I received a rather unpleasant surprise on my The Platinum Card® from American Express account: I was charged $200 for a Fine Hotels & Resorts booking — that was already credited back to me.
So what happened?
Platinum Card FHR and Hotel Collection Statement Credit
As part of its massive Platinum Card refresh, American Express added a yearly $200 statement credit for eligible Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection pre-paid bookings. Stays must be at least two nights or more — something Amex amended in April 2022.
To receive credit for The Hotel Collection bookings, stays must be at least two nights. There is no such minimum for FHR reservations.
I Booked an Eligible Stay
A couple of friends invited my wife and me to meet them in Las Vegas. They reserved a room at Bellagio. Luckily, Bellagio is a Fine Hotels & Resorts property! So, this presented a great opportunity to stay there — and use the Platinum Card’s $200 statement credit.
So I booked a one-night FHR reservation. The credit hit my account the next day.
Just under $26 (plus resort fee, of course) for a night at Bellagio? Yes, please!
RELATED: Calm Down: Don’t Cancel Your Amex Platinum Card Just Yet
Then I Was Charged Back!
Just after returning from my stay (review coming soon!), I logged into my Amex account and noticed this:
The charge didn’t include any reservation details or itinerary. So I was flummoxed. (Maybe they wanted to charge me for breakfasts on arrival days 🙂 ).
RELATED: Comparing Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts vs. Chase’s Luxury Hotels & Resorts at Delano Las Vegas
An Amex Error?
I called Platinum Card membership services and spoke with a very pleasant rep named Joe. He, too, was surprised to see the charge.
He dug a little deeper and found out that it was, indeed, related to my Bellagio stay. He called a supervisor so he could learn more. The supervisor told him I was charged back because my FHR stay was only one night. And that that eligible stays must be at least two nights in duration.
I told him I saw no such requirement on the benefit’s page on American Express’ website.
Joe politely said he had the verbiage in front of him and would be happy to email me. But he double-checked it before sending the email. And he noticed the two-night requirement for The Hotel Collection bookings. But he didn’t see anything about Fine Hotels & Resorts stays.
He put me on hold again. A few minutes later, he returned and said that the $200 chargeback was, indeed, an error. It appears the $200 charge was a computer glitch. Joe submitted a $200 credit to my account. Everything looks as though it should work out fine.
So if you used the $200 FHR credit for a one-night stay (or you plan to), make sure to check your Amex account. If it was clawed back, give Amex a call ASAP.
Then It all Changed
Is this glitch actually something that is supposed to be implemented soon? I won’t be at all surprised if Amex changes the $200 FHR benefit — and apply it only to stays of two or more nights. After all, the extra $25.63 I paid and the resort fee were easily covered by breakfast and a bottle of water I charged to my room. So I essentially received a free stay. (Though the food and beverage credit has gotten tougher to use. I’ll cover that in my upcoming review.)
I sincerely hope Amex doesn’t do that. Will they? I guess we’ll see.
Final Approach
American Express erroneously clawed back $200 in statement credit for a Fine Hotels & Resorts stay I charged to my Amex Platinum. I was originally told this was because my stay was only one night — and that a two-night minimum applies. But that’s only for The Hotel Collection stays. There’s no such requirement for prepaid FHR bookings.
So if you’ve taken advantage of the credit, check your Amex account to make sure you weren’t charged back.
Has your FHR $200 credit been clawed back?
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I booked a FHR stay at Four Seasons Aviara in Carlsbad, CA for one night. I called the rep before the booking and she said, like your rep did, no minimum for FHR stays. We’ll see if I get clawed back.
Please let us know what happens!
You were obviously gaming the system! Amex intends you to use the hotel credit only for a 30 night stay