maclover

Thanks everyone for the reply.

I won’t quote every message but will try to give more context

• yes, it is a Design hotel, but in the past I’ve never had a problem using Amex there
• I dunno if the link that they will share for prepayment one week prior to arrival will be processed by them or through a third party
• they confirmed I’ll earn points during the stay
• for Visa, it doesn’t quite work like in the US. You can’t settle any amount before due date
• I’ve already asked the bank to raise the limit on my Visa, so I don’t forse too much trouble. It’s mostly a question of principle
• Stay is for early October so there’s plenty of time to sort things out

again, thanks everyone for the many different inputs

safe travels

randomdude

doesn't always work (ie BOA business cards)

southlondonphil

I suspect that what is going on here is that for official monitoring reasons you are required to book and pay for the mandatory quarantine through a government-contracted 3rd party portal which doesn't accept AMEX, and the hotel's regular payment facilitator is not involved in processing quarantine stays.

miloworld

Ask if they accept Marriott Gift Cards and if they find that an acceptable way to settle the payment?
[Edit] Never mind, Design hotels do not accept Marriott GCs

Although it's becoming rare, AMEX still gets pushback by some HK merchants as they charge a higher percentage transaction fee.

garykung

How about booking another quarantine hotel that accepts AMEX?

There are 3 other Marriott facilities on the list.

Keep in mind - because you are quarantined, you are practically imprisoned in the room for the entire duration. So the location of the hotel isn't really matter.

LondonElite

Right, so what should matter is the quality of the hotel/room, not whether you’ll be getting a few points or not. Tail wagging dog.

Kacee

Those are not mutually exclusive considerations. I would absolutely want to get points, considering how much these stays can cost.

I would go insane with a 21 day in-room quarantine.

maclover

FWIW, I’m not chasing after points by any mean.
I wrote to few different hotels in order to get sample menus as, while I enjoy Asian food, I don’t see myself eating it for 60+ meals in a row

When I came down with a shortlist, I chose Mira Moon as I’ve stayed several times at Kowloon side Mira and always enjoyed it.
Being quite new and having a Nespresso coffee machine in the room played a role too

I ended up booking my stay through Marriott.com as there is clearly marked you can cancel reservation without penalty up to 7 days before arrival, while on Mira moon website there’s no such a policy and, for the exact same price, I’d rather prefer a cancellabile rate versus a prepaid one

WilcoRoger

OP is in Italy. Paypal key is available only to US residents.

MSPeconomist

If you're allowed to order in food or other deliveries during quarantine, you should have some funds available on your Visa card in case the restaurant, etc. doesn't accept AmEx. You also want funds available in case you want to buy anything on line such as a movie , an eBook, or a TV streaming service.

garykung

With limited exceptions, Hong Kong practically bans all foreigners entering Hong Kong. It is not my position to speculate why you can enter Hong Kong. But the fact of the current quarantine arrangement is clear that most people subject to quarantine would be HKers (or people with Chinese-descent). Unless take away (through providers like foodpanda) is available, what you see is what you get.

Keep in mind - because you are practically imprisoned, don't expect the food would be that tasty. AFAICT - hotel quality has no bearing with the food quality (as many outsource their food to outsider vendor). In fact, many prepared food in their baggage in advance of the quarantine.

Do they provide/refill the capsules as well?

SKRan

Have you considered the currency exchange fees, and if so, consider Revolut (with the cash back). You can probably save a bit of money if the hotel charges HKD while you pay EUR.

Alex_I

This has nothing to do with Marriott and AMEX partnership but rather how the parent company would hotels process the payments. One has to set up processing with Visa and Master Card and separately with AmEx in order to do the charge. The quarantine operation in HK or the parent/owner company of that hotel could be different from Marriott and it looks like they are simply unable to charge AmEx. Just last year during Covid I had an older relative traveling and she would have to stay overnight in VKO. (Russia). I have booked her a DoubleTree just a walkway from the terminal through Hiltoin.com and then contacted hotel to guarantee an early check-in at 8 am (she would arrive at 7 am and then leave with 4 am flight next day with Turkish - the schedule was very "thin" at that time). The manager asked me to pay an additional day rate and sent me an invoice through a Russian bank. All that was very strange but after back and forth I ended up paying that invoice with my Visa Infinite as the bank would not take AmEx Aspire. Everything was fine at the end and my relative was taking a good care of and she got correct Hilton points in her Hilton Gold account for the stay. The point I am trying to make is that payments for any special arrangements with hotels could go directly to the management company which might have a different payment processing than the hotel. There is nothing much to discuss here. Just get a dozen of credit cards with sufficient spending limit and do not worry about such things.

maclover

We are waiting to get an answer from HK government on that.
My wife is from HK (born and raised there) and is currently almost 5 months pregnant.
for different reasons she would like to do the delivery in HK:
- her mum couldn’t come over to Italy as she has to take care of the grandma
- having a 10.000km safety distance from mother in law is what we consider safe
- for whatever reason, deliver in your mother language makes things easier

that all said, seems that a spouse of HK citizen is allowed entrance.

while waiting for HK Government to confirm it, we started to book refundable fare for both transportation and accommodation.

Seems so
Quarantine on the moon

• Complimentary use of Nespresso coffee machine with complimentary Nespresso capsules and gourmet teacake.

garykung

My concern is the lack of care. Not sure if your wife chooses a public or private labour option. This is better be arranged before arrival.

No need to wait. You are exempted. Go ahead and book. The Immigration Department is unlikely to comment on individual cases. Make sure your marriage certificate (Certificato di Matrimonio) is either in English or has a English translation.