Consumer complaint received 2025-12-02 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I am filing a complaint against American Express for misleading advertising and for failing to apply my full Amex Platinum Hotel Collection statement credit for a two-night stay I booked through Amex Travel. I am an American Express Platinum cardholder, which carries a {$690.00} annual fee ( increasing to {$890.00} next year ). I specifically booked this hotel stay to use my prepaid hotel credit before the year ended. Amex Platinum Hotel Collection Benefit ( Disclosure Issue ) : American Express advertises the Hotel Collection benefit as follows ( paraphrased, because Amex does not allow full-page screenshots ) : Requires a minimum XXXX stay Must be booked and prepaid through Amex Travel Receive a statement credit of {$300.00} Credit applies to eligible prepaid Hotel Collection bookings made on the Amex Travel website using the American Express card The benefit page implies that the full prepaid cost of the 2-night stay is eligible for the statement credit. It does not clearly state that required hotel charges such as taxes, resort fees, or other amounts billed at check-in will become ineligible even if the total price is displayed up front on the Amex site. This lack of clear disclosure is the core of the issue. What Happened : I booked a 2-night stay at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Amex Travel website . The total price shown at checkout was {$300.00} for the full XXXX stay. After booking, the charges were split in a way that was confusing and misleading : Prepaid by Amex Travel : Cost : {$150.00} Taxes & Fees : {$21.00} Total charged upfront : {$170.00} Charged at the hotel : {$120.00} ( resort fees and other hotel charges ) Both charges were paid with the same American Express Platinum card. I received no email, and no booking confirmation, telling me that a portion of the hotels required fees or taxes would not count toward the Hotel Collection credit. The hotel simply informed me of a {$300.00} hold and additional resort fees upon check-in, which contradicts the idea that the stay was prepaid to qualify for the Platinum benefit. Why This Is Misleading : The Amex Travel site did not clearly disclose that the price would be split or that only part of the XXXX stay would count toward the credit. Amex advertises the Platinum Hotel Collection credit as applying to eligible prepaid bookings. I prepaid the entire stay according to the websites price. The website does not warn that mandatory hotel charges ( resort fees, taxes, on-property fees ) become ineligible for the benefit even though they are part of the advertised total. The 2-night minimum requirement was fully met, and the total charge was clearly shown as {$300.00}, which should have been covered under a {$300.00} credit benefit. When I called Amex after several days, the agent told me resort fees dont count, which was not disclosed at the time of booking. This is extremely misleading because I booked the hotel solely to use my high-fee Platinum benefit before year-end. I would not have booked this property if I knew the credit would not apply to the full stay as represented. I have a Global Complaint on this account # XXXX if this complaint number is incorrect amex mislead me again with a escalation of my complaint.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief