AmEx Room Upgrades

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to conduct some research, to help me decide if it is woth upgrading or Pc'ing either my wife's or my AmEx.

Ultimately, I would like to know about your experiences in getting rom upgrades upon checking in to a hotel.

I'd lke to know:

1. What card you used (Gold, Platinum, SPG, etc.)

2. Where you were (City/State/Country)

3. What hotel/network (Hilton, Marriott, etc.)

4. What you were upgraded to (what to what)

5. What needed to be done (ask, automatic, etc.)

Please try to answer to the best of your knowledge. I could't find anything on search, so i'm really looking forward to any shared experiences. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

That's a lot of questions. Like from a research company. 

PC if you do travel a lot or 2-3 times. Upgrade depends on the hotel's availability. Everyone will have different experience. 

And most of the time booking from AMEX travel is more expensive. 

From my experience. I got upgraded and they knew I booked from AMEX travel and gave me a nice envelope with all the benefits when I checked in. Ritz hotel. 

[darwin_wins]

Benefits of what?

[Anonymous]

For room upgrades, you must book under one of two hotel programs through American Express Travel and American Express Platinum/Centurion Travel Service.. those programs are The Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels & Resorts. Not all hotels participate or are accepted into the program. Room upgrades are automatically requested and granted upon availability at check-in. You must have a Gold, Platinum or Centurion Card to access The Hotel Collection benefits and either Platinum or Centurion Card to access Fine Hotels & Resorts. Hope this helps.

[darwin_wins]

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@Anonymous wrote:

For room upgrades, you must book under one of two hotel programs through American Express Travel and American Express Platinum/Centurion Travel Service.. those programs are The Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels & Resorts. Not all hotels participate or are accepted into the program. Room upgrades are automatically requested and granted upon availability at check-in. You must have a Gold, Platinum or Centurion Card to access The Hotel Collection benefits and either Platinum or Centurion Card to access Fine Hotels & Resorts. Hope this helps.

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Thank you, it does help. I havent looked at Platinum benefits yet. 

pooka89, question for you, would AmEx reimburse 200 airline credit for points bought on B6? Looks like MPX is dead and I don't fly anything other than VX but I can fly B6 next year (at least free flight if I go Mint).? What do you think?

[Anonymous]

Purchasing frequent flier miles are not considered an invidental fee. While you're certainly welcome to try triggering the AFC automatically, customer service would not manually make the adjustment as that is not an eligible charge.

[Anonymous]

It's usually pretty easy to get a room upgrade under FHR unless its a Holiday weekend or you're at a really hot spot.

I feel like the FHR benefits have really wained off. It seems like there's a lot less hotels participating in the program and the "$100" credits really don't go as far as they used to.

[Anonymous]

I guess the upgrades are not as common as i thought they were. I only asked cause one of the VP's where i work spent the weekend at the Dolphin and Swan Resort in Orlando, FL and got upgraded to a SWEET suite (see what i did there  ) upon checking in, and he paid with his Platinum. He says he personally almost always get upgraded when he checks in, and that why he only ever uses his Platinum...

Just wanted to see how many others in this vast forum have experienced this in the past and/or regularly.

[wasCB14]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I guess the upgrades are not as common as i thought they were. I only asked cause one of the VP's where i work spent the weekend at the Dolphin and Swan Resort in Orlando, FL and got upgraded to a SWEET suite (see what i did there  ) upon checking in, and he paid with his Platinum. He says he personally almost always get upgraded when he checks in, and that why he only ever uses his Platinum...

Just wanted to see how many others in this vast forum have experienced this in the past and/or regularly.

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That might be due to having SPG Gold status as a perk from the Amex Platinum card (or SPG Platinum from stays). How did he book?

Maybe joint venture properties like that don't offer full SPG perks. It's definitely Starwood-operated, though.