MGM Properties Leave Amex FHR
Earlier this week I alerted you to the fact that two popular Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) properties had left the program, Delano & Conrad Resorts World. Well, it appears more MGM programs have left Amex FHR as well. It is a scary trend for sure for Vegas lovers & Amex Platinum cardholders.
PDX Deals Guy checked Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection to see if they had vanished from there too and noticed something interesting. I’ll share with you the hotels that have dropped Amex FHR and share the differences we have seen with the same properties on Chase LHR.
Update 5/19/22: Reader Zach reached out to Delano and they said they would honor the bookings made before they left the program. That is promising news.
Which MGM Properties Left Amex FHR?
To go along with Delano‘s departure from Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts these other MGM properties are not showing up in searches either.
- MGM Grand
- The Signature at MGM Grand
- Mandalay Bay
- Aria
The following MGM properties are still available, for now at least:
- Aria Sky Suites
- Skylofts at MGM
- NoMad
- Bellagio
The Cosmopolitan is also on there but they have not become an MGM property yet, so it doesn’t really count. It looks like they trimmed all of the cheaper hotels out of the system, except NoMad is still on there. I am not sure what to make of that. It would make more sense to leave Aria and pull NoMad, but I digress.
All Previous Bookings Being Honored?
Since we posted this earlier in the week we have seen mixed messaging from Amex on bookings already made. Some reps made it seem like the perks wouldn’t be honored. We have seen something similar happen when a hotel changes brands and future award bookings are not honored any longer. I could see this being the case here as well, although I can’t say for sure.
Maybe you could get some compensation if you argued at check in but I am not sure if you want to bother with that hassle or not. You should still get the $200 Amex Platinum credit on the booking since the room is prepaid. That may be good enough for you. Otherwise, you may want to move your booking to another hotel, and probably avoid MGM properties all together for now.
Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection (LHRC) is similar to Amex FHR. It gives you perks for booking hotels through the site, although many more cards will get you access versus just an Amex Platinum for Amex FHR. The reason it probably isn’t as popular is because of the Amex Platinum $200 yearly credit people are looking to use.
When checking Chase LHRC it is interesting to see that many (most) of the MGM properties come up in the search. Even lower end options like Park MGM. The difference is in the credits though.
Usually Chase LHRC tracks pretty closely to Amex FHR with the credits offered for bookings. That is the case with non MGM properties like Caesars Palace and Nobu. They are each offering:
- $100 food & beverage credit per room
- $30 per person for breakfast, for up to 2 people
- Upgrade
- Early check in / check out
This is what the MGM properties have shown in the past too. Now, however, they are showing a new credit set up:
- $15 per person for breakfast, for up to 2 people
- $25 – $40 Food & Beverage credit, per room, per day (3 day maximum)
- Upgrade (some rooms may not be upgradable)
- Early check in / check out
It looks like the nicer the hotel, the higher the credit you get. Here is a list of the hotels and their daily food and beverage credit:
- Aria – $40
- Bellagio – $40
- MGM Grand – $30
- NoMad – $30
- Park MGM – $25
- The Signature at MGM Grand – $25
- Delano – $40
- Mandalay Bay – $30
- Skylofts at MGM – kept showing booked during my searches
MGM Properties Leave Amex FHR: What Does This All Mean?
Seeing the Chase piece of the puzzle makes a little more sense to me. My guess would be that MGM thought Amex FHR was too generous for some of their mid-tier and lower end properties. The ones that have stayed, outside of NoMad, are their priciest options. That means they can handle the $100 credits etc. a bit easier.
Seeing how they broke it out in the Chase LHR system will cut down on their costs for sure. Unless most people book multiple nights I guess. Since it is good for up to 3 nights it could end up being a better offer. Maybe they are trying to encourage longer bookings versus one night bookings here and there that cost them the full amount.
The question is, will they try to come back to Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts with something similar? If they do will that have competitors change what they offer too? Only time will tell there. I am not sure how much power Amex has over the discounts offered or if the hotels dictate the terms.
How do you think this all will play out? Let me know in the comments.
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[…] (Vegas side note: some of Sin City’s properties are dropping off the FHR radar.) […]
I had booked it in March for a July stay so I used the email hotel function in the trip detail. Delano responded in 10 minutes and confirming that the benefit will still be applied since I booked it prior to them drop off the program.
Awesome – good news Zach. Thanks for letting us know.
I’m going to miss having Delano & Conrad as FHR options. My wife & I have 3 toddlers and the standard rooms are big enough for a family of 5 (we just never mentioned it to the hotel staff…). Sometimes we’d get upgraded to a suite and that was even nicer. Pools at both resorts were great for families too.
Re, “The reason it probably isn’t as popular is because of the Amex Platinum $200 yearly credit people are looking to use.”
The $200 credit works for Hotel Collection bookings too, it’s just that you need a 2-night stay and there’s no value in paying with points (FHR pay-by-points gives you $0.01 / point).
“Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection[1] bookings through American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®.‡
[1]The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.”
Go see if there are any THC properties in Vegas.
(Spoiler: nope.)
Makes sense. There aren’t many FHR hotels under $200, so those that were got people like me showing up for one night and not spending much more than the credits we received. If I was managing these hotels I’d drop out of the program as well. I think staying in the hotel collection would make more sense as 2 night stays are required and the hotel provides half the benefits.
My thoughts as well
Do you think that each hotel is just not getting a contract renewal from MGM because of their relationship to Hyatt and Hyatt’s relationship to Chase? Maybe that is looking too much into it. I haven’t been to Vegas in years, but this will be a loss for those that were able to get these great benefits through FHR. Hopefully they will negotiate and come back with some sort of offer, but will that open a can of worms for other hotels in the FHR collection and further lessening of benefits as hotels see this as an opening?
I don’t think Hyatt / Chase have anything to do with it. I think they see Vegas busy and thought the offers were too generous for those hotels. Just my guess on it though.
I think it is a very unfortunate trend, but I am glad Delano is still bookable through Virtuoso. Although that means you can’t use the $200 credit, you can probably get waived resort fees if your gold since it’s a “direct” booking, which for four nights means that the cost would be evened out.
Also, I don’t ever remember the Signature, MGM, Mandalay Bay, or Aria ever showing up in the search results because they are Hotel Collection (THC) properties. That isn’t as good of a program, but it is an option. Another option for that credit is Nobu, as they are part of THC.