A Comparison Of Luxury Hotel Programs From Credit Card Issuers: Amex, Chase And Capital One

With the news that Capital One is joining the luxury hotel program space, the announcement felt pretty … familiar. Many of the benefits in the luxury hotel programs from American Express, Chase and now Capital One are quite similar. These programs have lots in common, so you could be forgiven for confusing them with each other.

However, there are important differences among the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection (Chase), Fine Hotels + Resorts (Amex), The Hotel Collection (Amex) and Premier Collection (Capital One) programs.

Booking through one of these programs can get you elite status-like perks such as free breakfast without actually needing to have status. Plus, it opens up being able to receive these perks across many hotel brands, rather than having to stay loyal to just Marriott properties if you have status with Marriott Bonvoy, for example.

Let’s take a detailed look at these programs to understand their similarities and differences. We’ll cover the benefits offered by these programs, how to book hotels in the right way to unlock the benefits, and who has access to these luxury hotel programs.

In This Post

Luxury hotel programs overview

Capital One’s Premier Collection is the latest luxury hotel program in this space. Announced on Oct. 18 but not yet live, the Premier Collection will join the likes of Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection and two offerings from American Express: Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection. Here’s a quick comparison of the main features of these programs before looking at each in detail.

	Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection	Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts	Amex The Hotel Collection	Capital One Premier Collection
Who has access	Chase cardholders with certain Sapphire, Freedom, United, Southwest and Ink Business cards.	American Express cardholders with Platinum and Centurion cards (business or personal versions).	American Express cardholders with Gold, Platinum and Centurion cards (business and personal versions).	Holders of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Spark Travel Elite card.
Minimum stay requirement	None.	None.	Two nights.	None.
How to book	LHRC website or by calling 855-234-2542.	Amex Travel website or by calling 800-525-3355.	Amex Travel website or by calling 800-297-2977.	Premier Collection section within Capital One Travel.
Guaranteed benefits	Daily breakfast for two. Complimentary Wi-Fi.	Daily breakfast for two. Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout. Complimentary Wi-Fi. Daily credit equal to the Wi-Fi cost if Wi-Fi is part of a mandatory resort fee at that property. Elevated points-earning rates when using your Amex card to pay for these bookings.	Elevated points-earning rates when using your Amex card to pay for these bookings.	Daily breakfast for two. Complimentary Wi-Fi. Elevated points-earning rates when using your card to pay for these bookings.
Potential benefits	Room upgrades if available at check-in (at some properties). Early check-in and late checkout at some properties, based on availability.	Room upgrades if available at check-in. Noon check-in when available.	Room upgrades if available at check-in.	Room upgrades if available at check-in. Early check-in and late checkout when available.
On-property credit	A unique property amenity or credit, valued at $100 (typically a lunch or dinner for two people, spa treatment, waivers for golf green fees, a welcome gift or airport transfers).	A unique property amenity, valued at $100 (typically a credit for spending at the spa or on food and beverage purchases).	$100 to spend on qualifying dining, spa and resort activities.	$100 credit; uses vary by hotel, and eligible expenses must be charged to your room to use the credit.
Hotel loyalty program status and points-earning	Maybe; some people do get elite status recognition, stay credit or earn points with a hotel program, but it’s not guaranteed.	Maybe; some people do get elite status recognition, stay credit or earn points with a hotel program, but it’s not guaranteed.	Unlikely, but some people do get stay credits.	Guaranteed by Capital One spokesperson; once bookings are live, this can be confirmed.
Reimbursement credit for these bookings	None.	Up to $200 per calendar year with The Platinum Card® from American Express.	Up to $200 per calendar year with The Platinum Card® from American Express.	None.
Use of points/miles for these bookings	Not possible.	Yes, at 1 cent per point.	Yes, at 0.7 cents per point.	Yes, at 1 cent per point.

The information for the Capital One Spark Travel Elite Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection

The LHRC program has both positives and negatives.

Positives include the fact that there is no minimum stay requirement (though certain properties may have their own minimums) and that Wi-Fi and daily breakfast are guaranteed benefits. There’s also a guaranteed on-property amenity, typically valued at around $100.

Another strength of Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection is that it is available to far more people than the other programs. You have access to the LHRC if you have one of the following cards:

Chase Sapphire Reserve.
United Explorer Card.
United Gateway Card.
United Club Infinite Card.
United Quest Card.
United Business Card.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card.
Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Ink Business Cash Credit Card.
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card.
Chase Freedom (not available to new applicants).
The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card (not available to new applicants).

Interestingly, only the first six cards on that list are mentioned in Chase’s LHRC terms. However, senior points and miles reporter Katie Genter was able to access LHRC bookings with the other cards on this list. Thus, it’s worth testing your Chase credit cards at the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection website to verify whether you’re able to make a booking.

lounge chairs in front of hotel pool, hotel building behind — The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun. ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

The most obvious drawback to the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection is that you can’t pay with points. While you must use your Chase credit card to secure the reservation, you will pay at the hotel. Thus, you can’t redeem Ultimate Rewards points on these bookings.

Other drawbacks include the lack of annual statement credits that can offset your spending, mixed results on trying to get stay credit with hotel loyalty programs on these nights and no guarantee for early check-in or late checkout.

Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts

The FHR offering from American Express has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths include a lack of minimum stay requirements and the most robust set of guaranteed benefits among all four programs. You’ll have guaranteed daily breakfast for two people, a 4 p.m. late checkout and complimentary Wi-Fi during your stay. Plus, if you’re staying at a property that has a resort fee and includes Wi-Fi in that fee, then you will receive a daily credit to offset this — ensuring you aren’t paying for something that should be free. There’s also the $100 on-property amenity as a guaranteed benefit on FHR stays.

Cardholders also have the option to earn bonus points on these bookings — 5 points per dollar with The Platinum Card from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express — or redeem points at 1 cent apiece to cover the cost of their reservation. Another perk is reserved for those with the Platinum card: up to $200 in annual credits on prepaid hotel bookings with Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection.

garden villa with outside seating area — I used my Amex Platinum $200 hotel credit for a stay at The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal and was upgraded to this two-bedroom villa due to my Marriott status. RYAN SMITH/THE POINTS GUY

And while it’s not a guarantee, I (and other TPG staffers) have had excellent luck with crediting FHR stays to hotel loyalty programs like Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt and Hilton Honors. This includes not only receiving credit for the stays, which helps with earning elite status, but also recognizing your status for perks like room upgrades and earning bonus points.

Now, let’s look at the downsides. First, only cardmembers of these four cards have access to Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings: The Platinum Card from American Express, The Business Platinum Card from American Express, The Centurion® Card from American Express and The Business Centurion® Card from American Express. Additionally, the latter two cards are available by invitation only.

The information for the Centurion and Business Centurion cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Another downside is that FHR bookings often are more expensive than booking directly with the hotel or its loyalty program. Add to this the fact that you can’t split payment across multiple credit cards, which can be a negative if you have multiple Platinum cards with $200 in credits to use and can’t combine these.

Amex The Hotel Collection

American Express has a second hotel program: The Hotel Collection. While it does have some similarities to Fine Hotels + Resorts, there are also differences.

A positive is that more cardmembers have access to THC, providing the second-widest availability in this comparison (after Chase’s LHRC). Anyone with a Gold, Platinum or Centurion card has access to THC bookings, and that includes personal and business versions of those cards. Another positive is that the on-property credit is more predictable: It’s a $100 credit to use for expenses charged to your room, typically good for spending at the hotel’s restaurant or spa or on activities at the hotel. This can be more useful than a fringe benefit, saving money on the necessity of eating every day.

As with Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings, Amex Platinum cardmembers can use their $200 in annual hotel credits for bookings with The Hotel Collection. There’s also the option to use Membership Rewards points to pay for stays.

However, this leads us to the negatives. Point redemptions here are poor, providing just 0.7 cents per point in value. That’s just over a third of the 2-cents-per-point value for Amex points in TPG’s latest valuations.

Other negatives include a requirement for a two-night minimum stay on all bookings and a very short list of guaranteed benefits. The only item on that list of benefits is elevated points-earning. While you would earn 1 point per dollar on hotel bookings made directly with a hotel using your Amex Platinum Card, you could earn 5 points per dollar when booking through Amex Travel.

Perks like free breakfast and room upgrades are not guaranteed benefits here; an on-property credit also isn’t guaranteed. That’s not to say that some hotels don’t include these benefits, but these are not promised in the terms and conditions for THC reservations.

view from outdoor dining area through a window to the indoor dining area at a hotel — While not included in THC booking terms, the Canopy by Hilton Sao Paulo Jardins gave us a $100 on-property credit that we used for dining and drinks. RYAN SMITH/THE POINTS GUY

Lastly, The Hotel Collection bookings have a much lower success rate than Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings when it comes to pairing with hotel loyalty programs. This means you’re less likely to receive points, upgrades or stay credits when booking with THC and staying at a property that participates in IHG One Rewards or World of Hyatt, for example.

Maybe a good summary is that perks are much more varied on THC bookings. It can be difficult to know what you’ll get at the property. Maybe you’ll receive upgrades, late checkout or free breakfast, but none of those are guaranteed.

Capital One Premier Collection

The newest credit card issuer entering the luxury hotel program space is Capital One with its Premier Collection. This program was announced in October, but bookings are not live yet. Reservations are expected to open before the end of 2022.

The most obvious advantage of this program is that a spokesperson for Capital One guaranteed integration between the Premier Collection and hotel loyalty programs. That means you should be able to book a Six Senses property that participates in IHG One Rewards, add your loyalty number to this booking and then receive appropriate benefits like bonus points on your stay or suite upgrades, depending on what status level you hold. The same would apply to Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties that participate in World of Hyatt. The spokesperson also promised you would receive stay credit in these hotel programs with bookings made through the Premier Collection.

Once bookings for the Premier Collection are live, we will see if this benefit works as promised. While there are reports of people receiving stay credits and status recognition on bookings with Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection, this doesn’t happen 100% of the time and isn’t guaranteed. Hotels are not obligated to recognize your status on bookings in those programs, as they are considered third-party reservations. For many people, not receiving your elite status benefits or stay credits in a hotel program is one of the main deterrents to booking a hotel through a travel portal.

Other positives include the fact that there are no mandatory minimum reservations in the program — unless a hotel imposes its own minimum stays. Plus, there is a quality amount of guaranteed benefits: daily breakfast for two, a $100 property credit, Wi-Fi and bonus points earned on these bookings if paying with your eligible card instead of redeeming Capital One miles. If you choose to redeem miles, this can be done at the standard rate of 1 cent apiece.

luxury hotel — The Six Senses Zil Pasyon in the Seychelles. IHG ONE REWARDS

Now, for the negatives …

The Premier Collection is only available to those with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Spark Travel Elite card. The latter is a business card that isn’t publicly available, requiring a business relationship manager to submit the application. This means the Premier Collection isn’t available to a wide swath of customers.

Additionally, there are no statement credits for cardholders to offset spending on Premier Collection bookings. And given that this is a new program where bookings aren’t live, there’s another potential negative: There might be bugs to work out once bookings are live.

Issues common to all programs

Before booking your next hotel stay with any of these four programs, it’s worth considering some drawbacks they share.

First, you must book in advance with FHR, THC, LHRC or the Premier Collection. You cannot show up at a hotel and make a booking that will include these benefits. Additionally, booking through these travel portals for short-notice bookings — especially for a same-day check-in — can be difficult. There may not be any available rooms and you may need to call, which often requires waiting on hold, as online bookings can have issues the closer you are booking to your intended arrival date.

Additionally, not all hotels participate in these programs. While searching for hotels in Las Vegas or Miami may return a plethora of hotels on Chase’s travel portal or on Amex Travel, that doesn’t mean the hotels you find participate in the luxury hotel programs offered by these issuers. You must book in a specific way; otherwise, you will not receive your program-specific benefits.

Once you use the correct website and filter your results, the number of hotels available will decrease significantly. This may include removing any hotels you’re interested in, meaning you may not be able to use The Hotel Collection, Fine Hotels + Resorts, the Premier Collection or the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection on your next trip.

a hotel pool at a small, boutique hotel — The French Coco hotel in Martinique. SMALL LUXURY HOTELS OF THE WORLD

Bottom line

There are many similarities among the luxury hotel programs offered by American Express, Chase and now Capital One. However, Fine Hotels + Resorts, The Hotel Collection, Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection and the Premier Collection also have important differences.

Chase’s program is offered to the widest range of cards, Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts program has the most guaranteed benefits, Amex’s The Hotel Collection is open to more cardholders than FHR, and Capital One’s new program has been promised to offer full integration with hotel loyalty programs, but that’s yet to be tested.

After comparing the luxury hotel programs available from these credit card issuers, you should have a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each. When it’s time to make your next hotel booking, reference the information above to make sure you know exactly what is and isn’t included so you can book through the program that works best for you.