How does the Amex Platinum hotel status benefit work?

The American Express Platinum card Marriott benefit offers complimentary Gold Elite Status in the Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty program, giving American Express Platinum card cardholders extra bonus points during each stay, complimentary room upgrades (when available), 2 p.m. late checkout (when available) and more. American Express Platinum card cardholders must activate the Gold Elite Status upgrade in order to be eligible for the benefits.... read full answer

Here's how the American Express Platinum card Marriott benefit works:

• What you get: Complimentary Gold Elite Status in the Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty program. This comes with extra bonus points during each stay, room upgrades (when available), 2 p.m. late checkout (when available), complimentary in-room fast internet access, welcome gift of points at arrival, and more.
• How to get it: You must enroll in the program and activate the Gold Elite Status upgrade to be eligible for the benefits. To activate, log in to your online account and, from the benefits tab, click the Marriott Bonvoy benefits page. When prompted, enter your Marriott account information. If you don’t have a Marriott account, you can create one for free on the Marriott Bonvoy Once you’ve verified the information is correct, the benefit will be activated immediately. To earn points, you must book stays directly with Marriott.
• Expiry: You will maintain Gold Elite Status without needing to meet required criteria asl long as your American Express Platinum card account is open and American Express continues to offer this benefit.

The American Express Platinum card Marriott benefit is quite valuable if you stay at Marriott properties more than a few times a year. The benefit also includes both the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) and Ritz-Carlton Rewards programs. Without the benefit, you’d need to spend at least 25 nights at Marriott hotels to qualify for Gold status. Just bear in mind that cardholders must book stays directly with Marriott, not through a third-party website, to earn Gold status benefits.

The American Express Platinum card is a great travel credit card with travel perks that go beyond Marriott properties. If you're a frequent traveler who favors Marriott, feel free to also take a look at our editors' picks for some of the best Marriott credit cards.

The best American Express Platinum card travel benefits are its access to 1,200+ airport lounges worldwide, its annual airline credit, and complimentary Gold Status in the Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programs (when enrolled). Plus, you get 5 points / $1 spent on flights (up to $500,000 spent per year) and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel. And to top it off, you earn several other statement credits (for ... read full answerUber, hotels, and more), 0% foreign transaction fee, and travel insurance. On top of that, this card comes with an initial bonus of 80,000 points for spending $6,000 in the first 6 months.

Here are some notable American Express Platinum card travel benefits:

• Annual Airline Credit: Annual statement credit for airline incidentals at one select qualifying airline. You can’t use the credit for airfare or upgrades.
• Hotel Credit: Annual statement credit on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings on Amex Travel (requires a minimum two-night stay).
• Credits for Uber Rides: Uber VIP Status and annual savings on rides or eats order in the U.S.
• Complimentary Hotel Status: Cardholders can enroll in Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy as Gold-level members free of charge. Members get complimentary room upgrades and more opportunities to earn free nights.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit: Credit for the Global Entry application fee or the TSA PreCheck application fee. Both services expedite airport screening.
• Travel insurance: Includes several insurance benefits, such as trip delay insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, lost/damaged baggage insurance, and rental car insurance.
• Global Lounge Collection: Lets you access over 1,200 airport lounges in 130+ countries at no additional cost.
• Fine Hotels & Resorts: Extra benefits when you book certain accommodations, like free room upgrades, free daily breakfast for two people, free Wi-Fi, and unique amenities depending on the location.
• Travel Spending Rewards: New cardholders get a welcome offer of 80,000 points for spending $6,000 in the first 6 months. You also earn extensive ongoing rewards, including 5 points / $1 spent on flights (up to $500,000 spent per year) or prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel. Points do not expire as long as the account remains open.

Despite all of the American Express Platinum card travel benefits, its $695 annual fee might still be too much for you, if you don't travel or spend enough to offset its cost. There are some other good options, fortunately. One of the best is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card; you’ll earn 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months, and the annual fee is just $95. And that's in addition to several other benefits and rewards that come with Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Feel free to also take a look at our editors' picks for the best travel credit cards on the market.

The American Express Platinum card Hilton benefit offers Hilton Honors Gold status to cardholders who enroll in the Hilton Honors rewards program. The benefit provides its members with an 80% bonus on points earned during each stay, a free 5^th night when booking a stay of 5+ nights,free bottled water, and daily food and beverage credit (U.S. hotels only) or continental breakfast.... read full answer

Cardholders are also eligible for late checkouts and complimentary room upgrades, when available. Without the benefit, a cardholder would have to book 40 nights at any of Hilton’s 18 hotel brands to qualify for Gold elite status.

How to get American Express Platinum card Hilton benefits

To get the American Express Platinum card Hilton benefits, activate Hilton Honors Gold elite status by logging in to your Platinum account from the Amex benefits page and clicking the “Enroll Now” button. Once you’re enrolled, you’re immediately eligible for Gold status. But keep in mind that to receive the benefits, you must book your stay directly with a Hilton hotel property. Bookings through a third-party website such as Amex Travel do not earn Hilton points or Gold elite status perks. In case you already have Gold status, you can maintain it without meeting any stay requirements for the duration of your American Express Platinum card membership, or Amex notifies you that the benefit is terminated.

It's also worth noting that in addition to the Hilton Honors Gold status, the American Express Platinum card also offers up to $200 hotel credit on prepaid Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express travel. These include Hilton properties so you can get up to $200 back in statement credits when making eligible bookings with your American Express Platinum card.