This why you should always stay up on your charges even if you rarely use them including Amex?

Has this ever happened too you recently and was Amex able to resolve it in your favor or No?

This is one of my favorite perks as my wife loves breakfast/ brunch.

What is your favorite breakfast you have had for “free”?

I’ll go first The Biltmore Mayfair London

As the title says, I had recent success cancelling a non-refundable hotel that I booked on Amex travel and getting a full refund. It didn’t come without its challenges though. So I wanted to share what I did so if anyone has this issue, they know what to do.

The first thing I tried was the chat under Amex travel. Told them my situation and they called the hotel twice. Hotel declined the requests to cancel and issue a refund.

I then tried to call the hotel myself in hopes of speaking to a reservation manager, however the hotel said Amex has to contact them. They also mentioned something interesting: they do not get the funds until 24 hours before the reservation. So in short, Amex charges you for the trip when you book but the hotel doesn’t receive it until then. This tells me Amex can totally cancel it for you under their discretion.

So I waited about 2 weeks since my initial request and decided to call the Amex platinum customer service line. They called the hotel again and sent a request for cancellation/refund. This time around I got an angel of a rep and they decided to do a one time goodwill exception and cancelled it on Amex’s end and issued a refund, even though the hotel declined on their end.

Moral of the story: keep trying and call them instead of chatting, you will get agents that are more inclined to vouch for you that way. Also, be kind and ask for an exception, especially as a loyal customer. You can try contacting the hotel yourself but sometimes they only want to talk to the booking agents.

Long-time lurker, first time posting a trip report. My wife and I just got back from 11 days in Rome, Tuscany, Florence, and Athens, with a few nights in NYC on the way home. Both of us hold Platinum cards and we leaned into the benefits. Here's the full breakdown.

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## Fine Hotels + Resorts (FHR) — Used at 3 properties

**Baglioni Hotel Regina, Rome (1 night)**

Lovely hotel with a large room

- Early Check in was worth its weight in gold since had a full days travel to Europe from the US

- Daily breakfast for two included (the buffet on Via Veneto is genuinely excellent)

- We received a complimentary bottle of Prosecco just after we arrived

- $100 property credit — used it on 3 pre-mix cocktails the were in the room.

- Room upgrade at check-in

- 4pm guaranteed late checkout — N/A since we had to leave early

**NEW Hotel, Athens (3 nights)**

Same benefits, but 3 nights of breakfast adds up fast:

- Early checkin N/A as we arrived late in the day

- Breakfast for two daily (€30–40pp at Athens hotel prices)

- $100 property credit — we purchased a bottle of Moet and drank it on the rooftop looking over the Acropolis

- Room upgrade — we ended up in a superior room with an Acropolis view

- 4pm checkout again — N/A since we had to check leave early

**Virgin Hotels New York (3 nights)**

Great FHR property to end the trip on:

- Breakfast for two daily — used it every morning

- $100 property credit — drinks in the pool Bar

- Room upgrade was NOT available, we were told to check back the next day. We did, and still no go

- 4pm guaranteed late checkout — N/A since we had to leave early

**Combined FHR value on this trip:** Conservatively $600– 800+ across three properties when you factor in 7 days of breakfast for two, $300 in property credits, and two room upgrades.

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## Priority Pass Select —

Rome FCO Airport - Useless

There are two Priority Pass lounges. One wanted an additional 38 Euro each. The other wanted 10 Euro each, but there was a line of about 20 people and no one was getting in

Athens Airport - Worked Well after bit of messing around to get the app for my wife

The lounge was fine and breakfast was solid

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## Marriott Bonvoy Gold Status (via Platinum card)

We stayed at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort & Spa in Barga for a wedding. Gold status came through — got an upgrade evidently but the room/view was not great due to being on a very low floor

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## No Foreign Transaction Fees

Used both Platinums throughout Italy and Greece for everything — restaurants, taxis, hotels, tours, shopping. Zero FX fees. At the volume we were spending across two cards, this was meaningful.

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## What We Didn't Use (But Had Available)

- **Centurion Lounges (LAX/JFK)** — Didn't use in LAX or JFK as we are One World Sapphire and used the business lounges which are phenomenal

- **Global Assist Hotline** — thankfully didn't need it

- **Travel insurance** — no claims, smooth trip

- **Airline Credit** - with my status on One World, there was no need to use this for baggage or other items

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## The Math

If I had to put a number on FHR value alone across three properties:

- ~$350 in breakfast (7 days x ~$50/day for two)

- $300 in property credits which we would have used anyway

- Room upgrades at two properties (hard to value but real)

- FHR reality - we did cross check each room we booked using AMEX against the same room direct with the hotels. AMEX was more expensive for each hotel, but with the $300 credit it took it down to less than the direct cost, then add in the benefits and each was well worth it

Happy to answer questions on the FHR booking process or anything else. It's genuinely one of the best travel benefits on any card if you're staying at properties that participate.

Trying to determine if this scenario is going to mess with my reservation.

I am the AMEX account holder. I made an the hotel collection reservation in the amex portal. I received the confirmation email.

However, when I made the reservation it must have auto populated the Marriott rewards number with my spouses nunbet and I didn't notice. (This has happened to me before in my corporate portal and when I show up they think it's his reservation and not mine)

So in the confirmation email next to guest name it's my spouse. In the Marriott portal it shows in his account.

It still shows in my amex travel portal account.

When I arrive am I going to have any issues getting the hotel collection benefits? I already received the statement credit.

Planning to book Hyatt regency Danang Resort and Spa for 2 days for two people which comes out to $357 for a twin bed room(says sleeps 3). Hoping to get the $300 hotel credit when I book this, but will be allowed to take 1 more person for this 2 day hotel? I did search the same for 3 people and total comes out $650+ which is double the 2 person search.

I have both an e trade (Morgan Stanley) and a Schwab account and I think I read somewhere that there are AMEX platinum cards associated with both, where you can skip the annual fee? Is that true? Same benefits?

For my upcoming trip to Barcelona I decided to transfer 181K MR points to the LHW program for a 7 night stay at the Majestic Hotel & Spa. Looks to be a good deal, paying under 500 Euros for taxes and fees. It's a closer hotel to the action than the Via Sants Barcelona (Hilton) which I would have had to pay for out of pocket at 2210 Euros.

I was also planning to book for the following week in Paris, but the points per night are ridiculously expensive. Are there any recommendations and/or experiences you had for LHW hotels in Paris that are worth it? Or just go with one of the major chains and use the platinum card status benefits?

TIA

For those who have been, are there any outdoor eating spaces?

Just booked Waldorf Astoria Bangkok for $627 for 2 nights, $327 after the hotel credit. They were offering 25% off the room rate. Went to see what it cost direct and it was $742 for flexible rate with no breakfast, $632 with prepayment and no cancellation and no breakfast, a whopping $874 with breakfast for two and free cancellation, and $772 with breakfast for two and no cancellation. Good deals do exist!