American Express has added more than 350 properties to Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection, taking the combined programme past 3,400 hotels in 116 countries as FHR marks its 35th year. Here is what cardholders get at each tier.
Cover image: the riverside facade of the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok at dusk, one of the flagship properties in Amex's Fine Hotels + Resorts programme — photo by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
American Express has added more than 350 new properties to its Fine Hotels + Resorts (FHR) and The Hotel Collection (THC) programmes, pushing the combined portfolio past 3,400 hotels across 116 countries in the 35th anniversary year of FHR, the card network's flagship luxury-hotel scheme. The expansion, announced by Amex Travel on 12 August, matters for cardholders because programme perks — a $100 property credit, daily breakfast for two, noon check-in, upgrades and late check-out — now attach to a materially larger pool of hotels, from beach resorts to the design-led city properties Amex says its members increasingly book.
"For 35 years, Fine Hotels + Resorts has helped Platinum Card Members turn hotel stays into more rewarding travel experiences," said Audrey Hendley, President of American Express Travel, in the announcement. "This expansion gives Card Members more choice across the places they want to go now."
What benefits do Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings include?
FHR is the luxury tier, and its benefit stack is unchanged by the expansion — it simply applies to more addresses. For any FHR stay booked prepaid through Amex Travel, eligible Card Members receive:
- $100 property credit to spend on dining, spa or other hotel services
- Daily breakfast for two
- Noon check-in, plus a room upgrade when available
- Guaranteed late check-out
The Hotel Collection, the premium tier beneath FHR, requires a minimum two-night stay booked via Amex Travel, then delivers a $100 property credit, 12pm check-in where available, late check-out and an upgrade when available. THC is where the expansion's breadth shows most: it targets the four-to-five-star city and resort hotels that Amex says match how its members actually travel — properties chosen by a curation team assessing "the overall experience a property delivers" rather than any single amenity.
Which hotels are in the Amex hotel programme?
The expanded roster keeps the programme's established flagships — the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, The Carlyle in New York, Mont Cervin Palace in Zermatt and Amandari in Bali — while the 350-plus additions lean toward distinctive, locally rooted stays. Amex's own research, cited in the announcement, found 87% of premium travellers deliberately leave their hotel to seek spontaneous discoveries, and Hendley says members are "not just looking for a great room" but for properties that make a destination feel personal.
For travellers weighing a luxury brand against its rivals, our ranking of the world's most valuable hotel brands in 2026 shows which groups dominate the top end of the market, and our report on the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Shanghai covers the kind of ultra-luxury openings competing for the same guest.
How do you book FHR and The Hotel Collection rates?
The benefits only apply when the booking is made through Amex Travel and paid with an eligible Card — the U.S. Platinum family being the core audience. Three practical rules follow. First, book the prepaid FHR rate on amextravel.com or by phone; a hotel's own website rate, however identical, carries none of the perks. Second, check whether the property is FHR or THC before you commit: THC's two-night minimum can make a one-night stay cheaper outside the programme. Third, price-check against direct rates and member rates elsewhere — FHR's value case rests on the credit and breakfast offsetting any premium, and our analysis of autumn hotel prices falling across Europe shows how quickly headline rates move in shoulder season, when these programmes are at their most useful.
The expansion also lands amid a broader reset of hotel-booking perks, from Hilton trimming its best-rate guarantee to chains pushing direct-booking benefits. Amex is swimming the other way — adding inventory and value to an intermediary channel — because the programme is a core argument for the Platinum card's annual fee.
Is the Amex hotel programme worth using in 2026?
For a two-night leisure stay at a luxury property, the maths is hard to beat: a $100 credit plus daily breakfast for two routinely covers $150–$250 of spend you would have paid anyway, and noon check-in plus guaranteed late check-out can add half a day of usable stay at no cost. The calculus weakens on one-night city stays (THC's minimum), on properties where the direct-booking rate undercuts the FHR rate by more than the perks are worth, and for travellers without an eligible premium card. Used where it fits, FHR remains one of the highest-value benefits attached to any travel credit card — and after this expansion, it applies to roughly 10% more hotels than before.
Frequently asked questions
What is Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts?
It is American Express Travel's luxury hotel programme, now 35 years old. Eligible Card Members who book prepaid through Amex Travel get a $100 property credit, daily breakfast for two, noon check-in, upgrades when available and guaranteed late check-out.
What is the difference between FHR and The Hotel Collection?
FHR is the luxury tier with the full benefit stack; The Hotel Collection is a curated premium tier that requires a two-night minimum stay and adds a $100 credit, noon check-in, late check-out and upgrades when available.
Which Amex cards include Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits?
Eligible premium cards — most prominently the U.S. Consumer and Business Platinum — unlock the programme, but only when the stay is booked and paid through Amex Travel. Booking direct or via another agency forfeits every perk.
How many hotels are in the Amex programme now?
After the August 2026 addition of more than 350 properties, FHR and The Hotel Collection exceed 3,400 hotels across 116 countries, from the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok to The Carlyle in New York.
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