A rumored change could require a two-night minimum for the Amex Platinum's $600 hotel credit at Fine Hotels + Resorts starting in 2027. Here's why it wouldn't be surprising.
Woah! This would truly be a bad thing for AMEX to do. I consistently use these to book stuff for one night at some amazing properties. This would be a kick in the gut
Centurion lounge will be emptier in 2027.
Two night stay isn’t an issue to me
Well good for you then I guess. Some of us really prefer to use this in situations where we need a one night stay.
The value proposition would be massively impacted once this happens.
So the United travel bank credit of $200 is essentially useless to a lot of people who travel domestic first anyways.
No, this is $600 credit has been impacted negatively.
Thats $800 worth the value that has gone been chipped away at in the last 12 months.
Question is what is the value proposition left for a card that has a almost $900 annual fee.
This is essentially betting that people have inertia and just keep the card and keep paying $900 annually even if it's hardly getting them any value back
If so, this would suck. One of the best parts of the Amex Platinum FHR credit is that it was just 1-night minimum in many cases. The downsides to CSR The Edit, Citi, Bilt, etc. 'hotel credits' was the 2-night minimum. Not surprising, but not cool. Anyone with multiple Platinums (Personal, Schwab, Morgan Stanley) is gonna have a 'fun' time with weeks of hotel stays to burn these credits. Basically, us insane folks are gonna need to finally close/downgrade, consolidate our 'sock drawer' of cards.
If the hotel collection remains two nights, it won't be that bad but you will lose the free breakfast credits from FHR unless you have higher status in the hotel. I hope changes wont be affective Jan 1st, may be later in the year.
I have the Plat and Biz Plat and I've been stacking them on consecutive one night stays to knock $600 off the bill.
It's gonna be really hard to find 4 separate 2-night stays in a calendar year to make this worth my while.
No big deal. Our hotel stays tend to be 2-nights or more anyway. When we do stay 1-night on an AMEX FHR, it usually becomes a day of overeating just to max out the value of the credit. Going out of your way to use supposed benefits becomes more of a chore than a perk. This is the same reason the Aspire card isn't as great as it sounds. Taking a trip just to go to a Hilton resort to use resort credits is of zero value if you are going out of your way just to take a trip to a Hilton Resort.
::shrug:: I love using it for a one night stay at a high end FHR property. Given the nightly rates I'm not going to go out of a pocket for a second night just to use this credit. It works great if you are on a layover in an expensive city and just want to unwind at the hotel.
I love using this credit on single night stays. If they switched to requiring two nights I may ditch the card because with the AF what it is I don't feel its worth it. I get lounge access via other cards.
They really should make this Feb 2027 to at least give current cardholders a chance to use the benefits we signed up for. It's BS they can just nuke half the value prop mid-cycle with no recourse
In and of itself it's not an issue. But if you have the Amex Plat, the CSR, etc., all these coupons start to add up. So to be able to use the FHR credit for a 1 night stay was a nice tool in the drawer, even if I was probably using the credit for a 2 night stay more than 50% of the time.
Would love if they made both credits year round instead of semi-annual and then split the difference - first credit has to be 2 nights, second credit could be 1 night once first stay actually completed.
FHR is often priced much higher than booking direct so the value today does vary for me as takes time to compare across all channels to see if there is value. I have upcoming stay in Brussels and Amex is $600 vs €400 direct but the credit did make difference to book with perks. So one booking with Amex but in future if pricing is higher than other sites, I wouldn’t book with Amex so maybe they need to find point that drives repeat bookings rather than one offs.
As long as Hoxton stays then two night is fine to use Hotel Collection and I won’t stay at FHR
I've used both hotel credits this year for one-night stays, and while I will miss the flexibility, I'll still have no trouble using the credits in the future.
I would think it's too late to change it for Jan 1 (don't banks need 90 days notice for a change to benefits?). Would be odd to change it mid-6-month cycle, but I guess it's not unheard of.
I think I would cancel at that point. Too much overlap with hotel credits as it is. I can earn 6x with Citi nights so no need for prepaid resy credits. Wife can just buy Lululemon without having to wait a quarter if she wants 😂 Centurion lounge has been meh and the last breakfast I had there was no better than a Hampton Inn. Literally sausage patties and scrambled eggs at LAX. No more workarounds for the airline credit. 1 night stay for crockfords was a good value when I traveled there a few times a year but not necessary. AAdvantage hotels would net me way more LP and miles so may just go that route.
If you book FHR, get the credit and then cancel the reservation, there's a good chance AmEx won't take away the $300 credit. I did this both biannual periods and it worked: Got $600 off my statement with no hotel stay.
for someone who has access to $150-$200 per night FHR hotels, this is an annoying, but not dealbreaker change.
Plus this is still miles better than Chase's blocking of hotel stays too cheap for them.
As long as I still get quarterly Resy credit as good as food, and free Lululemon clothing.