Good News! You Can Now Change FHR Booking Dates
One of the many travel benefits of The Platinum Card® from American Express is an annual $200 hotel credit. This is a benefit that was added back in 2021 when the annual fee on the card jumped from $550 to $695. I sued this credit for a stay at the Brenton Hotel in Newport, RI earlier this year. Now there’s a positive development when it comes to FHR booking.
Amex Platinum FHR Credit
First let’s take a look at this benefit and see how it works.
The Platinum Card® from American Express cardholders get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts (FHR) or The Hotel Collection (THC) bookings with American Express Travel. These bookings also come with elite-like benefits, including:
- Room upgrades upon arrival, when available
- Daily Breakfast for two people
- Guaranteed 4PM checkout
- Noon check-in, when available
- Complimentary Wi-fi
- $100 Property Credit
Fine Hotels + Resorts stays are usually the best option for this benefit since you can only book one night and still receive all the perks and the credits. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum of two nights to get the extra perks.
The main issue with this benefit is finding affordable properties. Normally Las Vegas is the go to spot, since you have a few cheap options. But there are also a handful of other properties, where you can get close to a free stay. The vast majority of FHR hotels are on the expensive side.
If you can find FHR properties for $200-$300, then the breakfast and $100 credit can easily make it close to a free stay.
Positive Change to FHR Bookings
Recently American Express has made a positive change to how these Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings work. Frequent Miler reports that you can now change the date on these bookings online.
Why does that matter? Because it’s always good to have some flexibility if your plans change, or when you’re booking speculatively.
With this benefit, you might have to book speculatively just so you can use the credit before it expires. When you need to book stay before the year is over (the $200 credit is based on calendar year), or if you need to book something before closing your Amex Platinum Card, you can now just take a guess on the dates. Then you can go into your reservation and choose new dates for your stay, without having to cancel and rebook. Previously, the only way to change the dates on a booking was to cancel your existing booking and then rebook.
But rebooking would be costly in some cases. Let’s say you booked a stay on December 30, 2022 for July 2023. If you rebook this stay, the charge will now count towards the 2023 hotel credit, and you will miss out on the 2022 credit. Amex will claw back the $200 credit (for 2022) if a booking is canceled, and then gives you that credit again, when a new booking is made (for 2023). But if you just change the dates, then you are still using the 2022 hotel credit and can still use your 2023 credit for another FHR stay.
How to Change FHR Booking Dates
If you have a Fine Hotels + Resorts (FHR) booking and you need to change the dates for your stay, you can now do this online. to do so, you need to log into your account and go to “My Trips”. You then click the “Change Dates” button.
Once you enter the new dates, you will also see the prices for those dates, which might vary from your original booking. The system will show if you will receive a refund, and the amount, if the new dates are cheaper. If your new dates end up being more expensive, you will need to pay the difference if the new dates are more expensive.
When you change your FHR Booking dates, the hotel confirmation number and the Amex Travel confirmation number will remain the same.
Guru’s Wrap-up
The $200 hotel credit is a great benefit on the The Platinum Card® from American Express. It helps offset the annual fee if it’s maximized every year.
Being able to change your booking dates online now gives you more flexibility. You can now book a stay and then change the dates if your travel plans change. This is especially important when your stay was booked during a previous year, or if your card is now closed. This way you don’t risk losing out on that $200 credit.
