American Express Travel: Why The Premium Price Tag?

American Express Travel is an online travel portal where you can book flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, and vacation packages. While the portal is available to anyone, it is primarily designed for American Express cardholders, who can enjoy a range of benefits such as earning bonus points on bookings, accessing exclusive hotel programs, and receiving travel credits.

However, the question of whether booking through American Express Travel is more expensive remains complex. On the one hand, cardholders can take advantage of various perks and discounts, such as the International Airline Program, which offers significant savings on premium cabins for international travel. Additionally, the Fine Hotels & Resorts program provides cardholders with benefits like room upgrades, daily breakfast, and late checkout.

On the other hand, some users have reported instances where booking directly with airlines or hotels was cheaper than using the American Express Travel portal. This discrepancy could be due to several factors, including the specific dates and locations searched, the type of American Express card held, and the opportunity to earn bonus points.

Ultimately, the decision to use American Express Travel depends on various factors, including an individual's travel preferences, budget, and cardholder status. While it may offer convenience and benefits to cardholders, it is essential to compare prices and consider the potential for earning or redeeming rewards before booking.

Amex Travel fees

Amex Travel is an online travel agency that can help you plan and book travel, including flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and flight and hotel packages. Amex Travel is available to anyone who wants to use it for a nominal fee. However, if you have an American Express credit card, the fees are waived, and you get to enjoy a few additional travel perks.

Here's a breakdown of the fees associated with using Amex Travel:

Booking Flights:

• Amex Travel charges a flat fee of $6.99 per domestic ticket and $10.99 per international ticket. These fees are bundled into the price of the flight.
• If you book a flight by phone rather than online, there is an additional $39 phone service fee.
• If you make changes to your flight, there is a $39 reissue fee, plus any fees charged by the airline.

Booking Flight and Hotel Packages:

• The fee structure is the same as booking a flight reservation: $6.99 per domestic ticket or $10.99 per international ticket.
• These fees are waived for Platinum and Centurion cardholders.

Booking Hotels:

• Amex Travel doesn't include all fees and taxes on the initial results page. You need to click through to see the full price.
• The pricing is typically similar to other online travel agencies and slightly higher than booking directly with the hotel.

Booking Rental Cars:

There is no additional fee for booking rental cars through Amex Travel. The prices are generally consistent with other online travel agencies.

Booking Cruises:

There is no additional fee for booking cruises through Amex Travel. The rates are usually identical to booking directly with the cruise company.

It's important to note that the fees mentioned above are waived for certain American Express cardholders, such as those with the Platinum Card, Business Platinum Card, or Centurion Card. Additionally, American Express cardholders can earn bonus rewards and take advantage of various travel perks when booking through Amex Travel.

Amex Travel's customer service

Amex Travel, also known as American Express Travel, is a travel booking portal that allows users to book travel, including flights, cruises, and hotel stays. It's a service portal that American Express Credit Card Holders can use as part of their membership.

Customer Service

Amex Travel is known for its incredible customer service. If you run into any problems during your trip, such as delays, cancellations, or overbookings, you can connect with a live travel agent by phone 24/7 to help you find a solution. This can be especially helpful when trying to find the closest car rental in a remote location.

Booking with Amex Travel

Amex Travel is available to anyone who wants to use it for a nominal fee. However, if you have one of the American Express credit cards, the fees are waived, and you get to enjoy additional travel perks. Services can be booked online or by phone. To book online, visit the American Express Travel website. Or you can call Amex Travel's customer service toll-free at 800-297-2977.

There is a nominal fee to use the service, which is built into the cost of the ticket, whether you book online or by phone. If you call to speak with a representative to book your travel, there is an additional $39 fee. These fees are waived if you have specific American Express cards, such as the Platinum Card, the Business Platinum Card, or the Centurion Card.

Booking Flights

Searching for flights with Amex Travel is like using any other online travel site. You can search for one-way, round-trip, or multi-city flights. You can also do specific city or airport searches and select your departure and return dates. Once the results populate, you'll notice Delta flights appear at the top as a "featured airline" due to the partnership between Delta and American Express. You can also filter the results by the number of stops, departure/arrival times, specific flight number, and airline.

Booking Hotels

Amex Travel offers three programs for booking hotels: The Hotel Collection, Fine Hotels and Resorts, and standard booking. The Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels and Resorts programs offer benefits such as room upgrades, daily breakfast, guaranteed late checkout, and property credits. These programs are only available to cardholders with specific American Express cards.

With standard booking, you input the city, dates, number of rooms, and number of guests, and the search results will be based on price, reviews, and location. Amex Travel doesn't include all fees and taxes on the results page, so be sure to click through to see the total cost.

Booking Flights and Hotels Together

When booking flight and hotel packages, you'll see the total per person, which includes all taxes and fees, with the cheapest flight option appearing first. Once you select a hotel, you can choose a specific flight, and the price will adjust accordingly.

Booking Rental Cars and Cruises

Searching for a rental car or cruise via Amex Travel is simple. For rental cars, enter an airport, city, or nearby address, and you'll see a handful of options in the search results. For cruises, enter the region, cruise line, month of travel, and length of the cruise, and the results will be based on the lowest available rate.

Benefits of Booking with Amex Travel

• Earn bonus rewards as an American Express cardholder
• Access to luxury hotel perks and service through the Fine Hotels and Resorts program
• 24/7 access to knowledgeable representatives for assistance and peace of mind
• Ability to pay for reservations using Pay with Points
• Discounted international flights through the International Airline Program for Platinum cardholders
• Fine Hotels and Resorts program for Platinum and Centurion cardholders, offering benefits such as early check-in, room upgrades, daily breakfast, guaranteed late checkout, and unique amenities
• The Hotel Collection for Gold, Platinum, and Centurion cardholders, offering benefits such as room upgrades, hotel credits, and the ability to use Pay with Points on prepaid reservations

Amex Travel's Fine Hotels & Resorts program

Amex Travels Fine Hotels & Resorts Program

The American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program gives premium cardholders access to a curated collection of over 1,500 luxury hotel properties in the US and internationally. Eligible cardholders can book rooms at any hotel within the collection and receive exclusive perks, negotiated pricing, and limited-time offers that aren't available to the general public.

Benefits

When you reserve a hotel through AmEx Fine Hotels and Resorts, you'll receive benefits similar to elite status with hotel loyalty programs. On average, you'll receive benefits with a value of $600 per stay. These benefits include:

• 12 pm early check-in (when available)
• Complimentary room upgrade upon arrival (when available)
• Daily breakfast for two
• $100 experience credit, unique to each property
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Guaranteed 4 pm late checkout

Booking

Booking a Fine Hotels and Resorts reservation through American Express Travel is simple. You can log into your American Express account or visit the FHR homepage directly. Search your destination and travel dates to see which hotels are available. Compare FHR options and review the available promotions. Select hotels may offer a free night, resort credits, discounts, or a combination. Use filters to narrow down the choices.

Maximizing Value

Booking hotel rooms with AmEx Fine Hotels and Resorts can offer tremendous value, and there are ways to get even more value from your stay:

• Earn 5x points on your stay with The Platinum Card from American Express or The Business Platinum Card from American Express
• Save money with hotel credits: The Platinum Card from American Express includes an annual $200 credit for hotel reservations of two nights or more made through AmEx Travel
• Book free night offers: Select properties offer promotions where you'll receive a free night based on a minimum-length stay
• Earn additional resort credits: Some properties offer food and beverage credits, property credits, and other special perks beyond what is required through FHR
• Book multiple short stays: Since some benefits are once per reservation, like the $100 experience credit, you'll get more value from the FHR program if you're willing to change hotels every few days

Drawbacks

While AmEx FHR offers appealing benefits for all travelers, there are some drawbacks:

• You can't combine FHR benefits with hotel elite status benefits: Most hotel loyalty programs require members to book directly to receive elite benefits
• May not earn hotel points or stay credits: When booking through a third party, you generally won't earn points or credits for your stay
• Rates may be higher: Before booking your room, compare prices through the hotel website and other online booking sites, as the FHR website may have higher prices
• Minimum stay requirements: To receive all FHR benefits, you may need to stay a minimum number of nights
• Benefits must be used during your stay: Any unused credits or benefits at the end of your stay cannot be saved or carried over to another reservation

Eligibility

Booking a stay through AmEx Fine Hotels and Resorts is not available to everyone. You must have an eligible American Express credit card:

• The Platinum Card from American Express
• The Business Platinum Card from American Express
• Corporate Platinum Card

Amex Travel's Hotel Collection

Amex Travels Hotel Collection

The Hotel Collection is a program through AmexTravel.com that is only available to holders of certain cards. These include the American Express Gold Card, the American Express Business Gold Card, the Platinum Card, and the Business Platinum Card from American Express, and the Centurion Card from American Express.

The Hotel Collection offers a range of benefits to its members. When booking a hotel through the collection, members receive perks such as a room upgrade at check-in (if available), up to a $100 hotel credit for on-site amenities like the restaurant, bar, room service, or spa, the ability to use Pay With Points on prepaid reservations, and more Membership Rewards points.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the benefits:

• Room upgrade at check-in (if available)
• Up to a $100 hotel credit for on-site amenities like the restaurant, bar, room service, or spa
• Ability to use Pay With Points on prepaid reservations
• 3x Membership Rewards points for Amex Gold cardholders on prepaid bookings
• 5x Membership Rewards points for Amex Platinum cardholders on prepaid reservations
• Up to $200 credit each year towards prepaid hotel reservations with either The Hotel Collection (2-night stay) or Fine Hotels and Resorts with select credit cards

It's important to note that rooms must be booked through AmexTravel.com to receive these perks. Additionally, there is a minimum stay requirement of 2 nights, and consecutive stays within 24 hours of each other are not permitted. However, these benefits are available for up to 3 rooms per stay, making it a great option for families or groups.

When it comes to hotel loyalty programs, booking through The Hotel Collection means that you won't earn points or receive elite benefits. However, stays through the Fine Hotels and Resorts collection, which has some overlap with The Hotel Collection, do count as "qualifying rates" for hotel loyalty programs.

Overall, The Hotel Collection through Amex Travels can be a great option for cardholders looking to take advantage of the various benefits and perks offered, especially when it comes to room upgrades and hotel credits.

Amex Travel's International Airline Program

American Express Travel, or Amex Travel, is an online travel agency that can help you plan and book travel, including flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and flight and hotel packages. Amex Travel is available to anyone who wants to use it for a small fee. However, if you have one of the American Express credit cards, the fees are waived, and you get to enjoy a few additional travel perks.

Amex Travels International Airline Program

The American Express International Airline Program (IAP) is a benefit for cardholders of The Platinum Card from American Express, The Business Platinum Card from American Express, or the Centurion Card from American Express. The IAP offers discounts on first-class, business-class, and premium economy tickets, which can be booked directly through Amex Travel. The IAP has undergone positive changes in recent years, making it more accessible and useful.

The IAP lets eligible cardholders book premium-cabin flights for up to eight people on the same reservation, including the cardmember and seven additional travellers. To receive the savings, the cardmember must be one of the passengers. There are two dozen participating airlines, but not all offer discounts consistently. Delta Air Lines and other SkyTeam partners typically provide discounts, but the amount saved can vary depending on the fare and route.

Eligible fares for the IAP include first-class, business-class, and premium economy tickets with participating carriers. This benefit applies to both refundable and non-refundable fares. The trip must originate and return to the U.S. or certain Canadian gateways, including Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ), and Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

Amex Platinum cardholders earn 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent when booking revenue fares through this program (up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar). Meanwhile, Business Platinum cardholders also earn 5 points per dollar spent on IAP purchases and receive a 35% rebate in points for booking first and business-class flights using Amex points, up to 1 million points per calendar year.

Booking flights through the IAP is relatively easy. You must be logged in to your American Express Platinum or Business Platinum Card account and head to the Amex Travel portal. You can filter IAP fares on the left side of the page. The IAP can be hit or miss, with some airlines offering cheaper fares than others. While the discount is available starting with premium economy, you'll generally find that the savings increase as the fare cost increases.

The main benefit of the IAP is the ability to book premium, business, and first-class fares with up to 20% savings. This could potentially save you hundreds of dollars off the regular booking price.

Frequently asked questions