As we approach the end of 2021, the incredible Amex Offers we’ve seen this year are showing no sign of slowing down.
As of today, we’re seeing American Express offering $50 or $150 in statement credits on prepaid hotel and car rental bookings made via Amex Travel on many of their personal travel credit cards, valid for purchases made through December 24, 2021.
Amex Travel Hotels & Car Rentals: Earn a $50 or $150 Credit
There are two separate offers for Amex Travel bookings floating around on the various Amex personal cards, depending on the “level” of the card.
Spend $400, Get $150
The first is for a $150 statement credit upon making a $400 purchase via Amex Travel Online.
If you were to make a purchase of exactly $400, this would be equivalent to a 37.5% discount on your prepaid hotel or car rental booking.
It appears that this offer is limited to the Platinum Card, and it doesn’t appear to have been reported on any other American Express cards.
This offer has a registration cap of 10,000 cardholders – a fairly low registration cap compared to similar offers in the past – so make sure to register as soon as possible to lock in your eligibility.
Spend $200, Get $50
The second offer is for a $50 statement credit upon making a $200 purchase via Amex Travel Online.
If you were to make a purchase of exactly $200, this would be equivalent to a 25% discount on your prepaid hotel or car rental booking.
You’re more likely to find this offer on the Amex personal cards outside of the Platinum Card, such as the Aeroplan Reserve Card, Aeroplan Card and Cobalt Card.
This offer has a registration cap of 20,000 cardholders. Again, log in to your Amex online dashboard to register now so you don’t miss out.
Amex Travel can be used to book a wide range of travel purchases, including flights, hotels, and car rentals. However, the terms of the offer include the following:
Offer only available when booking prepaid hotels or car rental online at www.americanexpress.ca/travel where American Express Travel (not the hotel or car rental company) is the merchant and charged to your registered Card at time of check out. Excludes flight purchases, purchases made by phone or email, and travel insurance purchases.
As you can see, only prepaid hotels and car rentals booked online will be eligible for this offer. The purchase must be charged to your card before the offer ends on December 24, 2021, but the actual travel can take place at a later date.
When booking via Amex Travel Online, make sure to select the “Pay Now” option so that the reservation is processed as a prepaid booking. If you were to pay upon checking out of the hotel or at the car rental counter, then you wouldn’t qualify for these Amex Offers.
Indeed, the most likely use case for these offers is to plan ahead for your future travels in 2022 and make some prepaid hotel or car rental bookings to lock in the savings.
(Of course, given the uncertainty in the travel landscape in general, it’s best to make refundable bookings in case you aren’t able to stick to your plans.)
Keep in mind that there’s no guarantee you’ll receive hotel points, elite benefits, or elite qualifying nights when making prepaid hotel bookings via Amex Travel with the major chains like Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, or World of Hyatt.
That’s why I’m personally leaning towards either booking some prepaid car rentals (where elite status is less consequential), or booking some hotels via Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR), where I know I’ll get comparable benefits to having elite status by booking via FHR.
Since the offer is based on cumulative transactions, you don’t have to spend the full $200 or $400 in one go – you can make a series of smaller purchases that add up to $200 or $400 to unlock the credit.
The terms and conditions of the offer do specify that the credits will be applied to your account “within 90 days after 24/12/2021”. However, in practice, they should show up within a few business days of competing your purchase.
Stack with the Platinum Card’s $200 Annual Travel Credit
If you’ve received the “Spend $400, Get $150” offer on the American Express Platinum Card, note that you’ll be able to stack this offer with the $200 annual travel credit on your card for even further savings.
When you book with Amex Travel Online and apply the $200 annual travel credit, the full amount of the travel reservation gets charged to your Platinum Card before the $200 credit appears.
Therefore, if you booked a prepaid hotel or car rental worth $400, you’d save a total of $350 between the $150 Amex Offer and the $200 annual travel credit – a staggering 87.5% discount!
Conclusion
American Express has introduced its latest travel-oriented Amex Offer to get you thinking about making some travel plans in 2022.
The Platinum Card offers a “Spend $400, Get $150” rebate, whereas other American Express cardholders are treated to a more modest deal of “Spend $200, Get $50”.
Since the offers are only valid on prepaid hotels and car rentals, their overall appeal may be limited compared to some of the more flexible Amex Offers we’ve seen in the past. Still, it doesn’t hurt to book some fully refundable prepaid travel for next year, so that you can always get a refund if your plans were to change.
Don’t forget to register for the offers before they hit their registration caps, and then get some bookings locked in before the offers end on December 24, 2021.