martial

I was not given physical passes, however there was a separate line for Marriott Plat/Gold members that acted as the cut-the-line pass which i used

sedubby

Not sure if this has been brought up yet, but it looks like ALL properties are now offering $100 spa credits only, including Delano and Bellagio (which were the two to my knowledge that had offered F&B).

mia

First mentioned in October by golfingboy.

Zelucifer

Such a massive devaluation. I'm very tempted to book with Chase LHRC instead of Amex for Vegas at least.

theranj

Agreed - I have an upcoming trip in June and decided to use an Amex Offer for $70 off at Waldorf instead of doing a FHR rate

Doppy

Stayed at Bellagio on FHR rate in early January. They were still handing out the August-dated list of benefits at check-in, which had the $100 F&B credit and also mentioned Harvest as the breakfast restaurant. Now that Sadelle's is open, Harvest no longer serves breakfast. I asked the check-in agent about the changeover to a spa credit and she was unaware, and said just go by what was listed on the paper.

No upgrade - there were small suites available on the website, but the agent didn't seem to be looking to upgrade past a nicer view for my tower king reservation, which also wasn't possible.

Checked in around 10am and day of arrival "breakfast" around noon was taken off the bill overnight. Breakfast for the remaining days of the stay and the $100 F&B had to be taken off manually at check-out. Front desk manager who processed the check-out didn't say anything about the spa credit in lieu of F&B either, so it doesn't sound like word had trickled down, at least not as of earlier this week.

747FC

Thank you for bringing up the Chase/LHRC option. I just changed my Las Vegas reservation to the LHRC instead of FHR, saving a lot of money in the process (yes, I changed from FS to Bellagio), and got the $100 food credit instead of spa credit. Thanks again.

ijgordon

FWIW, I agree, and had posted so upthread, but you can use the spa credit for daypass access to the spa facilities (which include whirlpools, steam, sauna, etc.) that often costs $30-50 pp/day (though free with a spa treatment). That's something I like to enjoy at least once during a stay anyway, so it's not totally the end of the world.

zwl99

May I ask how you get them to stack the Gold status benefit with FHR?

mendezka

As many of us are a bit annoyed by the Vegas changes to FHR (Spa credits instead of F&B) I thought I'd write out a little comparison I found between the 2 programs (Chase LHC & Amex FHR). I just booked 2 separate, 1 night stays through Chase's LHC using a Chase freedom unlimited card ($0) annual fee. Here are my thoughts & quick analysis between the 2 programs.

Accessibility: Chase wins hands down, multiple cards including $0 annual fee cards can be used to book.

Breakfast Credits: Seemed generally the same across the properties
Late Checkout: Amex wins here with Guaranteed 4 PM late checkout. Most of the chase LHC benefits just state Early Check in & Late Check Out, few have guarantees of time.
Room Upgrade: Both state room upgrade when available. I have no clue which program will get you a better upgrade. It's Vegas though so the $20 tip trick works best anyway!

Unique Amenity: In my opinion Chase wins here, due to the F&B credit. Below is a list of the chase unique amenities for each property. All of the FHR hotels right now have $100 Spa credit.
Aria-

• $100 Food & Beverage credit at selected Aria food and beverage outlets, per room, per stay
• Invited guest Check-In

Bellagio-

• $100 Food and Beverage credit (per room, per stay-restrictions may apply) redeemable at The Buffet, Café Bellagio, FIX, Harvest by Roy Ellamar, Jasmine, Lago by Jilian Serrano, MICHAEL MINA, Lily Bar & Lounge, Petrossian Bar, Harvest and Pool Café; excludes gratuity

Ceasars Palace-

• Breakfast for two daily (Maximum credit of $20 per person, per day for a maximum of 2 guest)
• Guaranteed VIP Check In - Located at the Platinum line / at the main check-in area
• Early Check-In, 9:00 AM
• Late Check-Out, 1:00 PM

Delano-

• $100 Food & Beverage credit, per room, per stay
• Pre-arrival Service Call **
• Manager Meet & Greet (Estimated arrival time must be provided 24 hours in advanced)

Mandalay Bay-

• $100 Food & Beverage credit, per room, per stay
• Invited guest Check-In

MGM Grand-

• $100 Food & Beverage credit, per room, per stay
• Upgrade from Grand King or Queen to Grand Premier King or Queen only
• Early Check-In, 12:00 noon
• Late Check-Out, 2:00 pm

Park MGM-

• $50 Food and Beverage credit, per room, per stay

Cosmopolitan-

• Buffet Breakfast for two daily at Wicked Spoon
• $50 Spa and $50 Food and beverage credit, once during stay (excludes Beauty & Essex, Juice Standard, Zuma and Marquee)
• Autograph Lounge Check-In
• One Category Upgrade

Palazzo-

• $65 Daily Breakfast Credit at Morels or Bouchon by Thomas Keller
• Signature Champagne in suite, once per stay

Signature & MGM-

• $100 Food & Beverage credit, per room, per stay
• One category Upgrade from SIGNATURE Deluxe Suite to SIGNATURE One Bedroom Balcony Suite only. (No upgrade from SIGNATURE One-Bedroom Balcony Suite or SIGNATURE two-Bedroom Balcony Suite)

Venetian-

• $65 Daily Breakfast Credit at Morels or Bouchon by Thomas Keller
• Signature Champagne in suite, once per stay

Waldorf Astoria-

• $100 spa treatment credit per room, per stay

Wynn-

• $50 Spa credit, once during stay
• $50 Resort credit, per room, per stay

As far as pricing goes, this is what the comparison I found was for my specific dates, I bolded what would be the cheapest/best way to book imo! The bright side here is that most properties had identical pricing, even compared to booking directly with the property. So you can weigh the value of the amenities by themselves.
Note that these are pretax costs & no resort fee included (see below for tax confusion on LHC)

Aria- Chase: $159.20 FHR: Only offer Skysuites (no pricing available) Property Website: $159.00
Bellagio- Chase: 288.80 FHR: 288 Property Website: 288
Ceasars Palace- Chase:193.93 FHR: Not offered Property Website: 143
Delano- Chase: 209.25 FHR: 209 Property website: 209
Mandalay Bay- Chase: 189.00 FHR: Not offered Property Website: 189
MGM Grand- Chase: 155.20 FHR: Not offered Property Website: 139
Park MGM- Chase: 159.42 FHR: 159.42 Property Website: 159
Cosmopolitan- Chase: 327.67 FHR: No pricing available Property Website: 250
Palazzo- Chase: 265.31 FHR: 189.00 Property Website: 189
Signature & MGM- Chase:199.20 FHR: Not offered
Venetian- Chase: 287.98 FHR: Not offered Property Website: $167
Trump Int- Chase:276.64 FHR: Not offered Property Website: 157
Waldorf Astoria- Chase: 477.33 FHR: 376.00 Property website: 361
Wynn- Chase: 349.33 FHR: No pricing available Property Website: 269

Taxes: Chase lists this when looking at nightly cost:
* Price displayed is the starting from average price for the nights selected and is for the total amount based on double occupancy and your search parameters. Rate is inclusive of hotel taxes; resort fees may be additional.

However when you get to the confirmation page you see this.

• Hotel taxes and resort fees may be additional.

When I booked my 2 stays. I did not receive an itemized breakdown, so I am unaware if my rate encompassed taxes or not... If taxes were indeed included, Chase wins hands down for pricing. It would even be cheaper for most hotels than booking directly with the property. I'm fully expecting to get charged taxes at final booking. Might be something I bring up to Chase at a later date.


Hope this could help someone out!

Skywise

mia

FHR bookings have been handled by Platinum Travel Service rather than Amex Travel (Orbitz). Was this a prepaid or postpaid stay?

rog92

Did you choose prepay and get 5X MR points? That way you don't get Mlife points.
But if you run your credit card at the hotel front desk, you DO get Mlife and Hyatt points (based on my personal experience and many many datapoints).

GundamWing01

appreciate the guide. also, i know this has been discussed, but to confirm again for 2019:

1) both LHC and FHR still allow one nighters with all the benefits right? for some reason, i thought there was a 2 night requirement in either program. curious if anyone has had issues going back and forth to the same property.

2) both require you to reserve with a chase or amex CC, but you can just use whatever CC you want upon checkout to close out the bill and still get all the benefits? however, i believe for all prepayment on the LHC or FHR websites, you cant use any other bank except for the chase or amex right?

3) does anyone know what is the latest on prepayment and getting mlife/hyatt credit? eg amex 5x MR FHR w/ mlife/hyatt credit. i keep reading prepayment is similar to OTA and you get nothing. but there is so much mixed information im reading including blog posts like this one

mia

FHR requires payment with an American Express card in the name of the FHR-eligible cardmember named in the booking. Not every property enforces, but many do. Read here:

FHR - Have to pay with Centurion/Platinum?