Do you remember the Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits that come with every AMEX Platinum card? We’ll remind you again: no matter which AMEX Platinum card you have, you can book luxury hotels on the FHR website at the same room rate and enjoy perks from FHR, such as room upgrades, dining credits, late checkout and free breakfast. That said, not everyone is willing to keep paying the $450 annual fee for Platinum. But who said you can’t get these perks without a Platinum card? We’re not going to buy that idea.
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Virtuoso Agency Network
What?! Are there still travel agents booking flights in the 21st century? Take a breath—Virtuoso is a network that provides a booking platform for travel agents. They negotiate partnerships with hotels, and hotels booked through Virtuoso agents can also enjoy certain perks. The good news is that Virtuoso’s partner hotels are mostly similar to FHR’s, and the benefits are also very close. Also, Virtuoso agents do not require you to hold an AMEX Platinum card; you can pay the room charge with any credit card.
How to Book
If people tend to scroll past as soon as they see the word “agent,” we can offer one Virtuoso online agent for hotel bookings: Classic Travel. This is reportedly the only Virtuoso site right now that allows direct online hotel bookings, cancellations, and modifications, which makes it very convenient. Booking with them is not much different from using any other online travel agency (similar to Expedia) —you can book directly on the site. They also have phone support, so you can contact them that way too.
In addition, FlyerTalk has a very active Virtuoso travel-agent list. You can try reaching out as well. All you need to provide is your dates, hotel, and personal information. Most agents are happy to take the business that can be generated with just a few clicks.
Partner Hotels
Most FHR hotels are also in Virtuoso’s partner-hotel list. You can search for partner properties and their related check-in perks on this Virtuoso hotel search page. Here is how we compared: we picked two destinations and searched both the Virtuoso and Fine Hotels & Resorts official sites. We started with Singapore, and these are the hotel results. In parentheses, V means Virtuoso partner, and FHR indicates an FHR partner hotel. When Virtuoso does not display the included perks, we checked on Classic Travel instead.
- (V+FHR) The Four Seasons Singapore: both offer a $100 dining credit and room upgrade, plus free breakfast daily. FHR includes complimentary WiFi.
- (V+FHR) Mandarin Oriental, Singapore: both offer free breakfast daily, room upgrades, one afternoon tea, and free WiFi.
- (V+FHR) The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore: both offer free breakfast and room upgrades. Virtuoso offers a $100 voucher, while FHR offers private car transfer from Changi Airport to the hotel and free WiFi.
- (V+FHR) The St. Regis Singapore: both offer free breakfast, room upgrades, and a $100 dining credit. FHR includes free WiFi.
- Other hotels are similarly aligned, so we won’t go into more details. One thing to note: Virtuoso has two more partner hotels than FHR in Singapore, and all FHR hotels are also Virtuoso partners.
In the U.S., we also searched Miami. At these traditional vacation destinations, AMEX’s advantage was clear: FHR showed 16 hotels, while Virtuoso showed 12. The freebies were all pretty similar. To summarize the differences between FHR and Virtuoso: FHR guarantees 4 p.m. checkout, while Virtuoso mostly has limited late checkout. FHR also gives free WiFi across the board, while Virtuoso does not always do so. Other benefits vary from one to another, but overall they are very close.
Don’t panic—just remember that vouchers or dining credits and similar perks are issued only once per reservation.
Are FHR Benefits Really Better Than Virtuoso’s?
After the comparison above, you may feel that FHR benefits seem better than Virtuoso’s. However, because Virtuoso agents have more or less PY arrangements with hotels, they can request from hotels some bigger and smaller perks at booking time. For example:
- A Virtuoso agent can confirm a room upgrade when booking.
- They can secure free WiFi, and in some cases even a larger perks package than the Virtuoso standard.
Of course, this depends on the agent’s ability. You can send an email to ask, and you might get a pleasant surprise. Sometimes FHR also offers the nth night free, and a Citi Prestige card travel agent can also provide the fourth night free. Still, a good Virtuoso agent might even be able to get you the same treatment directly from the hotel.
Virtuoso Takeaway
If you want to stay at more upscale resorts or hotels and do not plan to use points, booking through Fine Hotels & Resorts or through a Virtuoso agent is a good option. Their room rates are generally the same as the hotel’s standard rates (sometimes FHR is slightly higher) , but the value of the freebies usually easily outweighs the small perks you’d otherwise hunt for through other online travel agencies.
Hotels booked through these channels can also usually earn hotel points at the same time, and in some cases the booking is even made through the hotel’s official website (some agents book directly on the hotel’s official site and then add these special rates to get gifts) . Comparing FHR and Virtuoso, the perks are basically not meaningfully different, and service differences can often be requested back through the agent. So if you keep AMEX Platinum just for FHR benefits, we suggest recalculating whether the $450 annual fee is worth it, because Virtuoso (booked online through Classic Travel) can provide very similar benefits for free.
Have you booked hotels through a Virtuoso agent before? Feel free to share your experience.