Amex Platinum Card $200 Hotel Credit: How It Works

The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) is one of the most perks-rich premium rewards cards out there. While the card has a steep $695 annual fee (Rates & Fees), it offers benefits that will more than help offset it for many.

Several of the card’s perks are credits, which come with all kinds of terms. In this post I wanted to take a look at one of my favorite credits offered by the card, which is an annual $200 hotel credit.

Details of the Amex Platinum $200 hotel credit

The Amex Platinum Card offers up to $200 per year in hotel credits. To take advantage of this, you just have to book a prepaid hotel through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts (no minimum stay) or The Hotel Collection (two-night minimum stay) through American Express Travel. As you’d expect, there are some terms to be aware of:

• This is available to the primary cardmember on the personal version of the U.S. card, so this doesn’t apply to the business version of the card, or to cards issued in foreign countries
• There’s no registration required to take advantage of this, as long as you have a card in good standing
• A hotel stay can be booked through the Amex Travel website, Amex app, or by calling the number on the back of your eligible card
• The benefit is once per calendar year, so the benefit isn’t related to when your card’s anniversary is; however, the calendar year requirement is based on when you book, and not based on when you stay
• Only prepaid bookings qualify for this perk (referred to as “Pay Now” bookings)
• Statement credits will typically post within a few days, though it can take up to 90 days after an eligible prepaid hotel is booked for it to be charged to the card account (so keep that in mind if making a booking toward the end of the year)

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection basics

For those not familiar with Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection, which are programs that those with the Amex Platinum Card have access to, and it’s also where you can use the $200 credit.

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is a program that gives you access to a selection of 1,500+ luxury hotels around the globe. You’ll typically pay the same as the flexible rate charged directly by the hotel, and will receive extra perks, including complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade subject to availability, a hotel credit, guaranteed 4PM check-out, and more.

The Hotel Collection is another program by Amex, giving access to a selection of 700+ hotels around the globe. These are also typically luxury properties, but a tier down from Fine Hotels & Resorts. You’ll typically pay the same as the flexible rate charged directly by the hotel, and will receive extra perks, including a room upgrade subject to availability, a hotel credit, and more.

There are two other points worth clarifying:

• While you need to book a prepaid reservation to take advantage of the $200 hotel credit, that doesn’t mean the stay is non-refundable; instead, it just means you’re paying upfront, but it’s often possible to still cancel for a full refund (you’ll want to check the terms when you book)
• You can usually still earn points and receive perks with your preferred hotel loyalty program if booking stays through these programs, as they’re usually considered “qualifying” stays for those purposes

Why I value the Amex Platinum $200 hotel credit

While the Amex Platinum Card offers lots of perks, the truth is that there are hurdles to using many of the credits. Often the credits are issued monthly, registration is required, etc. Personally, I find the $200 hotel credit to be one of the card’s easiest to use perks.

That’s because this isn’t a benefit that you need to use monthly (like some other Amex credits), but rather you can extract big value from it once per year.

My strategy is to use the $200 hotel credit for Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, since there’s no minimum stay, and there’s a great collection of hotels. Yes, there are lots of Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts properties that cost thousands of dollars per night, but there are also some reasonably priced ones.

There are plenty of eligible properties that cost in the $200-300 range, and sometimes even less. The value here is simply excellent. Not only can you get the $200 statement credit applied to such a stay, but you can also take advantage of the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts perks.

For example, you can’t beat booking a one-night stay at a reasonably priced property, and then getting a $200 statement credit, plus perks like a $100 property credit.

Each year I use this perk for a one-night stay. For example, last year I used it at the Raffles Europejski Warsaw, while this year I used it at the Waldorf Astoria Kuwait. Both hotels were phenomenal, and I got an amazing deal thanks to a combination of the credit plus the perks.

The Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program can be valuable in general, but the $200 hotel credit makes it an absolute no-brainer for at least one annual booking per year.

Bottom line

The Amex Platinum Card offers lots of perks, and one benefit that I get value from annually is the $200 hotel credit. While there are some important details to be aware of, I find this to be one of the easier to use benefits. Hopefully the above is a useful rundown of how it works.

What has your experience been with the Amex Platinum $200 hotel credit?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).