AMEX travel disappointments

[avante]

Hi all - just wanted to check if anyone else has had disappointing experiences booking hotels with Amex travel to make use of the travel credits.

We were looking at accommodation in Japan and found that Amex travel rates were a lot higher (15-20%) than through Expedia but we wanted to use the credits so we went ahead anyway.

We have also on other occasions found that to be true for Australian hotels (Mel and Syd).

Also it seems that we get the “lowest” rate with Amex in that we get allocated less desirable rooms (lower floors, near the elevators). Booking through Expedia on a couple of times seemed to not give us this issue (in fact the rooms have been on higher floors on both bookings).

Anyone else experienced this? Tempted now to cancel my Amex as the points enhancement has made it less attractive, and the travel credits end up being used for inflated hotel prices.

 

[robtemt]

Yes, I've read and posted in a couple of threads about this. I find Amex travel for hotels to be such a waste, and I end up getting 60-70% of the actual value of the travel credit considering the rate difference!

Some people like using the credits for airfares as they apparently are on par with airline direct pricing.

But I've given up on Amex travel except for one or two night bookings using the credits, and even then I cringe.

Experience booking hotels through Amex?

Does anyone book personal travel through Amex? I've looked at booking things a few times on the Amex travel website (looking to use travel credits). I've always found their prices to be significantly more than booking direct, and the only reason I've still booked, is to use up travel credits...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Quattro]

What card have you got?

I'm usually one to pair as much "status" into my Hotel bookings with Amex travel.

E.g. when in Japan in Sep this year, we stayed at Hilton. Booked a non-executive floor (therefore no executive lounge access) through Amex travel, Hotel Collection. Paired with HH Gold via PC, we got upgraded to the Executive floor level, in a larger room than what we booked for the same price, and gained entry to the lounge.

I have rarely found rooms comparable to other hotel search engines (Hotels Combined etc).

 

[LadyC]

I have found the airfares can sometimes also be significantly more expensive. And the fact they don't allow you to book all airlines (eg Jetstar is excluded) is also unhelpful.

 

[avante]

Thanks all for the responses. I’ve got the Platinum Edge and Explorer.

The only things that seem to be of value are things like the Melbourne passes which gives you 3 x single entry into a list of places like the zoo, aquarium, etc.

 

[boomy]

I use AMEX travel quite often but almost never to book hotels. Many don’t realise that more often than not booking hotel through it’s own website is cheaper than using 3rd parties like AMEX, Expedia etc and even if a cheaper rate is found on those 3rd party websites many big chains offer price match guarantee.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

There have been quite a few threads on this.

My view is that generally that they are yes more expensive, but that I can normally find somewhere which is as cheap or cheaper. (Note: I have never looked at Japan, just Asia and Europe).

Amex has often had a free bonus night deal which can make them the cheapest option.

For an upcoming trip to Koh Samui I found that for a two week long car hire that they were slightly cheaper than any of the online booking options I tried (direct and through aggregators) and so my $400 credit was used on that. Several years ago when I also went to Koh Samui I found two properties there that I booked as the bonus night made them cheapest. Athens was about the same. Stockholm a bit cheaper.



Having said the above in doing any one trip I always end up booking my accommodation through a range of sites to get the best deal (not always price as sometimes different options will have different things included such as free breakfast, transfers, room upgrade etc).

Some will be direct with a property.
In France I often found AirBnB properties were often also on booking.com etc and were cheaper as the extra AirBnB booking fee was absent
Will use a range of different portals. Sometimes Expedia, sometimes Agoda. For some countries some sites will dominate. In France Accor often had great advance deals which also included breakfast.

I only have to spend at present a $200 and a $400 TC per year and I find it easy to do so. But yes if I tried to do it for just a particular stay it might be hard to finf good value.


My main hate is that the Amex Travel Site is coughbersome to use.

 

[avante]

Sure is coughbersome and difficult to use! Has anyone ever tried to get a price match from Amex on the rates advertised elsewhere either through the hotel directly or another travel agent?

 

[pauly7]

I have found the airfares can sometimes also be significantly more expensive. And the fact they don't allow you to book all airlines (eg Jetstar is excluded) is also unhelpful.

The most annoying thing about Amex travel when redeeming the travel credit for flights is that you can’t mix bookings eg QF one way and VA back. And yes why on earth can’t you book Jetstar??

They really are very average.

 

[RB]

Used my credit yesterday for a 1 night hotel stay in Singapore. Came up cheaper than the aggregators that I looked at. As with many "schemes" there is rarely 1 that has all the answers. I am happy to have the travel credit available & I am happy to spend a bit of time trying to maximise it.
Haven't had any problems with getting less desirable rooms- Two bookings on Expedia (as referenced by the OP) is hardly a reasonable sample to say you are getting better rooms through that channel

 

[robtemt]

For an upcoming trip to Koh Samui I found that for a two week long car hire that they were slightly cheaper than any of the online booking options I tried (direct and through aggregators) and so my $400 credit was used on that.

Yes.... I will agree with the car hire use of travel credits. IF you are booking far enough in advance, and know you won't be changing the plans. We booked a luxury car for 7 days in LAX from Avis, via Amex using our travel credit. I take on the challenge every year to find the lowest price on the type of car we want to rent overseas, and I couldn't find any better deal than amex for our rental. I liked that Amex used Car Trawler for this rental (but I don't always like car trawler) , as it included all of the required and optional insurance, and the voucher actually says:

"You may be offered additional insurance at the car rental desk. This should be declined if you have already purchased the excess insurance through CarTrawler. You may be told that the cover is not valid - this is not the case so there is no need to purchase any additional insurance cover offered at the rental desk."

 

[Spongbob]

From my experience, booking accommodation with AMEX Travel only has an advantage when used to redeem a travel credit.
Otherwise, for the reasons many have suggested, I avoid them.

 

[Dr Ralph]

You do have to work hard to get the best value out of these travel credits. I've posted about this previously as have many others. But with some effort there's no need to pay more for a hotel room using the AMEX credit than by using other means.

 

[boomy]

One of the best credit use for me is booking domestic flights. Fares on both QF and VA are mostly identical to those on the airlines websites, including sale fares.

Another potential good value is car hire, especially when combined with extra discounts AMEX sometimes offer.

Also, many activities Viator offer can be booked via AMEX travel at same price. Most activities are flexible with 48 hours cancellation however it worth paying close attention to the T&C as some are non-refundable on AMEX while can be booked as flexible 48 hours on other sites.

 

[SeaWolf]

The most annoying thing about Amex travel when redeeming the travel credit for flights is that you can’t mix bookings eg QF one way and VA back. And yes why on earth can’t you book Jetstar??

There's other gaps as well, like Eva Air and Vietnam Airlines, both of which operate to Australia but can't be booked by AmEx Travel. I wish they'd put more effort into their travel offerings.

 

[boomy]

There's other gaps as well, like Eva Air and Vietnam Airlines, both of which operate to Australia but can't be booked by AmEx Travel. I wish they'd put more effort into their travel offerings.

Some airlines can’t be booked online so need to call and book over the phone. I’ve used credits on various airlines like AF and TK which didn’t show up during online search. The only airlines AMEX cant book under any circumstances are LCC such as JQ and others.

 

[SeaWolf]

Some airlines can’t be booked online so need to call and book over the phone. I’ve used credits on various airlines like AF and TK which didn’t show up during online search.

That's a trick I didn't know and will probably be useful at some point in the future, thanks.
However, it is another annoyance with AmEx Travel really. Why aren't those carriers bookable online like everything else?

 

[boomy]

That's a trick I didn't know and will probably be useful at some point in the future, thanks.
However, it is another annoyance with AmEx Travel really. Why aren't those carriers bookable online like everything else?

I assume they have their own preferred airlines similar to other TAs. Same thing with hotels, many don’t show up online but can be requested over the phone however Amex rates for hotels are usually awful so I don’t even bother.

 

[stoney]

I have just finished booking accomodation in Beijing g,Helsinki,St Petersburg,Moscow,Warsaw,Berlin,Brussels,London,Paris,Lucerne,Verona,Rome, Cancun, Havana, Nagano,Kanazawa,Hiroshima, with others in Taipei then Adelaide airport.
I used a variety of sites after establishing hotels in Tripadvisor first then using sites usually with ones I accumulate free nights with like Hotels.com, HHonours Hilton, La Core, even AirB&B but you need to shop around hard.

 

[robtemt]

I forgot, different Amex cards have different rules.

Some can be used on the phone (Plat Charge credit?), but other have to be used online only (Explorer?)

Also you can't use credits for Fine Hotels and Resorts or Hotel Collection.