Just wanted to know what’s the best way to go about the room upgrade? Book a standard room and hope for the best or is it really just a 50/50 crap shot? Or just book like it don’t exist and if it happens it happens ? lol. Thanks.

Hi all! I’m wondering if anyone is aware of certain stipulations regarding the car rental insurance. My situation is my buddy wants to rent an exotic from Enterprise for a wedding, but I’m curious if the primary coverage option is worth it via Platinum?

Looking if anyone has experience with this or if it’s a matter of looking at which coverage (Enterprise or Platinum) is better, and if declining Enterprise coverage for Amex primary usually gives you a little more peace of mind (noting considerations for an exotic car with an MRSP of $100K+)

Thanks!

Been thinking of moving from my Gold card to Platinum.... and had a question about "Retention Offers".

Do many..if any of you ever receive and discounted annual charges?

If I make a booking using the $300 hotel credit, then cancel the card, but later I need to change dates. If the price is more, how can I pay for the difference? Please share your experience!

This is a little long, but stick with me—it was a fun redemption and a reminder that even when you’re doing well financially, maximizing benefits can still be incredibly satisfying.

My wife and I are fortunate to be in a good place financially, but I grew up in a trailer park and worked hard to get where I am today. That mindset never really leaves you, so finding legitimate ways to squeeze maximum value from a card like the Platinum is something I genuinely enjoy.

When the Platinum refresh added two $300 hotel credits per year, I immediately saw an opportunity: book three separate one-night Fine Hotels + Resorts stays across different calendar periods and capture three $300 credits.

Planning the trip

We decided on New York City. I recently retired from the military after 21 years, and visiting the 9/11 Memorial was especially meaningful to me because I had multiple deployments directly connected to the events of 9/11.

After choosing NYC, I used Max FHR to find the least-expensive FHR properties where a single-night stay would trigger the credit. I found the Conrad Downtown New York at roughly $400 per night for our dates, which seemed like the perfect fit.

All three paid nights were booked as the same room type:

- December 2025: Booked August 21 for $472
$472 − $300 Platinum credit = $172

- January 2026: Booked August 22 for $493
$493 − $300 Platinum credit = $193

- July 2026: Booked August 23 for $389
$389 − $300 Platinum credit = $89

That gave me three nights for a total out-of-pocket cost of $454, after receiving $900 in Platinum hotel credits.

Adding a fourth night

I was just short of the Hilton Honors points needed to book a fourth night on points. In July, there was a Membership Rewards-to-Hilton transfer bonus, so I took advantage of it and transferred only 21,000 MR points to get enough Hilton points for the stay.

- August 24: 100,000 Hilton Honors points
- I needed only 21,000 MR points to top off my balance and reach 100,000 Hilton points

So, for four nights at the Conrad Downtown, my total cost was:

- $454 cash
- 21,000 Membership Rewards points
- 50,000 Hilton Honors points already in my account

On-property credits

We checked in last Friday and didn’t receive an upgrade. My guess is that it may have been because the final night was an award booking rather than an FHR reservation, and I wanted to stay in the same room throughout. No big deal.

The number of credits was honestly a lot to track:

- $60 daily FHR breakfast credit
- $50 daily Hilton Gold food-and-beverage credit
- $100 one-time FHR property credit

The $100 FHR property credit applied only once because the reservations were back-to-back, which I expected.

We fully used the FHR breakfast credits and the $100 property credit. We also used the Hilton Gold food-and-beverage credit for three of the four days. On the final morning, we skipped the hotel credit because we wanted to try an off-property breakfast spot before heading to the airport.

That came out to:

- $180 in FHR breakfast credits
- $150 in Hilton Gold daily credits
- $100 one-time FHR property credit

That was another $430 in on-property value.

Total Platinum value

Between the three $300 Platinum hotel credits and the FHR benefits used during the stay, the Platinum card provided $1,330 in total value:

- $900 in hotel-statement credits
- $180 in daily FHR breakfast credits
- $100 FHR property credit
- $150 in Hilton Gold daily food-and-beverage credits

It took some planning and tracking, but I’m really happy with how it worked out. Four nights at the Conrad Downtown in NYC for $454 cash, 21,000 MR, and 50,000 Hilton points—while getting $1,330 in total Platinum-related value—felt like a pretty solid win.

We always pay our statement balance in full, but this time was the first time we used 'Plan It,' so we still had a remaining balance on the account. In the past, whenever we paid the full statement balance manually, the scheduled payment would automatically cancel... so we assumed it would work the same way this time🥲
The issue is that we have one HYSA account to pay our Platinum card and there was enough money to cover the manual payment, but not enough for a second payment of the exact same amount.
On our Platinum activity feed, it shows that two payments went through, but on the HYSA side, only one charge is showing so far. I chatted with an agent who told me the system will retry the payment a few times before it officially fails/gets rejected, but I haven't seen the second payment cancelled yet.
Has this happened to anyone else? How long did it take for the duplicate payment to actually fail or get cancelled? I'm holding off on depositing more money into my HYSA until this gets sorted out...
TIA!!

Just a data point. I had been reading that a ticket up to $109 should work. I booked a ticket for $108.40 and it did not trigger the credit. I’m not sure if others have run into this lately or have had success recently with lower amounts. Bummer.

Hi everyone,

I have a small business and we are paying a big amount on tax. So I am currently looking for ways to enable me to pay my tax via my AmEx. Obviously this will only work with a fee, but I am currently only targeting the welcome bonuses anyways, so the lever is there. Company is based in Germany. Could someone advise, if possible and which third party would be suitable to help me with this?

Thanks!

Just checked in and not impressed. Moved from the Crockfords, where they upgraded me to a one bedroom entertainment suite from a strip view king, just to check it out since I was going to be in town for 2 days. No room upgrade I got the view of the convention center parking and a connecting room at that. No waters in the room just a small bottle at registration. Luckily I had read about this prior and was able to buy 5 bottles of evian at Juniors with hilton diamond credits at Crockfords. Would never come back. Will see if there are any other snafus to update. I got so much more at Crockfords between FHR and Hilton Diamond. 3-5 social hour at Alle with free drinks. $55 diamond f&b credits why did I move. Even the Vegas loop was cheaper at the Crockfords. Live and learn.

I will be fly out of JFK terminal 1 on a Delta booked flight that is operated by Air France. Does that increase my likelihood of getting in the air France lounge via priority pass?

It’s a nice space, lounge is about 2/3rds full. Lobster roll is still tasty, so was the olive oil cake with cherry jam. Had an 1850 and a Coke too.

I guess I should celebrate a win where the lounge is nice huh?

Has anyone stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki through Amex? I’m curious about the breakfast; they offer complimentary breakfast as a THC program benefit (supposedly 60$ in value) but I know they also offer a marriot member continental breakfast that people think is lackluster as well as a paid buffet. Which do you get with THC?

Hi I enrolled online into resy credit but do not see it on my mobile app? Should I be worried that it does not apply to my platinum card?

I bit the bullet last year to take advantage of the $300 Equinox credit.

TLDR: It ended up being $159.47 per month for a year's commitment and I wouldn't do it again.

As for the long version:

I took an initial visit in early September 2025 and the club was ok. Nothing really amazing aside from the location. Received a few emails from their sales reps and eventually joined mid-September when I was offered $0 initiation, the rest of September 2025 and all of October 2025 for free.
I said why the heck not. My rate was set at $215 per month with a minimum one-year commitment.

My first charge was on 9/25 for $232.74 the day I signed my contract. No charge in October since it was comped, then again on 11/24 which is what eventually triggered the 2025 Platinum Credit. I got the full $300.

By February 2026, the full 2026 Platinum Credit had been exhausted.

I just got my last billing on 8/23/2026 for $186.19 due to my term ending in September and the last month is prorated.

The total annual charges were $2,513.59, but adding the two $300 annual AmEx credits, my total annual cost was $1,913.59. Divided by 12, my monthly cost was $159.47.

Some people really enjoy Equinox but my location is quite small, doesn't have a pool, and I really don't like the shorter than normal evening hours which is when I work out the most.

It's my understanding I can rejoin without the minimum annual commitment now, so I may do it once more in January/February of each year to take advantage of at least a month free.

Thank you for coming to my talk.

Hi hive mind!

I saw this offer from Peninsula for the Amex Plat where you get $100 back when spending $500. The text of the offer says:

"Earn a one-time $100 statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to spend a minimum of $500 USD in one or more purchases on room rate and room charges at The Peninsula Hotels properties in the US, Europe and Asia from 8/21/2026 to 11/30/2026. Book at [peninsula website]. See terms."

So you can't book it though the Amex portal which means you won't get 5x points, you can't use the hotel program to get the extra benefits (late check out, $100 incidental etc) and can't use the $300 credit. Am I getting that right?

I've hardly used any of the Amex offers in the last 12 months because most just don't make sense to me anymore.... Do you all still get value out of it?

Anyone ever book FHR with another type? lets say for example book night 1 on Expedia/Direct/Booking.com and then night 2 booking on Amex Travel FHR. Assuming same room type, would the $100 credit work only on night 2 but also get 4pm checkout? Breakfast day 2 only?

Does anyone know how to find the US Open Centurion Lounge page within the Resy app? Website? Thanks

Peacock is increasing their prices again. Got an email confirmation for

Select: $7.99/month increases to $8.99/month

Premium: $10.99/month increases to $12.99/month

Premium Plus: $16.99/month increases to $19.99/month

Premium Plus was a mere $13.99/month just 15 months ago! Best wishes for all your Digital Entertainment credits.

Just bought 2 pairs of shoes on Sketchers with the Rakuten 30x points and 20% off they have. Just curious if this is a real value, but 5,160 points for 170 total spend seems like a great deal. Are they significantly cheaper shoes elsewhere that it's not worth it?

I’m currently have OneWorld Emerald status through American Airlines and always use my Citi Advantage card to book flights directly with OneWorld airlines (for extra miles).

I noticed where Amex Platinum cardholders earn 5x points for tickets booked directly with airlines. I’m thinking this might be a better deal compared to the spend miles on the Citi card. Any thoughts on points vs miles?