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American Express added over 350 properties to Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection on August 12, 2026. Together, the two programs now exceed 3,400 hotels across 116 countries. In Canada, access to Fine Hotels + Resorts remains exclusive to cardmembers of the American Express Platinum Card® and the Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
The expansion particularly benefits those who already travel beyond the major hotel chains. As for the benefits themselves, they haven’t changed a bit since the announcement.
This expansion coincides with the 35th anniversary of Fine Hotels + Resorts, launched in 1991. To compare your card options while you’re at it, see our guide to the best credit cards.
American Express Travel features two distinct collections. Fine Hotels + Resorts brings together high-end properties with the most generous list of benefits, while The Hotel Collection covers a broader segment with an on-site credit and a two-night minimum stay.
The year-over-year growth is easily measured by looking back at our coverage of the previous expansion in July 2025.
The Fine Hotels + Resorts component alone exceeds 1,600 properties worldwide. American Express does not publish the exact breakdown of the 350 new hotels between the two collections.
The additions cover Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and South America. Here are the properties highlighted by American Express for Fine Hotels + Resorts.
For The Hotel Collection, the additions lean more towards the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America.
The benefits have not changed with this expansion. American Express Canada announces an average total value of $550 US per two-night stay at Fine Hotels + Resorts, according to its 2023 booking data.
The guaranteed 4 PM check-out and breakfast for two explain most of the difference between the two programs. For a single-night stay, Fine Hotels + Resorts remains the only one of the two collections to offer any benefits.
A broader portfolio does not make rates better. This is the point most coverage of this announcement overlooks, and it’s the one that determines if your booking is worthwhile.
First pitfall: benefits are denominated in US dollars, not Canadian dollars. At the Bank of Canada rate on August 11, 2026, which is CA$1.3927 per US dollar, The Hotel Collection’s $100 US credit is worth approximately CA$139, and the average $550 US value announced for Fine Hotels + Resorts comes to approximately CA$766.
Second pitfall: the rate displayed in the program is not necessarily the best on the market. Our Hotel Collection guide documents a Montreal stay noted in May 2024 where the program displayed $355 per night, exactly the chain’s flexible rate, while a special offer at $284 existed in parallel on the Marriott site. The $142 gap over two nights exceeded the credit itself.
Here are the three checks to do before confirming, in this order:
The American Express Platinum Card®‘s $200 annual travel credit can also be combined with a booking made through either program, further reducing the net bill.
The two programs don’t have the same eligibility requirements in Canada. Fine Hotels + Resorts is limited to two cards, while The Hotel Collection is available with six.
This distinction opens up a useful alternative. A reader who is not aiming for the Platinum Card still has access to The Hotel Collection’s $100 US credit with a lower annual fee card, such as the American Express Cobalt® Card or the American Express Gold Rewards Card®. Click on a card’s name to see its detailed terms and conditions.
Going from 3,100 to 3,400 properties in thirteen months primarily changes the game for a specific profile: the traveler who ventures outside major hotel chains and, until now, found nothing in the program for their destination. Marrakech, Nagoya, and Queenstown fall into this category.
For everyone else, the conclusion doesn’t change. The benefits are identical to what they were before the announcement, they remain in US dollars, and a lower direct rate still regularly wipes out the $100 US credit.
My reflex before confirming remains the same: I open the chain’s website in a second tab and compare both prices, taxes included. And I’m rather convinced that, over two nights, breakfast for two and the guaranteed 4 PM checkout carry more weight than The Hotel Collection’s $100 US credit.
So our recommendation remains the same: treat Fine Hotels + Resorts as a bonus on a stay you were going to book anyway, never as a reason to choose a more expensive hotel.
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