations or other characteristic which identify them as FHR, but they still flow through Expedia, which is probably the source of the problem. In fact, I can tell you from recent experience I made a reservation through FHR at Marriott and the Confirmation Number had a different number sequence and I could not even add it to my account. American Express was apparently well aware of the issue. Chase with its very limited number of The Edit Hotels at least labels the hotels where you will get your benefits, as it is a known issue.
Dang 900 dollars while slashing the Dell credit. This is a tough call. I like the 200 airline credit and 150 Dell credit. The FHR is not useful to me. I can force myself to eat at a Hilton restaurant. I use at least 200 on Indeed.The math doesnt work for me.
you’re one of the few (it seems to me) that uses the Indeed credit!
yes sadly always using it with the restaurant
I was just thinking that I wanted a higher annual fee really badly. Oh, and more coupons to figure out how to use as well.
Feels like whenever I’ve checked FHR pricing it’s sizably more than booking direct, sure you get some benefits but it’s still a lot more that it may not make it worthwhile.
You have to factor in free breakfast for 2, $100 dining credit, guaranteed 4pm late checkout, room upgrade (not guaranteed but typical) and you can often earn points on the booking, when I consider all of that, FHR is usually a very good deal hence why I use it frequently.
Don’t give AMEX and CSR any credit for this. Jeremy is right. You have to work hard to find a hotel that’s actually worth the “extras”.
That’s exactly the problem I have, although maybe the bump to $300 will make a few more hotels worth the effort. The problem with the food credits is that hotel food is rarely worth the price and eating in the hotel means I see less of the place I came to see. For example, on our recent Frankfurt stay we ate in the hotel for less than $100 and the food was good (if very expensive). But afterwards I kind of wished I had tried a local option even if just a currywurst stand or something.
All of those except the $100 dining credit are included with full status at major hotel chains, at a lower nightly rate. I have looked at FHR offerings more than a dozen times, and have not yet found it better than the alternatives.
To be fair there are plenty of FHR hotels not part of a program you can easily get high tier status with – Omni, Four Seasons, Loews, Belmont, Leading Hotels of the World, Preferred Hotels, Pendry, Accor, Aman, Rosewood. Plus independent properties. Whether you’re a person who would pay the rates for those hotels is a different question but I feel like that is where FHR has a better chance of being worthwhile.
In my case I’m finding a majority of the FHR properties are not ones I want to spend the rates on. I’ll stay on a good points or FNC deal, or stacking other card linked offers, but I don’t want to drop $500+ in cash on a hotel night very often and don’t seem to appreciate those properties enough paying full price.
maxfhr
I really don’t prefer to stay in these types of properties so, for me, there’s little to no value here. In addition, I rarely find offers, amongst the laundry list of offers, in the spending offers in my account.
I hope that the refresh comes with other benefits to entice me to keep the card as the annual fee increases. In the past, I enjoyed the Centurion Lounges in the airports but food quality has diminished and lines to enter are often annoying. For $900 per year, I can relax in airport bars and restaurants.
If you don’t currently have a Business Platinum would it be better to apply now or wait for the refresh?
Depends on the SUB you would get now vs later. If you can get 200-250k, I would probably get it now for the lower annual fee.
If you apply now you lock in the existing fee and will get all the new benefits as soon as they become available. Only downside is perhaps higher SUB but who knows if that will happen and unlikely that makes up for the higher annual fee. I’d find the best offer now and grab it. I’ve got two new biz platinums this year so far and darn glad I did, have four total, but gonna dump and downgrade from here on out
Hi there. Could u help me understand this. I’m new to AMEX Plat…..are you saying the business play may be better fee wise? Will same benefits..mostly airport lounges? Sorry new to all this. Tks
Fee expected to jump $200 next month around 9/18, but if you sign up before then you pay the lower fee AND wlll get the new benefits just like if you applied on 9/19. Lounge benefit is not expected to change, but there will be increased hotel credits and who knows what else.
My fear is that the $300 credit will like the EDIT credit and require a 2 night stay thus actually being a possible devaluation of the Credit – if its good on a single night stay it will definitely be amazing.
We have two CSRs, Two Plats, 1 ABP – Just upgraded a Gold to Plat last week (50K MR ~ $2K spend so its GF for at least a year ) – already planning on PC ABP to Gold in Jan will probably lock-in the $200 FHR before 9-18 then should have $600 next Jan-Jun and then July till day 366 since PC. But the $50 Hilton Credit I would imgine could stay as it likely gets breakage from vast majority of card holders (it has definitely been more challenging since they closed the GC loophole.
I do wonder if they will offer the new $300 this year for 2nd half of 2025 (like they did for some of the Aspire card holder’s. Its startimg.to become a PT Job to keep up with credits on 50 cards for.P1/P2.
Some restaurants at Hilton hotels work for the $50 Hilton credit, even when not staying at those hotels.
Folks need to learn to live a little. I rarely stay one night anywhere except at airport hotels either before or after a flight. You still great value with a two night FHR stay with $300 off and Hotel Collection properties have always required a two night stay. The problem in the USA is most FHR hotels are expensive, but once you leave the USA, Canada and Mexico your options for reasonable hotels increases. For me this is a game changer, I was getting ready to cancel my Platinum card and downgrade my Gold card to a Green card and go all in on Citi, but this will make me reconsider.
About the only time I stay one night is before a flight, but that is also about the only time I stay in cities. So I almost never use the existing Amex credit. (I recently used my first ever credits in Frankfurt.) Hard to decide if the new flavor will work better for me or not.
With planning you should be able to use the 2 x $300 credits for 1 stay.
For example, in Jan-Jun make a reservation for August 10th and get a $300 credit. In Jul, reserve the same property for August 11th and get a $300 credit. If you have multiple platinum cards, then repeat to add on more days.
Today you can book into the next year, because the credit depends on the date of purchase not date of stay. I’m assuming that will remain unchanged.
Thanks for the tip! I usually do Airbnb for longer rentals but would love to have more single night booking options with FHR when in transit. The boost to $300 might make it more usable for me because they are properties I’m not likely to book unless the Amex credit covers most of the cost.
I’m concerned that the credit could have a limitation on when the stay has to be to avoid allowing this exact thing.
You can do it today, so they could have already banned it. We’ll have to wait and see
Agreed, we have done this multiple times – also properties dont always renew FHR contract or wait till sometime in January (had this happen with Sydney Shangri-la.
They only thing is Amex explicitly prohibits getting the amenity credits in back to back stay’s (but it’s like elite night/perks double dipping/points) its truly YMMV up to the property management or the FDA .
So if they only allow a six month booking window per credit it will kill the value for US as we typically book and build bigger and longer trips further out.
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Sorry to go off topic…but since you brought it up, where did you use the credit in Frankfurt and would you recommend?
We stayed at the Steigenberger Icon. Nice location, most rooms are large, and the service was great. We had two rooms and they were very helpful about splitting up restaurant bill to use the two $100 food credits. I think we booked king room for something like $212. They do tack on a few fees, but still got two rooms plus dinner and breakfast for maybe $45 total after certs.
Agreed. Often I find the FHR rates to be well higher than what I can get booking the room directly and no the benefits do not offset this on many occasions. Requiring a two night booking with FHR would ruin this, because now I’m forced to book two nights at higher rates and the perks are not cancelling that out more often than not and sometimes I just need one night.
Certainly, people can clip coupons. But, given the earning multipliers on competitor cards, Amex needs to do something if it wants spending flow on the card. The CSR’s multipliers on portal bookings and DIRECT hotel/airfare purchases simply can’t be ignored. In a month, we’ll know.
Ummm, Citi says hello with greater multipliers on portal bookings with the Citi Prestige vs CSR. Also, I find the Citi Portal to be much closer to booking direct vs Chase which tends to jack up their prices to help pay for the multipliers. Same goes with airfare, the only portal with reasonable airfares is Capital One. Both Citi and Chase tend to have higher airfares than booking directly with the airline too often.
Agreed. I mentioned the CSR as only one example. VX would also be in the mix.
I’m not sure… I feel like a lot of people not playing the game use the platinum for all their spend because they view it as a status symbol.
Yeah I have a cousin who I was surprised to learn got a Platinum card about 2 years ago. He just got it because someone else mentioned it was nice to have and it’s basically his only card. I’m not even sure he has really used the lounge access much with it despite traveling to Asia at least annually.
Yes, I think us blog readers are by far the minority or the companies wouldn’t be making ridiculous amounts of money. The chase sapphire reserve lost money because of the 1.5 cent travel redemption. Experts don’t view that as a deal, but because majority of card users utilize it, it crushed Chase.