About FHR and THC

Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) and The Hotel Collection (THC) are two premium hotel programs curated by AMEX Travel. If you book hotels in these two categories through AMEX Travel with a premium card such as the AMEX Platinum, you can receive extra on-property benefits during your stay. That said, FHR hotels are generally expensive, with most costing over $200, so it’s worth considering whether the added benefits justify the price.

FHR benefits can include a room upgrade, daily breakfast for two, 4pm late checkout, noon check-in, complimentary Wi-Fi, and at least a $100 property credit. The property credit varies by hotel and may be $100, $125, or another amount.

THC is a bit less generous, offering only a $100 hotel credit and a room upgrade. It also requires a minimum stay of two consecutive nights.

One thing worth noting is that AMEX puts a lot into these programs, so the participating hotels usually provide solid benefits. For example, based on personal experience, a one-category upgrade is effectively a sure thing. If the next room category is unavailable, you may even be upgraded by two categories. Booking a higher standard room can sometimes even get you upgraded to a suite. In many cases, this works better than elite status with certain hotel chains. Also, FHR includes brands like Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, and Peninsula, which do not have their own loyalty programs, so booking through FHR can actually get you benefits that would otherwise be unavailable.

$600 Hotel Credit on Platinum Cards

AMEX Platinum personal card and AMEX Platinum Business card added a new annual $600 hotel credit after the refresh, split into $300 every six months. This includes all versions of the Platinum card, Business Platinum card, Centurion card, and more. Cards with this benefit include:

You can trigger this credit by booking FHR and THC hotels through AMEX Travel. Key points to note are summarized below. Be sure to read them carefully one by one:

  • The $600 is based on the calendar year: from January 1 to June 30 and from July 1 to December 31, with a $300 credit in each period. It is based on when the charge actually posts to your card, but do not wait until the very last few days, because there is a small chance the credit could count toward the next period. In most cases, you are booking a prepaid hotel, and once the charge posts, the credit usually appears a few days later. In other words, you can book next year’s hotel this year and use this year’s credit. So if you really can’t use it up before year-end, you can consider booking something for next year.
  • Length of stay: per the credit rules, THC requires a stay of at least two nights to qualify, while FHR has no such restriction.
  • up to $300: if the charge is under $300, you will be reimbursed for the full amount; if it is over $300, only $300 will be reimbursed. If one booking is under $300, you can book again and still receive reimbursement, up to a maximum of $300.

Booking Steps

Search

You can search hotels directly through AMEX Travel, and the results list will show which properties belong to FHR or THC. You can also use the sidebar to filter for FHR hotels. Again, remember that THC requires a stay of two consecutive nights to receive benefits, while FHR does not.

If you are specifically interested in FHR or THC, you can also search from their dedicated pages:

Choose a Room Type

In general, we recommend booking the cheapest room type, since FHR properties are usually expensive. If you can keep the total around $300 and use up the credit in one shot, that is usually good enough. If the hotel is relatively inexpensive and the lowest room type is under $300, you can consider booking a better room. Also, given that FHR upgrades are fairly consistent at one level, if the next room category does not cost much more, you could choose the higher category and potentially get upgraded into a suite. It is still a good idea to contact the hotel and ask what the next category above your booked room would be.

Enter Your Frequent Traveler Number

During the booking process, you can enter your loyalty number. For example, if you book a Ritz-carlton, you can add your Marriott number to earn the stay and work toward elite status or requalification. If you forget to enter it, you can contact the hotel and have it added later.

Payment

After choosing your room type, you can select when to pay. Based on the hotel credit terms, the hotel must be prepaid in order to trigger the credit, so make sure you choose correctly. After payment, the charge will appear on your credit card right away. Usually, the pending charge posts normally within 1-2 days, and then you should see the Platinum credit another 1-2 days later. If you choose to pay at the hotel, note that payment will be made in the hotel’s local currency, so the exchange rate at the time of payment may affect the final U.S. dollar amount, meaning it may not match the amount you originally saw. For reimbursement purposes, taxes are included; as long as the charge posts to the card, it counts.

At checkout, you can choose among three payment methods: points, points + card, or card only. When using Membership Rewards points to pay for FHR, the value is 1 cent per point, meaning $100 requires 10,000 points, which in my opinion is not a great deal. So even if the total exceeds $300, it is still better to pay entirely with your card, especially since the Platinum card also earns 5x points. In the dropdown menu, you can choose which card to use for payment. If you have multiple Platinum cards and want to trigger the credit on a specific one, be sure to select the correct card based on the last four digits. In addition, if you have multiple Platinum cards with the same last four digits, it is strongly recommended that you remove the card that has already received the credit from your AMEX account before booking with the other one, just to be safe and avoid mistakes.

View and Cancel

You can find your hotel bookings under My Trips in AMEX Travel, and you can also cancel directly there or contact the hotel.

Whether a cancellation is fully refundable depends on the specific terms of the hotel you booked. Based on data points online, if you cancel an FHR booking, the credited amount may be clawed back.

When FHR benefits apply

One important thing to note: if you book through your Platinum Card’s AMEX Travel account, you will automatically receive FHR benefits, and the hotel can see that the reservation is attached to FHR. However, if the actual guest checking in is different from the name on the reservation, the hotel may refuse to provide the extra benefits, or even refuse check-in. Some hotels require you to show the Platinum Card in your name at check-in before they will honor the benefits, and this often depends on the front desk. On one of my previous stays, I asked the front desk at an FHR hotel about this, and the agent told me that their system already showed the attached benefit, so they did not check any further.

Also, if you have two bookings on the same day, both can receive FHR benefits. According to the official website, up to three rooms per night should be eligible for FHR benefits. If you have multiple cards to use for credits but only want one person to stay, you can book multiple nights through your own account and then pay with different Platinum Cards.

Changing a reservation

Now, after booking an FHR hotel, there is an option to change the dates. For the same hotel, you can switch your stay dates, which is a very nice improvement. For example, near the end of the year, if you realize you have not used up your FHR credit yet, you may only be able to estimate a possible travel window and book a hotel you want in advance. If your schedule changes later, that used to be a hassle. With this new change option, flexibility is much better: you can roughly decide where you want to go and keep the exact dates fairly open. See below:There is no extra change fee, and the hotel rate is simply adjusted up or down depending on the new price.

Benefit analysis

Because FHR covers a wide range of properties, does not require a two-night stay, and comes with quite a few perks, many people will probably choose FHR when using the credit. So below, let’s focus on the individual FHR benefits.

  • Room upgrade: Usually one category above the room you booked. The priority is quite high, and upgrades are very common.
  • Daily breakfast for two: Even if only one person stays, you still get two breakfasts, so you can invite a friend to join you.
  • 4 pm late checkout: Extremely useful. You can even take a nap before leaving.
  • Noon check-in: A nice perk.
  • Free Wi-Fi: A standard benefit.
  • At least $100 property credit: The eligible uses and amount vary by hotel. More on that below.

The property credit is issued once per stay, which means you only get one credit no matter how many nights you book. So in theory, a one-night stay gives the best value: pay a little over $200 for the hotel, get the Platinum Card $200 credit, and then also receive a one-time $100 property credit—coming out ahead overall. If you book several nights in the same room using different cards, the hotel will generally only give one property credit, though breakfast should still be available each day. But if you book multiple rooms on the same day using multiple cards, each room can receive its own separate property credit.

Below are some FHR hotel benefits I found. You can see that some offer a SPA service, some offer a dining credit, and some provide $125 while others provide $100. My recommendation is to call the hotel front desk ahead of time and confirm what specific FHR benefit is being offered and what the actual eligible uses of that credit are. During the pandemic, for example, some SPAs were closed, and hotels would directly substitute a dining credit instead.

One more note on how this credit actually works: the hotel will not hand you a $100 voucher. Instead, they will have you charge eligible purchases to your room, and then you settle the bill at the front desk at checkout. They will remove the qualifying charges from the folio. So you should be very clear with the front desk about exactly where the credit can be used.

For example, if it is a dining credit, then the hotel restaurant, room service, mini bar, and drinks or desserts at the lobby bar may all count. If you notice you have not used up the credit, you can stop by the lobby bar for dessert. That said, hotel prices are usually heavily marked up, and the mini bar can be outrageously expensive. The best use is usually the hotel restaurant, which is often pretty solid. Of course, make sure to confirm both the meal cost and any service charge with the restaurant so you do not go over the reimbursable amount and lose value instead.

Letting someone else check in

You can enter someone else’s name directly when booking, then send them the confirmation number or the email, and that is usually enough. However, keep in mind that FHR itself generally requires a Platinum Card to be presented in order to receive the credit, benefits, and breakfast. If the front desk is strict and asks for the Platinum Card at check-in, or even requires a Platinum Card for the deposit, then the other guest may not be able to provide it, and they may end up receiving none of the FHR benefits at all.

This varies by hotel, and even by front desk agent, so there is really an element of luck involved. In my own experience, most hotel front desks do not check and will simply tell you what the FHR benefits are.

Some tips

A lot of these points were mentioned earlier, but here is a quick summary:

  • Book this year for next year: If you cannot use up the credit in the current year and do not want it to go to waste, you can book a stay for next year.
  • Book before your card anniversary/closure date (uncertain): Since the reimbursement posts quickly, you may be able to use the current year’s credit before crossing that threshold, without rushing to complete the stay. Of course, if you have multiple Platinum Cards, front-desk verification is less of an issue. If not, you may not receive the FHR benefits, but at least you may still be able to use the credit.
  • Hotel $100 credit: Confirm the eligible uses. If you cannot finish your meal, you can always get it to go—or clear out the mini bar.
  • Same person staying multiple days: Book through the same person’s account, but split payment across different cards. Then call the front desk and ask them to merge the stays so you do not need to change rooms. Most likely, the property credit will still only be given once.
  • Where should you book? In terms of value, China is excellent, with FHR hotels often around $200. In the U.S., Las Vegas is a good option, while prices elsewhere are usually less attractive. Ultimately, you should decide whether the stay is worth it for your own situation—do not let the deal backfire on you.

Third-party tool

A reader created an FHR-specific search site called MaxFHR. If you are not sure which FHR hotels to book, this can be a very helpful way to get some ideas.

Once you go in, just enter the city you want to visit, and it will list all FHR hotels there at once. Properties around $200 are especially well suited for using the FHR credit. For example, search for chicago

  • Click into a specific hotel to see prices across different dates
  • Then click through and it will automatically redirect you to the AMEX travel page, where you can book directly. That said, the amount shown may not be exactly the same.
If you have used AMEX’s official search page before, you probably already know it is slow and sometimes buggy. MaxFHR is quite useful because it lays out the prices by date all at once, making everything much easier to see.

Things to watch out for

AMEX has now updated the terms. If you book two consecutive nights separately, stay in the same room on back-to-back nights, or stay at the same hotel with a travel companion, it will be treated as a single stay, and you can only receive one FHR benefit. Since the FHR benefit is granted once per stay, this change means that, in theory, you can no longer get multiple benefits on a single trip. Of course, if you do not mind switching hotels, it should still work to move to a nearby hotel for one night in between.

Back-to-back stays booked by a single Card Member, Card Members staying in the same room or Card Members traveling in the same party within a 24-hour period at the same property are considered one stay and are ineligible for additional FHR benefits ("Prohibited Action") .