Originally Posted by
AbuCordoba
Just a question, do you have to trade off the perks of AMEX FHR vs the points you would have got if you booked direct, or can you stack and get them both?
You can stack them to your heart’s content. I’ve generally been getting free breakfast, some kind of free credit (up to €200!), a near guaranteed one category upgrade with potential for upgrades to suites on more of a throw of the dice kind of thing plus your night credit and points.
I’ve found every RC stay so far this year to be a much better deal via Virtuoso than booking direct. I happen to think that Marriott giving up all the profit with me no longer booking direct is crazy business on their part (the franchises will lose 30%+ of the value), but that’s obviously their preference.