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Back in September, American Express refreshed the Amex Platinum Card, added a lot of new benefits and increased the annual fee to $895. However, Amex also increased the Hotel credit benefit to $600 each year. This credit was split bi-annually. You can now earn a $300 credit between January and June, then another $300 between July and December, during every calendar year.
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Amex Platinum Card: Double Dipping the Hotel Credit
For existing cardholders, there was a unique issue at hand. I was one of them. I had heard the news about the upcoming refresh in September, but hadn’t used the $200 hotel credit (as it was initially available before the change). The word on the street was that Amex would change the credit to $600 (split bi-annually) and still let you use another $300 in credits even if you had used the old $200 credit for 2025.
I quickly booked a one-night staycation in August and used the old $200 credit before the changes kicked in. After Amex announced the changes and they went live, I made another Fine Hotels & Resorts booking and pocketed the extra $300 in credit.
However, as per Frequent Miler, customers who failed to use the old $200 credit are now getting an email saying that a $200 couresy credit will be applied to the account. Here’s what the text of the email looks like:
We’ve issued a statement credit(s) to your account listed above.
Making sure you know about any mistakes we find is important, so we’d like to explain what happened and what we’ve done to make it right.
What happened
Due to a technical error, previously unearned credits from your $200 Hotel Credit benefit were not considered when calculating the statement credit earned on your September 17, 2025 prepaid booking. We sincerely apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
We’ve credited your account
To make things right, we’ve issued a statement credit to your account. You’ll see this credit(s) on your upcoming billing statement.
We’re here to help
Thank you for your understanding. While there’s nothing further you need to do, you can track your credits, manage your account, or reach us anytime online at americanexpress.com.
The Pundit’s Mantra
In my opinion, this is a fantastic move by American Express. Firstly, it’s completely voluntary. They’re offering pleasant surprises to customers who were not expecting a nice $200 credit to pop up out of nowhere. Secondly, it’s smart strategy. It’s almost like offering an additional retention bonus to create a positive association with the card and its customer service, in case cardmembers consider canceling the card due to its now higher annual fee.
I’d already used the credit and was able to double dip before the changes kicked in. However, for other cardholders who hadn’t, this is a really smart move by American Express to reach out proactively and apply a $200 credit to customers’ accounts.
How did you use the Hotel Credit benefit this year? Tell us in the comments section.
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You misread the post, they’re not giving a credit to people who didn’t use the $200 before. It’s for people who made a booking right before the new credit took effect but didn’t get the old credit applied.
I reached out to their customer service about this and got a HARD no. They said they are not doing this and those people who used the credit before the change were just lucky.
If that’s the case then they’re probably just targeting certain users who haven’t used the credit, they may be having their own criteria for targeting, which they haven’t disclosed.
This might be for people who spent more than $500 on their FHR booking.
Confusing. I booked a FHR stay on 10/06 and received the $300 credit, even though my renewal fee was not billed until 11/06. And when it was billed, it was billed at the “old” $695 rate! Since my next renewal will be billed in 11/2026, I think I can get $300 x 3 before then–one received, one first half of 2026 and one second half (before November.) I could then cancel the card if I wished, and be well ahead (not to mention the other credits I get.) I had not used the old $200 FHR credit, however, and I assume I will not see it since I only had the single FHR stay in 2025.
@Jess: Correct. So if your renewal date is on or before Jan 2, 2026, you will be charged the old annual fee of $695. Any renewal date after that, your fee is $895. Yes, you have a great opportunity to triple dip on those credits!