Sep 22, 2022, 9:48 am
Last edit by: mia
Related discussion here: Report clawbacks of the FHR/THC $200 credit.
Terms and FAQ
Which charges are eligible?
Terms and FAQ
Which charges are eligible?
- Reservation must be pre-paid to be reimbursed.
- Pre-paids with a flexible cancellation policy are still eligible.
- Hotel rates under $200 are also reimbursed.
- If using Pay With Points, the cash portion of your charge is still eligible.
- Charges made at the hotel are not billed by Amex Travel and are not eligible.
- When checking in, the terms require payment with an Amex which need not be a platinum Amex.
- Browse Hotels here
- Benefit renews every January 1st.
- The $200 credit is based on the year you made the booking, not the year of the stay. You can use it this year to book a room for next year.
- Amex in general handles offers by the transaction date, not post date. For example, a 12/31/22 transaction date is eligible for 2022 credits even if posted in 2023.
- If you cancel a reservation, the $200 credit is reversed. The credit will be available to use again if you cancelled in the same year you paid.
- In general you can't modify reservation dates and need to cancel and rebook to change dates.
- "If you need to change your hotel booking, you must either cancel and rebook your reservation or call us for assistance."
- If you use the benefit for a future stay and cancel that Amex platinum card prior to your stay, Amex is not known to claw back the $200. You will still need to check-in with some other Amex.
- The $200 credit sometimes posts in a few days, but sometimes 3 weeks or longer.
To know your remaining $200 balance, ask Amex. There's no meter on the website.There is now a meter on the website which shows your usage against $200- If your platinum account has additional cardholders with a gold card, charges on the gold card are eligible. Not clear if they enforce the requirement that the platinum cardholder must be on the reservation.
- Terms of the FH&R $100 credit.
- Separate thread regarding elite benefits on stays.
Amex $200 Hotel Credit (FHR or THC)
Jul 10, 2022, 4:14 pm
#466
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
If you cancel your card after 12 months of ownership, it's not considered "gaming". Besides getting the qualified purchase refunded, I can't think of another reason why this benefit could be clawed back.
Jul 10, 2022, 4:24 pm
#467
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,092
it is strictly per calendar year. They usually don't claw these back assuming you don't cancel the stay.
Jul 10, 2022, 4:26 pm
#468
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,410
And you'd THINK there's no way they'd get clawed back, but I've had it happen to me with a Canadian card that had "calendar-based" credit, where if you used two credits in one statement year (but two calendar years), it'd get clawed back - even though the credit nominally was "per calendar year".
Jul 10, 2022, 4:41 pm
#469
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,092
Not planning on canceling, just not sure the card is worth keeping past year 1. Will depend on how easy I can make use of the incidental airline spend I think.
And you'd THINK there's no way they'd get clawed back, but I've had it happen to me with a Canadian card that had "calendar-based" credit, where if you used two credits in one statement year (but two calendar years), it'd get clawed back - even though the credit nominally was "per calendar year".
And you'd THINK there's no way they'd get clawed back, but I've had it happen to me with a Canadian card that had "calendar-based" credit, where if you used two credits in one statement year (but two calendar years), it'd get clawed back - even though the credit nominally was "per calendar year".
Jul 12, 2022, 4:24 pm
#470
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,410
reports say they don't claw it back, but YMMV. Incidental airline spent is easy to use (check threads on this topic, e.g. you essentially get $200 off a UA flight or Delta with little extra effort). Uber credit is easy to use (Uber eats if nothing else) ... there is a lot of value!
Do I need to book the "FHR" rate or will any rate at an FHR property work?
E.g. I have the option of:
Deluxe Room, 1 King: 306/night
Deluxe Room, 1 King FHR: 322/night
not sure why there's two different rates for the same room...
Jul 12, 2022, 4:27 pm
#471
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,489
promotional rates that are lower.)
When you book a pre-paid FHR or Hotel Collection rate, it actually codes as such which is what presumably triggers the credit, so regular rates at participating properties are not likely to work.
Jul 12, 2022, 6:07 pm
#472
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,410
FHR rates aren’t always the lowest rates, though they are usually equal to the lowest “regular” rate available through the hotel. (Ie the hotel may have special
promotional rates that are lower.)
When you book a pre-paid FHR or Hotel Collection rate, it actually codes as such which is what presumably triggers the credit, so regular rates at participating properties are not likely to work.
promotional rates that are lower.)
When you book a pre-paid FHR or Hotel Collection rate, it actually codes as such which is what presumably triggers the credit, so regular rates at participating properties are not likely to work.
Last edited by Smiley90; Jul 12, 2022 at 6:22 pm
Jul 12, 2022, 7:06 pm
#473
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,489
Is that true though? Do FHR properties, on the Amex Travel site when filtering by FHR, show NON-FHR rates? The example I listed is just one - I can look at another property, and NONE of the rates there specifically say "FHR". So it's rather confusing that this property lists both "FHR" and "normal" rates. Presumably any rate booked through the Amex FHR portal SHOULD give FHR benefits and trigger the credit, no?
Jul 12, 2022, 7:12 pm
#474
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,410
Jul 14, 2022, 5:52 am
#475
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Philadelphia
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,790
Jul 21, 2022, 12:09 am
#476
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: TPE, SFO, PAE
Posts: 862
Stay after closing account
If booking a prepaid stay with FHR, but the Platinum card is closed before the stay, will there be any issue checking in or receiving the experience credit? I was told by a Hyatt that the cardholder needs to present an Amex card when checking in, but doesn't have to be a Platinum. Is this pretty universal or does it vary hotel from hotel?
Jul 21, 2022, 1:23 am
#477
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
If booking a prepaid stay with FHR, but the Platinum card is closed before the stay, will there be any issue checking in or receiving the experience credit? I was told by a Hyatt that the cardholder needs to present an Amex card when checking in, but doesn't have to be a Platinum. Is this pretty universal or does it vary hotel from hotel?
Jul 21, 2022, 6:57 am
#478
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,410
What ended up happening is that yes, there are two King rooms, one with FHR and one without - the one without is an ACCESSIBLE room, it just wasn't labelled as such. Oh well. Don't need it, but such is life. I'll just make sure to tell the hotel I don't mind being upgraded to a non-accessible room
Jul 30, 2022, 8:02 am
#479
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: NGS
Programs: UA Silver, ANA MC, HH Diamond, Hyatt Discoverist, Bonvoy Plat, IHG Plat, Shangri-La GC, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,238
Booked FHR room in Tokyo on 7/6, and $200 credit posted on 7/25, which seems unusually long compared to past experience.
Jul 30, 2022, 12:55 pm
#480
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: SAN, TYO, OSA
Posts: 252