The Amex Platinum Card offers very strong perks that easily more than offset the annual fee. I’d argue that the card’s 2025 refresh was actually a net positive in terms of being able to extract value from the card. One of those core benefits has been an up to $600 annual hotel credit.
Some time back, I wrote about how we had reason to believe that this core perk would be devalued. That’s no longer a rumor, as it has now been confirmed directly by Amex. I see why Amex is making this change, and true value maximizers will be unhappy about this.
Amex Platinum $600 hotel credit change as of 2027
Currently, the American Express Platinum Card® (learn more) and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more) offer up to $600 per year in hotel credits.
To take advantage of this, you just have to book a prepaid hotel through Fine Hotels + Resorts® (no minimum stay through 2026) or The Hotel Collection (two-night minimum stay) through American Express Travel®. The credit is semi-annual, so you get one credit in January through June, and one credit in July through December.
However, a major restriction will be added here. As of 2027, you’ll need a two-night minimum stay to use the credit, even at Fine Hotels + Resorts properties:
Effective January 1, 2027, Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings will require a minimum two-night stay to be eligible for the $600 Lodging Credit.
The credit is also being rebranded as the $600 Lodging Credit (rather than the $600 Hotel Credit), and as part of this, it’ll also be possible to redeem this on stays of at least two nights at Airbnb Luxe properties, which are some of Airbnb’s highest end properties.
This Amex Platinum hotel credit change isn’t surprising
It goes without saying that the premium card business model nowadays is largely based around offering credits and benefits that can help offset the annual fee. In almost all cases, the headline value of the credits is way higher than the annual fee, and that’s because there’s intended to be some breakage, plus some additional monetization opportunities:
- A lot of credits are merchant funded, so cost the credit card issuer very little
- Some of the credits are intended to get people using travel portals, which the credit card company earns a commission on, so the hope is that those credits end up being profitable
With premium cards offering hotel credits, it’s incredibly common for those credits to require a minimum stay. The concept there is simple, and it’s that they want you to spend a lot on your hotel stay, so that the commission offsets the credit as much as possible.
If you use your $300 hotel credit for a stay that costs around $300, it’s definitely costing Amex something. Meanwhile if you use your credit for a hotel stay that costs $5,000, Amex can make a ton of money there. So adding limits on the hotel credit is designed to discourage the most unprofitable form of using this credit.
Once this change is made, there will absolutely still be situations where this credit could prove to be valuable. However, it does materially lower the value that savvy cardmembers could get from this benefit. I’ve used this benefit exclusively for one-night stays, since it’s such a disproportionately good value.
Bottom line
The Amex Platinum up to $600 hotel credit will be devalued. Currently the credit is valid even for one-night stays at Fine Hotels + Resorts properties, while as of 2027, a minimum two-night stay will be required at Fine Hotels + Resorts properties. The good news is that there’s a little more flexibility thanks to redemption possibilities at Airbnb Luxe properties, but those properties are also really expensive.
This change is a material devaluation for value maximizers, and frankly, it doesn’t surprise me at all, given the pace with which we see credit card perks evolve over time.
What do you make of this Amex Platinum hotel credit change?
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