Lifestyle

12 hotels where you can nearly stay for free with your Amex Platinum credit


The Platinum Card® from American Express offers a slew of incredible benefits for travelers, ranging from statement credits to status upgrades to lounge benefits, resulting in one of the best collections of membership perks of any card out there for its undoubtedly high $695 annual fee (see rates and fees).

One of the main benefits for cardholders comes in the form of an annual up-to-$200 statement credit on prepaid nights at hotels that are part of American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection.

Book stays at the included properties through Amex Travel, and pay with your Amex Platinum card. You might even end up spending a night for half off (and in some cases, close to nothing at all) once the statement credit comes through (it’s good for up to $200 annually).

From Bali to Miami, here are lots of noteworthy hotels with availability between $150 and $550 per night that are within both the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection portfolios.

Perks through Fine Hotels + Resorts

It’s especially appealing to book through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts thanks to all the standard perks that get added onto reservations for Amex Platinum or Centurion cardholders, including the following (regardless of the length of your stay):

  • Room upgrade upon arrival, when available at check-in (properties may exclude some room types, and some may only give you a room with a better view)
  • Complimentary daily breakfast for two people
  • Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout
  • Noon check-in, when available
  • Complimentary Wi-Fi*
  • Experience credit valued at $100 or more, usually consisting of a property, dining or spa credit

*When a property includes Wi-Fi in a mandatory resort fee, you’ll receive a daily credit equal to the property’s standard Wi-Fi cost.

Perks through The Hotel Collection

The Hotel Collection properties allow upgrades based on availability at check-in, as well as an experience credit, but a two-night minimum stay is usually required.

Hotels to book with your Amex Platinum credit

While there are many hotels you can book in the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection portfolios, some provide significant discounts and end up costing next to nothing once you tack on the Amex Platinum hotel statement credit. You might even end up ahead once you add in the $100 experience or property credits that come with all of the below stays.

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Hotel La Compañía

HYATT

Between the statement credit and the $100 experience credit, you can break nearly even at this treasure of a Panama City, Panama, hotel where room rates average around $317 per night. Overlooking the Casco Antiguo — the city’s pedestrian-friendly historic neighborhood, brimming with restaurants, bars and boutiques — Hotel La Compañía ties French, Spanish and beaux-arts decor influences into its various wings.

Don’t miss a meal on-site at the hotel’s excellent restaurant, El Santuario, where you can dine on Panamanian-, Spanish- and Indian-inflected dishes under grand vaulted ceilings in a space that was once a sacred monastery.

Additional FHR perk: A $100 experience credit that can be used at the hotel during your stay — perhaps toward a custom wine tasting in the hotel’s exquisite underground cellar.

Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort, Koh Samui

VANA BELLE, A LUXURY COLLECTION RESORT KOH SAMUI/FACEBOOK

Overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort, Koh Samui puts explorations on one of Thailand’s most storied islands at your doorstep.

With average rates of $307 per night, your statement credit and experience credit can nearly cover an entire night’s stay. When you’re not strolling the white sand beach fronting the property, dipping in the infinity pool or indulging in yet another Thai massage, visit nearby attractions like the Samui Elephant Sanctuary, the Buddhist temple complex of Wat Phra Yai on a small offshore island or famous Chaweng Beach, just a short taxi ride north.

Additional FHR perk: A $100 experience credit that can be used at the hotel during your stay, perhaps to enjoy a spread of spicy savory southern Thai cuisine at the resort’s great restaurant, Panali.

Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Cusco

PALACIO DEL INKA, A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL/FACEBOOK

Heady times await in the vertiginous city of Cusco, Peru, perched in the Andes at 11,152 feet. Stay in the heart of the city’s historic center, right across from the Temple of the Sun, at Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Cusco, where TPG found average room rates for around $369 per night.

The hotel occupies a mansion that’s more than 500 years old and is loaded with hand-carved furnishings, Latin American artwork (including pre-Inca pieces) and antiques, creating a real sense of place alongside the creature comforts you crave in a luxury stay. Rooms are painted rich reds and ochres and decorated with ceramics and tiles, adding to the richness of the hotel’s ambience.

Additional FHR perk: A $100 experience credit that can be used at the hotel during your stay, perhaps to enjoy taking in a thermal circuit or a hydromassage in the on-site spa.

Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam

KIMPTON DE WITT/FACEBOOK

Just a five-minute walk from Amsterdam’s main train station and central to many other iconic sights in Holland’s main metropolis, the Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam feels like a thrilling little boutique find set amid the hectic tourist heart of town.

Average rates hover around $356, meaning your statement and experience credit go a long way to defray a night’s stay. Make time for cocktails in the hotel’s pretty interior garden, and channel some of the hotel’s California inspiration during Taco Tuesdays and Margarita Mondays at Celia restaurant.

Frette robes and yoga mats make for nice room amenities, and you can hop on one of the hotel’s complimentary bicycles to get around town like the Dutch do.

Additional FHR perk: A $100 experience credit that can be used at the hotel during your stay.

Related: The top Kimpton Hotels across the world, according to IHG Diamond members

PGA National Resort

PGA NATIONAL RESORT/FACEBOOK

Spend some time in the South Florida sun playing golf or just relaxing poolside when you check into PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, where you can take your pick of six championship golf courses for play. Rooms average around $500 but can often be found for far less, particularly midweek.

The resort’s spa offers unique ocean-inspired treatments like seafoam body wraps. You’re spoiled for pools to lounge by here, too, with three in the mix.

Additional FHR perk: A $100 experience credit that can be used at the hotel during your stay, perhaps toward dinner at retro-inspired Birdie’s Diner.

Kimpton Epic Hotel

KIMPTON EPIC HOTEL/FACEBOOK

A downtown Miami pick for sweeping city views from the rooms’ floor-to-ceiling windows and two prime rooftop pools, the riverfront Kimpton Epic Hotel is pet-friendly and located a short stroll from Brickell and the Bayfront Park. Average per-night rates start at just $254, too.

There are so many great restaurants nearby (including Zuma, right off the hotel’s lobby), but make time for a meal at Area 31 on the hotel’s 16th floor for one of the best whole-fish entrees in town (they debone it tableside so you don’t have to do any work). The dazzling views from the rooftop tables shouldn’t be missed.

The Hotel Collection perk: For Amex Platinum cardholders staying two nights or longer, a $100 experience credit can be used on qualifying dining, spa and resort activities.

Related: TPG’s ultimate guide to Miami and South Florida

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. MARRIOTT

Average room rates hover around the $470 per night mark at this popular Las Vegas hotel and casino in the FHR collection.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas‘ pool scene is a favorite along the Las Vegas Strip, with a “Pool District” that includes three different experiences, among them the adults-only Marquee Dayclub.

Additional FHR perk: A $100 experience credit that can be used at the hotel’s desert-inspired Sahra Spa, Salon & Hammam during your stay.

Related: Jackpot! Best hotels in Vegas for a Sin City getaway

The Ritz-Carlton, Bali

THE RITZ-CARLTON BALI

One of the most spectacular properties on an island full of them, TPG recently found rates in the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts collection for around the $540 mark for junior suites at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali, where cliffside villas with private pools overlook the ocean in Nusa Dua. It’s a splurge, to be sure, but there are so many things to love at this resort.

If you do just one thing on-site, soak in the spa’s Hydro-Vital Pool, where you can relax at five hydrotherapy stations within a tropical greenhouse setting.

Additional FHR perk: A $100 property credit you can use anywhere, including at the hotel’s clifftop Indonesian restaurant and spa.

Related: Stay at these amazing Ritz-Carltons around the world

Casa de Campo Resort & Villas

THIAGO DA CUNHA/CASA DE CAMPO RESORT & VILLAS/FACEBOOK

The Dominican Republic makes for one of the more accessible Caribbean getaways. And if you’re into golfing, you can leave the Punta Cana crowds behind with a stay at Casa de Campo Resort & Villas, an Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts property along the island’s south coast that’s home to three award-winning courses.

We found nights for under $570 in superior casitas that come with a complimentary personal golf cart for cruising the resort’s vast and rolling grounds. The three Pete Dye-designed golf courses make Casa de Campo a runaway favorite with the golf crowd, and there are also an equestrian center and an on-site marina where you can head out on deep-sea fishing excursions.

Additional FHR perk: Complimentary round of golf for two people per room (includes all applicable fees, including green fees and cart fees).

Canopy by Hilton Cancun La Isla

CANOPY BY HILTON CANCUN LA ISLA/HILTON.COM

With rates consistently around or below the $200 mark (TPG recently found a room for just $152 per night), this urban hotel overlooking Nichupte Lagoon in Cancun, Mexico, may not be on the beach but still offers lots of great amenities.

Part of The Hotel Collection, the Canopy by Hilton Cancun La Isla has a rooftop pool and is directly connected to the nightlife and restaurants of La Isla Entertainment Village.

The Hotel Collection perk: For Amex Platinum cardholders staying two nights or longer, a $100 experience credit can be used on dining, spa and resort activities.

Hotel William Gray

ALEXI HOBBS/HOTEL WILLIAM GREY/FACEBOOK

Also in The Hotel Collection, the Hotel William Gray in Montreal shows rates around the $330 mark and makes for an elegant stay right near the Place Jacques-Cartier and the Old Port of Montreal.

The rooftop bar, Terrasse William Gray, has fab views of the St. Lawrence River and heaters that switch on when the temperatures drop.

The Hotel Collection perk: For Amex Platinum cardholders staying two nights or longer, a $100 experience credit can be used on qualifying dining, spa and resort activities.

Ink 48 Hotel

Ink 48 Hotel in New York City. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

Stay for a steal in New York City when you put your $200 credit toward the $327 average rate for a stay at the stylish Ink 48 Hotel in Hell’s Kitchen.

After a day of sightseeing, return to a room or suite with a deep soaking bathtub and views of New York City or the Hudson River. The complimentary wine hour every evening is a particularly nice touch for a city hotel.

The Hotel Collection perk: For Amex Platinum cardholders staying two nights or longer, a $100 experience credit can be used on qualifying dining, spa and resort activities.

Related reading:

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here.

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