Using your Amex hotel credit before the end of the year? Here are 3 things to know
As the year draws to a close, so too does the opportunity to use the yearly, half-yearly and quarterly statement credits that come with your credit cards. And if you're anything like me, you may still have a few left to cross off your list.
At the start of this week, I had two American Express hotel credits at my disposal to use by the end of December. Cardholders of the American Express Platinum Card® and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express receive up to $600 in hotel statement credits each calendar year (up to $300 biannually) for prepaid bookings with Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection properties through American Express Travel®. (The Hotel Collection bookings require a minimum two-night stay.)
I confess I hadn't used the benefit on my American Express Platinum Card® in previous years. But after the issuer upped the hotel credit from $200 to $300, made it biannual and added a hotel credit to the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, I knew it was time to put my benefits to work.
Whether you're in the same boat as a first-timer or just looking for an easy way to use the credit as the calendar winds down, here are three things to know.
Related: Here’s your guide to the Amex Platinum and Business Platinum prepaid hotel credit
Filter options with MaxFHR
In the past, I've let my hotel credits fall by the wayside because I didn't want to pay out of pocket to cover the remainder of a stay. While there are plenty of hotels where your credit will cover most of the bill, hunting around for them on Amex Travel can be time-consuming.
But this time around, I employed a handy tool to speed up the process of looking for a hotel in Las Vegas: MaxFHR. This tool lets you filter hotels in Amex's collections by price. All you have to do is put in your location and use a sliding scale to set your ceiling.
Note that hotel prices listed on the site aren't always current, so you'll need to head to the American Express website to confirm costs. You'll also have to pay for a pro account if you want to filter by exact dates. Still, it's a great way to get a snapshot of which properties may be in your price range.
You can also filter by brand, which is useful if you're looking to earn elite nights with a particular chain. Or, you can filter by amenity credit to find hotels offering perks you'll actually use; I'm not a spa person, so unchecking those boxes allows me to see properties where I'll get a different offering, like a food and beverage credit, instead.
Use points to cut out-of-pocket spend
If you need to travel on particular dates or are trying to stay at a specific property, you might not be able to find rates in the $300 range. Luckily, there's a way to get around spending cash.
Amex offers a cash and points option, allowing you to choose how much of the stay gets charged to your card and how much you pay in points. This way, you can charge $300 to your card — matching the statement credit amount — and use your points to cover the remainder at a rate of 1 cent per point, resulting in no out-of-pocket spend.
Ellie Nan Storck, TPG's managing editor of hotels, went this route last month for a one-night stay at Maine's White Barn Inn, which is part of FHR. The bill was just over $530, so she charged $300 to her Amex Platinum to trigger the credit and used 23,100 Amex points to cover the remainder.
TPG values Amex Membership Rewards at 2 cents per point, according to our December 2025 valuations, so we typically don't recommend redeeming them through Amex Travel at a rate of 1 cent per point. But in this case, spending 23,100 points unlocked a $530 stay. This meant Ellie received 2.29 cents per point for a redemption that exceeded our valuation.
Note that prepaid doesn't mean non-refundable
If you typically book hotels directly through the hotel website rather than going through a third party, you may be used to seeing options like the one below from Marriott, which allows you to secure a lower, prepaid rate that's nonrefundable.
That's what I personally am used to seeing when booking hotels. And, because stays are eligible for the Amex hotel credit if they're prepaid, I assumed that meant they'd be non-refundable. So when I went to use my credit and saw a refundable option as the only one available, it threw me for a loop.
Concerned that I might not be reimbursed if I booked a refundable rate, I paused on making my booking through the weekend so I could confirm with a colleague. And in that time, the price shot up by nearly $150.
In the end, I needn't have worried — or waited. The rate being refundable has no bearing on whether the credit will kick in as long as its prepaid. My stay wound up being eligible for the credit despite being cancellable right up until three days before check-in.
Bottom line
There are just a couple of weeks remaining this year to use your Amex hotel credit before it expires. While you can use the credit for a stay next year, the booking has to be made and prepaid before Jan. 1.
If you're looking to lock something in, particularly during a time of year that can be busy, unpredictable and expensive, these time- and money-saving hacks can help you find a great option.
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