Here’s something I learned the hard way.
The Amex FHR Reservation
The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express members can access American Express’ Fine Hotels & Resorts program.
Participating hotels generally are higher-end properties. FHR bookings give cardholders these benefits:
- $100 resort credit per stay to be used on select food, beverage, and spa purchases
- Breakfast for two ($60 total per room) each day.
- Suite upgrade, when available
- Early check-in
- Free Wi-Fi
- Guaranteed 4 PM check-out
My wife and I are attending a wedding and found a great FHR property near the venue. So we booked a four-night FHR stay. (FHR offered better rates than Chase Luxury Hotels & Resorts for this particular hotel and long weekend.)
We made the reservation this past spring and prepaid with Membership Rewards points. Yes, it was a one-cent-per-point redemption. But that worked for our budget. (You can also pay onsite when you check-in. You don’t have to apply any points.)
Related: Comparing Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts vs Chase’s Luxury Hotels & Resorts at Delano Las Vegas
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Both our personal and professional schedules recently changed. And our daughter would no longer accompany us on the trip.
So we shortened our trip to three nights.
I logged on to Amex Travel. But there was no “change-a-hotel-reservation” option. So I called American Express Travel.
The first rep with whom I spoke was utterly incompetent. I asked her to cancel the first night of our stay. Then I asked if our points would be refunded to my Membership Rewards account or as a statement credit to my Platinum Card. (It’s usually the latter but I figured I’d ask.)
“Oh, did you pay with points?”
For someone who allegedly had my reservation in front of her, she sure didn’t know much. She also didn’t have the answer to my question.
She said she had to call the hotel to make the change. Mmmkay. Like, how silly of me to assume that a travel agency could change its own reservation!
She put me on hold several times, returning every few minutes to say that the hotel wasn’t answering the call.
So I called the hotel myself. A gentleman answered after the first ring and kindly asked me to hold. (I simply hung up after he put me on hold.)
When the Amex Travel rep came back on the line, I informed her I contacted the hotel — and would be happy to give her the phone number.
She said was put on hold each time she called.
“Then why do you keep telling me you can’t get them to answer your call?”
“Because they put me on hold each time,” she said.
“But you said they weren’t answering your call.”
Silence.
“I’d like to speak to a supervisor, please.”
“It’ll take me twenty minutes to call a supervisor, Mr. Carley.”
Uh-huh.
So I hung up and called back.
The next rep, thankfully, had all her marbles.
She said that Fine Hotels & Resorts reservations cannot be changed. The only option is to cancel the entire reservation. You can then book a brand new reservation.
However, the current nightly rate applies.
In our case, the rates went up. And a three-night stay would’ve cost 40% more than our original four-night stay. So I canceled the original reservation and decided to find a reservation somewhere else.
(On the flip side, it makes sense to occasionally check the rates for your FHR property — you might be able to cancel and rebook for cheaper if the prices drop.)
It ended up working out fine. We used an IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card anniversary night certificate and some points to book a couple of nights at an InterContinental Hotel. Then we reserved a Marriott Bonvoy property for the final night.
I received a statement credit for my FHR cancellation. And the Amex Travel rep said I could call back in three days and ask for that to be converted back to points.
Everyone Loses
I’m bewildered Amex doesn’t allow people to change FHR reservations. (Chase LHR apparently permits reservation modifications, BTW.)
It seems like a lose-lose-lose situation for three parties: Amex, the hotels, and Amex cardmembers:
- American Express Travel lost a commission for a three-night stay at a hotel that was not exactly a budget property.
- The hotel lost my business through no fault of their own.
- The whole process also irritated me. I spent about two hours dealing with the problem and finding new places to stay. It’s disappointing — especially because I paid a $550 annual fee for The Platinum Card® from American Express. And that increases to $695 if I renew next year. (See rates and fees.) And I genuinely looked forward to staying at this hotel and enjoying the FHR benefits. (Even if I wouldn’t have received breakfast on the day of arrival. 😉 )
Final Approach
American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts reservations cannot be changed. The only option is to cancel the entire reservation — and then rebook if you’re so inclined.
It’s odd this rule is in place — and sort of a bad business practice all around.
So make sure you know this before booking your FHR stay.
To see rates and fees for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link. Terms apply.
To see rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link. Terms apply.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I suspect this is only because you prepaid – I did a prepaid FHR booking, and when I arrived at the hotel, they said, oh you booked through Expedia (????????). I believe it’s the same prepaying on any OTA – you can cancel, but you can’t modify.
A/X has some of the most incompetent agents I have ever seen
I called to get 2 BC tics on Alitalia and decided to pay rater than pay with pt’s
She quoted me $8,500
I told her I just saw it on Alitalia for $4,250 She put me on hold said I was right
She then came back at $4,250, but said she only saw 1 tic
I was stupid and didn’t hang up
She then corrected again but when I looked at my A/X charges I now had 3 $4,250 charges
It took me almost 5 hours with A/X to straighten this out
I had to call Corporate in NY and get someone to call A/x Travel to help
I know this maybe hard to believe but this was my experience last month
Yes they use Expedia !!We booked an International paid Biz class seats toJapan. Got to LAX to find a typhoon had hit our connecting airport. So while waiting 18 hours at Bradley terminal I called Amex to be told could not help with the flight problem They could book new Twix for $7000!! Called airline and no help.Got to connecting airport with no connection but a helpful fellow traveler took us to his friend at Singapore airlines and took our tix and got us Biz seats to final destination so noAmex tix ever again!,!!
Amex Platinum has become absolutely horrible. I remember when you used to get your own travel agent, but now you’re dealing with part time people working from home who are basically just call center people. $695? Pass. Amex Platinum has increasingly become the stupid person’s credit card.
Interesting take. I don’t think it’s absolutely horrible. Some of the service issues are certainly concerning. And I wish there were more points-earning options. But if I’m stupid for having the Amex Platinum, I guess I’m fine with that. I’ve been called worse things today. 🙂
I agree that Platinum customer service is horrid. I can’t think of a single time I have had a good experience. Their concierge service routinely doesn’t call you back. Their travel website doesn’t include a robust list of hotel options, and you can’t create a same-day hotel reservation after about 6 pm when on the road. Hotels and airlines won’t work with you on a AMEX reservation, and my experience with AMEX’s own customer service people has almost always been an unwillingness to go the extra mile to help. It is indistinguishable from Travelocity customer service — absolutely not worth a $600+ price tag.
Booking a Hotel Collection room, I changed the dates one day (28-30 became 29-31). As I clicked that, it changed from 2 nights to 1, then back to 2. That made it lose the Hotel Collection benefits, including being refundable. Amex and the hotel eventually made it right, but the cancel/refund process took 6 days.
Also, note that FHR and HC benefits change from one hotel to another. President Wilson, Geneva, only allows the property credit to be used on food and beverages, for example.
Thanks for the data point, Kafka. Glad you got it straightened out!
Slightly off topic, but any idea on what happens to the $200 credit (the new FHR/THC credit) if we have to cancel? Any way to preserve the credit? Once the refund is issued, amex will likely re-charge for the $200 and you can’t get another $200 credit until next year.
I assume that’s how it works but will do some digging and see what I can learn!
@Darren @Chris – That is how is should work. I have had to do that a few times this year and each time the credit was clawed back but then reissued. Takes a few days to wash out.
Do keep in mind you can not use “pay at hotel” to earn points as that, per the terms, does not trigger the $200 credit. You have to use the “pay now”.
Thanks. So you mean that the credit was clawed back, but then you made another FHR/THC booking (prepay) meeting the terms, and your $200 credit posted again after a few days? If amex reloads the credit after a claw back, that would be good news.
@Darren – Yup. They should always apply if you re-book and meet the terms.
I had a four-night FHR reservation over Memorial Day weekend. Southwest screwed up our flights, and long story short, we didn’t get there until after the first night, changing our four-night trip into a three-night trip.
While my husband was on the phone dealing with the airline, I was on my phone with Amex. I wanted them to let the hotel know that we wouldn’t be there until the next day so that we wouldn’t have our entire stay canceled. I expected to be charged for the first night—I’d prepaid the whole stay—because after all, the hotel was holding the room for me, and it wasn’t their fault our flights got messed up.
Much to my surprise and delight, the Amex rep reported that the hotel agreed not only to hold our reservation but also refund the night we would miss. I had the credit in my account in less than 24 hours. We had a lovely stay, and thanks to both Amex and the hotel.
In addition to that, the hotel already offered complementary breakfast to guests, so they gave me, without my asking, another $100 credit on my account at checkout, I guess because I didn’t get breakfast as a FHR benefit. I was so pleased with the whole experience. Well, except for Southwest, but that’s a different story.
Great to hear, Dana!!
Chris, AMEX is not the only provider that requires cancel and rebook. It’s part of the game. It’s not unusual.
As for providers that have the ability to change a reservation, you would still pay the “updated” rate at the time you make the change and NOT get the rate that was available at the time of the original booking. Let’s be realistic. This is standard practice. It is unfair to criticize AMEX for this.
I’m known on other blogs for my severe criticism of the hotels. On this one, other than the AMEX CSRs, the system seemed to function as expected.
As for the AMEX CSRs, it is unfortunate. And, anyone with a complaint will comment to such a post. But, on average and compared to other providers, I’ve had positive experiences with AMEX.
It’s easier to attract with honey than vinegar. Graciousness is a virtue.
Thanks for your comment. I think this is the first time you’ve commented on our blog, so welcome!
I simply wanted to alert other readers that FHR bookings aren’t changeable. Only cancelable.
I, too, have had far more positive experiences than negative when I speak with Amex. (Search the blog and you’ll see several posts where I praise and compliment not just Amex CSRs but those of other companies. In fact, I did it today.)
“It’s easier to attract with honey than vinegar. Graciousness is a virtue.” — I agree with you. That (and just by virtue of being a decent person) is why I’m generally patient and friendly when raising an issue with a company. But if someone can’t get their job done, I’m not afraid to call them out on it.
There is a chance you didn’t get your $200 platinum credit. So perhaps Amex didn’t lose. 😉
I used it. 😉