American Express is offering Premier Rewards Gold Card, Business Gold Rewards, Platinum Personal & Platinum Business cardholders complimentary travel collection by travel leaders group membership. Membership is otherwise $295 per year. The travel collection promises to offer discounts on air travel, car rentals, air & hotel packages and also benefits for booking hotels as well.
Issues With The Program
The major problem with the program is that discounts are either non existent or inconsistent and you can search online you have to call in on 1-877-485-8053. They are also supposed to charge a fee of $39 per ticket/booking, this is currently being waived.
Airline Discounts
For most people they will be most interested in discounts on air travel as it’s typically not possible to get any sort of meaningful discount on these types of purchases (whereas heavy discounts on hotels is extremely common). They advertise discounts on the following flights:
- Aereolineas Argentinas (flights to/from Latin America)
- Air Europa (flights to/from Europe)
- Air New Zealand (Worldwide)
- Avianca (flights to/from Latin America)
- Cathay (Worldwide)
- Copa Airlines (flights to/from Latin America)
- Fiji Airways (flights to/from South Pacific)
- Qantas Airways (Worldwide)
- Qatar Airways (Worldwide)
- United (Worldwide)
American Express already offers discounts on premium cabins via the International Airline Program, but this partnership with Travel Collection offers discounts on economy flights.
You’ll notice they don’t specify what the discount you’ll receive actually is. That’s because theoretically it’s supposed to vary flight to flight. In some cases I found that booking via travel collection was actually more expensive, so please make sure you price compare before booking. You do earn airline miles and 5x on these purchases when using the Platinum card.
Hotel Benefits
Eligible bookings of two nights or more receive the following benefits:
- Breakfast for two (daily)
- Room upgrade on check in, based on availability
- Guaranteed early check in of 1PM
- $50 USD hotel credit
- Complimentary in room WiFi
Some of these benefits are nothing, in room WiFi is usually free regardless and guaranteed check in of 1PM isn’t that great either. I’d suggest most people would be better off booking through other means. It also isn’t clear if your elite status is recognized, if your nights count towards elite status and if you earn points for these bookings. My guess is you don’t.
Our Verdict
I can’t see anybody ever paying $295 per year for these benefits, it’s like that price was made up to try and make it more attractive to American Express members. This is the type of thing I try to get work for a few months and then after not being able to book anything cheaper I simply give up adding it to my booking process due to the annoying way it’s structured.
Hat tip to Miles to Memories
Does the Business Plat points rebate work when booking economy flights with your chosen airline?
no
the program sucks because its too new. it was just created with AMEX. the $295 fee is totally made up. the program didnt even exist before June.
Travel Leaders Group just announced it at their annual vegas conference. i doubt this program can rival FHR but we will see. nobody knows about Travel Leaders Group even tho they do $21 billion a year in annual sales. this is most likely because their entire company is just made up of partnerships and subsidiaries. looks like some MLM scheme.
the execution is key here and since this program is made up of random networks of travel agents, i dont see this partnership going anywhere. nothing is centralized. im gonna call this new benefit a failure. but i would check back next year when the program has matured more.
They have Delta too apparently. Saved $60 on one way for Christmas. They’re claiming Y fare at E fare price basically. ::edit:: bastards booked me on an E fare.::/edit::
United on the way back is a better timing but it’s the same price as through United. My corporate rate is $20 cheaper (basically $5-10/segment cheaper) so as a reminder, see if your employer has a United corporate contract and whether they allow you to book personal flights under that contract.
Completely worthless benefit, like all-too-many Amex “perks”. It’s marketing palaver and nothing more.
Sigh… what a waste of AMEX’s money. These decisions must be made by marketing because stupid benefits do nothing to cardholders.
I wonder if they don’t actually make rather than lose money on this. Referring users to “Travel Collection” site.
This seems like another layer of “benefits” like the WE MasterCard- discounts on prices people would never really pay for benefits that are nearly meaningless when considered against the price.
WE hotels was really good when it was working with citi prestige 4th night free. The price was the same as the hotel website best flexible rate and you got free breakfast + $100 to use + room upgrade + 4pm late check out + 4th night free. I used it a couple of times before they changed concierges and it was the best hotel perk combination!