Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts now (sort of) allows booking in someone else’s name

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Amex has apparently made a small tweak to the Fine Hotels & Resorts booking flow: while the terms indicate that the booking must be made in the name of the eligible cardholder, it is now possible to enter your own name in the name field (it was previously impossible to edit those fields). I’m not sure when this change happened, but I just noticed it for the first time while making a booking.

a group of credit cards

The screen shot below is from a previous booking (ignore the red box around loyalty  number as I originally took this screen shot for a different post). There wasn’t even a field for a guest name, just the pre-filled “Main Contact”. I feel like I also recall seeing a name field at some point, but it was greyed out and impossible to edit.

a screenshot of a contact us

However, it is now possible to edit the guest name fields and enter the name of your choice.

a screenshot of a travel application

The “Main Contact” is still the primary cardholder name and there is a note below the main contact name that says “Fine Hotels + Resorts reservations must be made in the name of the eligible Card Member. Technically, that means that the stay must be booked in the name of the Platinum card holder or Platinum authorized user / employee card by the terms. However, it is at least possible to enter anyone’s name in the name field.

This is potentially especially useful for two-player households where one person has elite status and you’re booking a chain property. For instance, if my wife wanted to book a Hyatt stay while we also enjoy my Globalist benefits, this change means it should be possible for her to enter my name in the guest field and my World of Hyatt number. Again, the rules say that she can only do that if I am a Platinum-level authorized user on one of her accounts, but that no longer seems to be enforced.

I’m not sure whether this is a change made to make it easier for situations just like that example (I have to imagine that many cardholders probably called asking to do exactly that), but it does seem like it was an intentional change for some reason. That said, I suppose there is some risk of benefits not being honored if the named cardholder doesn’t check in with the named guest or if the named guest doesn’t present an Amex card for payment.

To that last point, we received a handful of reports in Frequent Miler Insiders late last year of properties that insisted that the Platinum card had to be presented at check-in / used to pay for incidentals and/or the stay in order to get benefits. That’s just not true by the terms of the program, which very plainly and clearly say that the Platinum cardholder can present any Amex card in their name to pay at the hotel. From the terms and conditions found at the bottom of this page (bold is mine for emphasis):

Fine Hotels + Resorts Program: Fine Hotels + Resorts® (FHR) program benefits are available for new bookings made through American Express Travel with participating properties and are valid only for eligible U.S. Consumer, Business, and Corporate Platinum Card® Members and Centurion® Members (Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Card Members are not eligible). Bookings must be made using an eligible Card and must be paid using that Card, or another American Express® Card, in the eligible Card Member’s name, and that Card Member must be traveling on the itinerary booked.

If a property insists on seeing your Platinum card, I would point them to those terms and/or call Amex Travel to clarify it for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if many hotel employees just mistakenly assume that the rule is that you must use a Platinum card.

The potential snag here is if my wife tried to make a reservation for me and she didn’t intend to be at the hotel with me. That could be a problem if they insist that the “Main Contact” be present and use a card in their name to pay. So keep in mind that you may run into issues if you try to stray too far afield from the rules.

Overall though, I’m glad to see Amex change this for a variety of reasons. At the very least, this should make those consumer Platinum card FHR credits easier to use in situations like the one I described above where my wife and I would be traveling together but would like to get my benefits on the stay. Since I also have my own Platinum cards, I’m not listed as a Platinum-level authorized user on her cards. Perhaps Amex has decided that in situations like that this change is the more customer-friendly move. That said, be aware that there could be some risk of Amex and/or the hotel refusing to honor benefits if the reservation does not follow their terms to the letter.

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