I pay $550 a year for my AmEx Platinum and I'm always excited to take advantage of one of its coolest perks

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The Andaz Maui, one of the properties cardholders can book through The American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program.

• The Platinum Card® from American Express charges a high $550 annual fee, but comes with wide-ranging benefits including the ability to book hotel stays through the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program.
• Booking through the program gives cardholders benefits including 4 p.m. late check-out, a room upgrade (when available), daily breakfast for two people, and noon check-in (when available) at over 1,000 properties worldwide.
• Cardholders who book through the portal also get a rotating amenity specific to the hotel worth about $100, such as a spa credit or credit to the hotel's fine-dining restaurant.

The Platinum Card from American Express is one of my favorite credit cards, even despite its $550 annual fee. With an annual fee that high, though, the card better have benefits to back it up! In my option, they are, and that's why I keep this card around.

One of the coolest perks I always want to use is the ability to book hotels through the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program.

There are plenty of opportunities: Over 1,000 hotel properties worldwide participate in the Fine Hotels and Resorts program.

Booking through AmEx Fine Hotels and Resorts as an AmEx Platinum cardholder gives you access to a bunch of guaranteed benefits, including 4 p.m. late check-out, a room upgrade (when available), daily breakfast for two people, noon check-in (when available), and a unique property amenity that varies by hotel. And booking through the Fine Hotels & Resorts program is super easy - it works like any other hotel booking engine.

Learn more about the AmEx Platinum from our partner The Points Guy »

The unique property amenity, generally valued at $100, can be extremely worthwhile. For example, on a random search of Las Vegas hotels, I found that if you book a one-night stay at the Delano at Mandalay Bay, you can get a $100 spa credit during your stay, and one-night stays can be as low as $119 plus taxes.

In the past, I've personally used Fine Hotels and Resorts to book the Delano in Las Vegas when the unique amenity was a $100 dining credit, so you may see different amenities available. It's great to be able to get a nice meal and a hotel room for a bit over $100 in a city where it is easy to spend that much just on a meal.

While the trip to Vegas would have happened with or without this dining credit, it was nice to treat ourselves to a lovely dinner instead of taking the opportunity to pinch pennies. Not to mention, I probably would have opted for a less expensive hotel if it hadn't been for the dining credit.

Plus, hotels sometimes offer a third, fourth, or fifth night free in addition to all of the other perks.

If you book your stay with your AmEx Platinum Card on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com, you'll earn five Membership Rewards per dollar spent on your hotel stay, getting you even closer to your next reward. You can also use your Membership Rewards to book hotels through AmEx Fine Hotels and Resorts -but this isn't generally the best use of Membership Rewards points. The best way to use Membership Rewards is generally to transfer to airline partners like British Airways, KLM/Air France Flying Blue, and Singapore Airlines.

However, if you want to get the most value from a resort stay, booking through Fine Hotels and Resorts is a no-brainer.

Learn more about the AmEx Platinum from our partner The Points Guy »

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