Yeah, using AmEx for holds is a good route to go. In one case I think it even prevented me from being charged DCC. (This was at Hotel Arts in Barcelona.) To hold the room I used my AmEx, but I settled the bill using a Visa from Chase. The receipt alluded to the option of paying in your home currency, but I scrutinized the entire receipt to make sure there weren't any dollar signs or indication of USD being charged. I have no way of knowing if using AmEx initially kicked the system out of DCC mode, but it's something I can try this fall in Macau if we stay at the Venetian again.

This won't work at the Novotel in Taoyuan because the credit card terminal and reservation system aren't linked, but I will ask to settle the bill using a card other than the AmEx. This is one thing I like about how checkout is done outside of North America where you settle the bill upon checkout rather than checking out offline. It reduces the chance of surprises later on.