Recently, I managed to save about $450 on a two-night hotel stay by using the right credit card—a method I hadn’t tried before, but I definitely plan to do it again.
The American Express Platinum Card®, which I have and really appreciate, provides up to $600 in hotel statement credits each year, split into two $300 credits: one for the first half of the year and another for the second half.
You can apply these credits towards eligible prepaid bookings made through American Express Travel® at Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection, but keep in mind that The Hotel Collection comes with a minimum two-night stay requirement.
What I found out recently is that the way you utilize that credit can significantly impact its value.
Reevaluating the Use of the $300 Amex Platinum Hotel Credit
I should mention, I’ve typically used my Amex Platinum hotel credits for stays at Fine Hotels + Resorts instead of The Hotel Collection. Part of the reason is that Fine Hotels + Resorts allows for one-night stays, plus their properties generally include more perks like free breakfast for two and guaranteed late checkout at 4 p.m.
However, the downside to this approach is that Fine Hotels + Resorts properties tend to be quite expensive—there are often rates around $500 to $1,000 a night.
TPG Tip: Use resources like MaxMyFHR to quickly identify more affordable hotels and dates where you can leverage these perks.
While a $300 credit could make a luxury one-night stay a bit easier on the wallet, that might not be the best option when traveling with family.
That’s where Amex’s The Hotel Collection comes into play.
This collection features various upscale hotels, with some offering lower rates compared to options in Fine Hotels + Resorts.
During a recent long weekend trip to Disney World with my family, we utilized our $300 credit for a two-night stay at the Walt Disney World Swan, which is part of The Hotel Collection.
If you’re unfamiliar, the Swan is actually a Marriott property located right on Disney grounds, just a short walk from both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s like hitting the jackpot for someone who enjoys points, card perks, and Disney.
The nearby Walt Disney World Dolphin and Walt Disney World Swan Reserve are also Marriott properties offered through Amex’s The Hotel Collection.
How Did the $300 Benefit Lead to a $450 Saving?
Our two-night stay at the Swan over a busy holiday weekend totaled $672 through Amex Travel, plus an additional resort fee we paid directly to the hotel.
This charge triggered the $300 Amex Platinum statement credit, reducing our pre-resort-fee cost to just $372, or about $186 per night. Honestly, for a nice hotel on Disney property during a holiday weekend, that was already a pretty solid deal.
But that wasn’t the only bonus of booking this way.
While the benefits from The Hotel Collection aren’t quite as robust as those from Fine Hotels + Resorts, they still offered meaningful advantages. Specifically, booking through Amex Travel and The Hotel Collection provided us with a $150 property credit.
We used much of that credit for a family dinner and drinks at Rosa Mexicano in the neighboring Dolphin hotel and used the rest for a few other incidental expenses. By charging our meal back to our room at the Swan, we were able to apply that credit toward an expense we would have incurred regardless.
The Hotel Collection usually advertises a $100 property credit, but some hotels offer additional amounts, as we experienced here.
After factoring in the $150 property credit that went toward our planned expenses, we got about $450 in combined value from our stay. This meant our effective cost dropped to $222 in total, or $111 per night, before adding the resort fee.
That’s hard to beat for a hotel during a busy holiday weekend on Disney property.
We also scored a 2 p.m. late checkout, which was quite generous given the busy weekend. Late checkout availability varies with The Hotel Collection, unlike the guaranteed 4 p.m. checkout available through Fine Hotels + Resorts.
Additionally, my Marriott Platinum benefits were honored during our stay, which included a $20 breakfast voucher we could redeem at one of the grab-and-go shops on the property.
Conclusion
By combining Amex Platinum’s $300 hotel statement credit with a $150 property credit through The Hotel Collection, we received around $450 in value for a two-night stay we were already intending to take.
This doesn’t fully mitigate the card’s $895 annual fee, but using benefits like this effectively throughout the year is how you can gain more from premium rewards cards.
Additionally, after primarily sticking to Fine Hotels + Resorts for my Amex Platinum credits, I’m definitely planning to explore The Hotel Collection more closely in the future.
