American Express Membership Rewards - Platinum Travel Services Required for Amenity?

Forgive me if this has already been asked - the search function being down is painful.

Is it necessary to book travel through the Platinum Travel Services # in order to receive Platinum benefits at a hotel?

As an example the following is listed as the benefit at a hotel in Peru we may stay at. Is merely being in posession of the Amex enough? Or do these benefits only come with bookings actually made through Amex?

Your Exclusive Amenities
A room upgrade when available, upon check-in.
Daily continental breakfast for you and a guest.
Guaranteed four o'clock p.m. late check-out.

Your Extra Amenity
A one-hour complimentary massage for up to two people per room, once during your stay.

Essentially, yes.

Essentially, yes.

Thanks for letting me know. If you or other users of that travel service could share your experiences with regard to pricing of accomodations, etc., I'd be grateful.

Essentially, a free lunch and massage will be useless if I end up paying the amount saved or more in room rates that are higher than what I might be able to get myself.

Thanks!

i've used PTS a few times for the Bellagio Las Vegas and always got lower than rack, and even better than discount rates. But I don't think we can easily generalize on all the hotels in the FHR program.

I used PTS for a European vacation last summer, and booked 3 different FH&R hotels for 6 nights. This was a driving tour thru Germany, Switz & Italy. The other stays (at non-FH&R hotels) were booked outside PTS.

Prior to booking with PTS, I priced the same FH&R hotels on other sites (Exp, Tvlocity, Orbitz) and found PTS rates to be similar because the hotels charged rack rates during my stay(s). So I booked with PTS, and the room upgrades made it (paying rack rates) worthwhile.

Going to travel during Easter - made reservations with PTS and I selected to use FHR rates. At least the rate in London is lower than directly from the hotel's web page. If I receive my upgrades then I will be very happy :)

I haven't used PTS so much yet but all my requests have been handled promptly and all rates have been very good so far.

As others have alluded to, whether or not booking the FH&R rate through PTS is "worth it" can only be determined on a case-by-case basis. You will need to do your own research on this one. Fortunately, when you speak to PTS, they will be able to tell you both the FH&R rate (including amenities) and the lowest available rate. Sometimes worth checking that one online as well.

Typically the FH&R rate is higher than the lowest available rate. You need to determine the differential vis-a-vis the "value" of the amenities. However, sometimes, you will find that the FH&R rate is actually lower than the lowest available rate, in which case it is a no brainer! The FH&R rates are pre-contracted, and so in certain periods, maybe high demand, if the property is only offering rack rates as the best availalbe rate, FH&R comes in handy. I had this happen to me recently at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai -- saved $40/night, and got free breakfast, room upgrade, and free lunch worth $80. (Late check-out wasn't helpful to us on this particular trip).