AmEx's Fine Hotels and Resorts program offers exclusive benefits to cardholders at luxury hotels around the world - here's how it works

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Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Maui, a Fine Hotels and Resorts property.

• If you have the Platinum Card® from American Express, you have access to an exclusive hotel-booking program run by AmEx: the Fine Hotels and Resorts program.
• Fine Hotels and Resorts is a curated list of luxury properties around the world. There are about 1,000 hotels and resorts on the list right now.
• When you book through Fine Hotels and Resorts - either through the AmEx Travel website, or by calling the number on your Platinum Card - you'll get things like free daily breakfast, room upgrades, late check-out, and more.
• Read on to learn more about how the program works.

While American Express is ostensibly a finance house first and foremost, the company has a deep history in travel services, going all the way back to its foundation as a trans-continental shipping company similar to the original Wells Fargo. Just before the turn of the 20th century, the company began issuing traveler's checks, continuing its expansion into travel services in 1915 when it launched

Today, the travel division remains a core part of AmEx's business.

By the time AmEx launched its first charge card in 1959, travel services were deeply tied to the company's target market and reputation, and linked to the marketing for the new transactional tool. American Express' travel services exist both as a totally separate part of the business from financial transactions, and as a complimentary, well-integrated part of the core financial products.

One area where this shows most clearly is in the AmEx Fine Hotels and Resorts program.

What is Fine Hotels and Resorts?

The Fine Hotels and Resorts program, or "FHR," is an exclusive, curated list of hotel properties and resorts around the world. Currently, there are about 1,000 properties in the program, although the list changes each year as new properties are added and dropped from the program.

Most of the properties are considered "luxury," so these are essentially the best-of-the-best properties available, based on a matrix factoring in everything from location, amenities, and service, to price, value, and many other factors.

Learn more: I got more than $2,000 worth of value from the American Express Platinum credit card in my first year - despite its $550 annual fee

FHR is only available to AmEx card holders who have either the Platinum Card, or the exclusive, invite-only Centurion Card (or "Black" card).

Essentially, FHR properties offer exclusive perks and benefits to eligible AmEx Platinum Card holders who book through the program.

Fine Hotels and Resorts benefits

When you book a hotel through the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, you're entitled to a handful of exclusive benefits. Reservations can be made through AmEx Travel's website, or by phone by calling the number on the back of your Platinum or Centurion Card.

Room upgrade

When you book through Fine Hotels and Resorts, you're entitled to an upgrade to the next category of room, as long as one's available when you check in.

Availability varies, of course, based on seasonality, hotel load factor, local events, and more. One way to have the most fun with the benefit is to book a slightly higher-category room off the bat, to try and get upgraded into a top-tier room or suite.

Breakfast for two each day

The daily breakfast can be a big cost saver - even as you splurge on a luxury hotel. On-property breakfasts at high-end hotels and resorts can easily cost $25-50 per person, per day, so the tangible value of this benefit adds up quickly.

Guaranteed late check-out

At FHR properties, anyone who books through the program is guaranteed a later, 4 p.m. check-out time. This can be a treat if you want to sleep in and enjoy a lazy day before your flight home, if you have a nighttime flight, or if you want to head out first thing in the morning and deal with checking out later.

Early check-in

This one isn't guaranteed - it's based on availability - but if the hotel can get your room ready in time based on how busy it is, you can get an early noon check-in. In practice, you may be able to check-in even earlier - I've arrived at a hotel booked through FHR after a red-eye flight, and some of my group's rooms were ready at 11 a.m.

Complementary premium Wi-Fi

Whether you're looking to get some work done, stream Netflix before bed, or post the day's pics to Instagram, high-speed internet is less of an "option" and more of a "must" when you're staying at a hotel. Some hotels offer standard internet for free but charge for high-speed, while others have a fee for even standard. Bookings made through FHR mean that guests are entitled to complimentary Wi-Fi throughout their stay.

On-property credit or amenity

When you book a hotel through FHR, you'll get a "unique amenity" valued at $100. The amenity depends on the nature of the hotel or resort, but generally takes the form of a $100 credit to use on the property, like on food and drinks, or at the spa.

Other benefits

Sometimes, FHR hotels offer a free third or fourth night - depending on the property, this can be a huge value. Free night offers will show up with your search results, or you can visit FHR's special offers page.

Platinum Card members get 5x points per dollar spent on FHR reservations booked through AmEx Travel services. Plus, if you're a member of the hotel's own loyalty program, you'll get points and any elite status benefits you're entitled to - this is fairly useful, since usually booking through a third-party online travel agency means you don't get hotel points.

Aside from the listed perks, there are benefits to FHR that are less tangible.

One useful thing about the program is that the list is carefully curated, and each property is thoroughly vetted before being added to the program. Sometimes, searching for a hotel can be overwhelming. A glut of options can make it hard to narrow down exactly what you want, and user reviews on sites like Trip Advisor can be hard to interpret - were there really problems, or is that person unrealistic and unfair?

The FHR list makes it easier to choose a property - and to bypass the misleading user reviews - by offering a much smaller list of properties than other booking services or sites, all of which are thoroughly vetted.

For example, at time of publication, a Hotels.com search for two nights next month in Washington, D.C. yielded almost 840 results. Even when filters were applied, there were still a few dozen properties on the list. The same search on the Fine Hotels and Resorts site, however, yielded just nine hotels.

One other, subtler benefit of booking through FHR is the service you get at the hotel. To be sure, since these are all five-star properties staffed by professionals, service will be top-notch no matter what. However, being a part of the FHR program is incredibly valuable to a hotel. While it's hard to test scientifically, it can often seem that the hotel and its employees are more eager to "go the extra mile" for FHR guests.

Price

Of course, price is one of the biggest considerations when booking a hotel. To be sure, FHR hotels are mostly in the top "luxury" category - you won't find an average Hilton or Holiday Inn in the search results - but rates at a specific hotel can vary significantly depending on where you book it through.

In a number of sample searches comparing FHR results with the hotel's own website and several other online travel agencies, FHR was found to sometimes return higher rates than the hotel's site (it was a crap shoot whether FHR would have higher, lower, or equal rates to the other online booking platforms). However, in most cases, the FHR benefits generally made up for that price difference, and actually turned the table to make it a better all-around value than booking directly.

How to book through FHR

To book a hotel through the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, you can visit the FHR landing page, click on the FHR option under the "Benefits" tab when you log into your Platinum Card's account, or call the number on the back of the card.

Remember that only Platinum Card holders (or invite-only Centurion Card members) can book through FHR. If you are eligible for the program, you might want to price compare with the hotel's direct website, although between the occasional free third or fourth night, and the various benefits, FHR often comes out as the better option.

Click here to learn more about the Platinum Card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

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