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 perks for travelers, ranging from statement credits to status upgrades to lounge benefits. This results 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 cardmember 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.
You need to book your 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, there are many noteworthy hotels with availability between $150 and $550 per night in the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection portfolios.
Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits
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 cardmembers, 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)
- Experience credit valued at $100 or more, usually consisting of a property, dining or spa credit
- Complimentary daily breakfast for two people
- Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout
- Noon check-in, when available
- Complimentary Wi-Fi*
*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.
The information for the Centurion cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Perks through The Hotel Collection
The Hotel Collection properties are much shorter:
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- Upgrades based on availability at check-in
- Experience credit valued at $100 or more, usually consisting of a property, dining or spa credit
- 12 p.m. check-in, when available
- Late checkout, when available
Note that you must book a minimum two-night stay through The Hotel Collection, but Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings can be for a single night.
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 cost next to nothing once you tack on the annual 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.
Hotel La Compañía
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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit for a custom wine tasting in the hotel’s exquisite underground cellar.
Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort, Koh Samui
Overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort in Koh Samui, puts explorations on one of Thailand’s most storied islands at your doorstep.
With average rates of $307 per night, your statement and experience credits can nearly cover a 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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit 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
Heady times await in the vertiginous city of Cusco, Peru, perched in the Andes at over 11,000 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 has 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. These create 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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit to enjoy a thermal circuit or a hydromassage in the on-site spa.
Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam
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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit for cocktails and a delicious meal.
Related: The top Kimpton Hotels across the world, according to IHG Diamond members
PGA National Resort
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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit for dinner at the retro-inspired Birdie’s Diner.
Kimpton Epic Hotel
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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit to dine at Area 31.
Related: TPG’s ultimate guide to Miami and South Florida
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
At this popular Las Vegas hotel and casino in the FHR collection, average room rates hover around $470 per night.
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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit at the desert-inspired Sahra Spa, Salon & Hammam during your stay.
Related: Jackpot! Best hotels in Vegas for a Sin City getaway
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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit at the hotel’s clifftop Indonesian restaurant and spa.
Related: Stay at these amazing Ritz-Carltons around the world
Casa de Campo Resort & Villas
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, home to three award-winning courses.
We found nights for under $570 in superior casitas 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.
TPG tip: You’ll receive a complimentary round of golf for two people per room (includes all applicable fees, including green and cart fees).
Canopy by Hilton Cancun La Isla
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.
TPG tip: Use your $100 experience credit at Wander Rooftop for cocktails or dinner while enjoying views of Cancun.
Hotel William Gray
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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit to access Spa William Gray facilities, which require an additional fee. Facilities include a hot and cold thermal experience with a Himalayan salt room, Finnish sauna, experiential showers, cold room, herbal sauna, and seasonal outdoor pool.
Ink 48 Hotel
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.
TPG tip: Use your experience credit on grab-and-go breakfast items available until 2 p.m. daily.
Bottom line
The Amex Platinum offers a wide range of benefits, and the annual up to $200 statement credit toward American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection is one of the easiest ways for cardmembers to recoup money. In addition to the statement credit, the hotel booking’s inclusion of an upgrade, breakfast and property credit brings down the cost of your stay, all while being able to enjoy a luxury property.
For more information on other benefits of the card, read our full review of the Amex Platinum.
Apply here: Amex Platinum. But you may be targeted for a higher welcome bonus through CardMatch.
Related reading:
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here.
