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Travelers today have seemingly endless ways to book hotels, whether directly with the chain or via an online travel agency. While we typically shy away from the latter (since it can keep you from earning elite night credits and receiving status benefits), there are also certain situations where booking through an OTA can work to your advantage. Using your American Express card to book a stay through The Hotel Collection is one of those instances.
The Hotel Collection by American Express offers benefits that mimic elite status and provide solid value to eligible American Express cardmembers.
While it's not as lush as American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts®, The Hotel Collection is still a solid option for those who want room upgrades and amenity credits without holding hotel elite status. Let's take a look at the benefits The Hotel Collection provides and who's eligible to take advantage of this program.
What Is The Hotel Collection?
The Hotel Collection is a collection of over 1,400 properties curated by American Express. Each property offers guaranteed benefits to eligible Amex cardmembers when they book an eligible stay through American Express Travel®. The amenities offered through The Hotel Collection mimic elite status, such as:
- Room upgrade on arrival (when available)
- $100 amenity credit toward eligible on-property charges
- 12 p.m. early check-in (when available)
- 4 p.m. late checkout (when available)
To get these benefits, you must book a stay of at least two consecutive nights through Amex Travel and pay with your eligible Amex card or another American Express card in your name.
Who's Eligible for The Hotel Collection?
Only specific American Express cardmembers are eligible to book hotels using The Hotel Collection. Bookings are limited to those with the following cards:
- American Express® Gold Card
- American Express Platinum Card®
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- Centurion® Card from American Express
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you're approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount - all with no credit score impact. If you're approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App™.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App™, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App™ and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You'll know upfront exactly how much you'll pay.
- $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- Enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Book two nights or more with The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com and receive a $100* credit towards eligible charges at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide.§ *Eligible charges vary by property.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App™ with added peace of mind - backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on cruises booked and paid through amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
Note that those who have the Platinum Card®, Business Platinum Card, or an Amex Centurion Card also have access to Fine Hotels + Resorts, which is essentially a more upscale version of The Hotel Collection.
These cardmembers can also use their annual hotel credit of up to $600 (split into two semiannual credits of up to $300 each) for eligible prepaid bookings with The Hotel Collection.
How To Find Properties Through The Hotel Collection
Over 1,400 hotels participate in The Hotel Collection, which means the odds are good that there'll be one near you. To search for hotels, log in to your American Express account and select “Travel” from the drop-down menu; this takes you to the Amex Travel portal. From there, you can select “Book The Hotel Collection.”
You'll then be taken to the search page for The Hotel Collection:
Once you enter your destination and travel dates, you'll be taken to the results page:
As you can see, you can either pay cash using your Amex card or use your Amex points to pay. Don't do the latter; Amex will only give you 0.7 cents per point when redeeming this way for The Hotel Collection bookings. This contrasts with recent AwardWallet user redemptions, which peg the average value of American Express Membership Rewards points at 2.03¢ each.
Once you've found a property you like, you'll select it and proceed through the checkout process. And be sure to have your Amex card on hand when you check in at the property.
Related: 5 Excellent Redemption Strategies for
Is The Hotel Collection Worth It?
The Hotel Collection can offer some good benefits, but is it worth it? There are a few factors to consider here:
- How much money are you willing to pay? The Hotel Collection properties tend to be more expensive than your standard chain hotels.
- Do you have hotel elite status? You typically won't get your usual status benefits when booking The Hotel Collection. Similarly, many of the benefits from The Hotel Collection bookings can be replaced with elite status.
- Do you want to use points? While you can use points to book The Hotel Collection, it's a terrible idea.
- Is the property near where you want to be? Because not all hotels are in The Hotel Collection, you'll want to make sure that the property you book is near where you want to be.
- How long are you staying? The Hotel Collection benefits kick in on bookings of at least two nights. This means a one-night stay won't get you perks. Similarly, longer bookings won't give you repeated credits; a ten-night stay will still only offer a single $100 amenity credit.
- Are the amenities worth the price? You'll usually pay an inflated rate when booking through The Hotel Collection, so you'll want to make sure the price difference isn't too extreme.
Bottom Line
The Hotel Collection by American Express gives eligible cardmembers extra benefits at some excellent properties without requiring elite status. However, you'll always want to do the math before booking. Even though The Hotel Collection stays offer amenities such as amenity credits and late checkout, the incremental cost over booking directly may not be worth it.
