The Fine Hotels + Resorts ® credit can be one of the easiest premium card benefits to use, but only if you know exactly where to book and what qualifies. Here’s the simple process I follow.

 

Log in to American Express Travel.

Sign in to your Amex account and go to the hotel booking section of Amex Travel.

 

 

Find the following Benefit and click on Book Now.

 

Search for Fine Hotels + Resorts® properties

Scroll down and enter your destination and travel dates, then look specifically for hotels labeled Fine Hotels + Resorts®. In this example, we’re looking at Oceanside, CA.

 

 

Choose a Qualifying Prepaid Stay

To trigger the credit, the reservation generally needs to be a prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® booking made through American Express Travel with an eligible Platinum Card. Generally, I am looking for a hotel that will cost $400-$500 to keep my out-of-pocket low. There were 10 hotels listed. In this case, I want to stay at the Seabird Resort, a fave of mine. 

 

 

I hit the Available Rooms button to see what is available. I choose a more expensive room because I want a beach view.

 

 

Note that there are 2 rate options: one is prepaid, which we need to pick, and one is a pay-later option. Don’t pick that one!

 

 

Be sure that you have a reasonable cancellation date.

 

 

Pay with the Eligible Card

Use the card that offers the Fine Hotels + Resorts® hotel credit when you check out online. I have used my husband’s credit many times and booked it in my name with no problems. Be sure to add your loyalty number to the reservation to get elite nights.

 

 

 

Watch for the statement credit.
After the charge posts, the eligible credit should automatically appear on your account. 

Don’t forget the FHR benefits.
The credit is only part of the value. Fine Hotels + Resorts® stays can also include benefits such as daily breakfast for two, a property credit, room upgrades when available, noon check-in when available, guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout, and complimentary Wi-Fi. I look at the breakfast and property credit as additional savings.

 

 

Places I’ve used this credit at:

• Seabird Resort in Oceanside, CA
• Grand Kimpton Roatan in Roatan
• Park Hyatt Beavercreek near Aspen

 

Bottom Line

This benefit can turn what might normally feel like an expensive luxury hotel stay into something much more reasonable, especially when you stack the credit with all of the Fine Hotels + Resorts ® perks. I left a recent stay at the Seabird Resort with a $49 bill for 3 of us, including three nights, breakfast each morning, and 2 dinners. This is one of my favorite credits to use.