The Main Reason to Keep the AMEX Platinum or AMEX Business Platinum, for some cardholders, is access to AMEX Centurion Lounges. If you frequent them, that makes sense to me, even though Centurion Lounges are typically overcrowded and not very relaxing. See, for example, my recent reviews of the AMEX Centurion Lounge Hong Kong and the AMEX Centurion Lounge San Francisco.
Another reason to keep at least one AMEX card is access to AMEX Offers, although personally, I find the AMEX Blue Business Plus card the best one to use, because it earns 2X Membership Rewards points per dollar on all purchases, on up to $50,000 spend per year. The AMEX Platinum and AMEX Business Platinum only earn 1 point per dollar on most purchases (although the AMEX Platinum does earn 5X on airfare; many clients prefer, however, to just earn 3X with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, in order to obtain the benefit of trip cancellation and trip interruption travel insurance, which the AMEX Platinum does not include).
Instead, the main reason for clients who frequently want guaranteed late check-out is the 4pm guaranteed late check-out benefit that AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts offers. Typically, with Virtuoso, and even preferred partner programs, late check-out is based on availability. And as many city and even resort hotels, during their busy seasons, operate at high occupancy, late check-out requests often are not able to be granted; you would need to book an additional night, or at least a half day rate at hotels that offer this option.
Keep in mind that, especially with resort hotels that may have a 2-3 night or more deposit at time of booking and 14 day or more cancellation policies, using an AMEX Platinum or AMEX Business Platinum means you won't get the trip cancellation insurance benefit that the Chase Sapphire Reserve would provide. But if you know you'll need a 4pm late check-out, have TravelSort or your luxury travel advisor make your reservation with AMEX FHR benefits, so as to guarantee your 4pm late check-out.
Also note that it's best to make these reservations as far in advance as possible, to ensure availability. Because of the 4pm late check-out benefit, which means that the hotel can only make these rooms available for check-in later that evening due to needing to clean the room, many hotels limit the number of rooms available to be booked via AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts.
Finally, note that if you book with AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts, you must pay at check-out with an AMEX card, but it doesn't have to be the AMEX Platinum card. Again, because of the 2X points earning, I recommend paying with the AMEX Blue Business Plus.
If You Don't Have an AMEX Platinum or AMEX Business Platinum and Want Late Check-Out
If you don't have an AMEX Platinum or AMEX Business Platinum or AMEX Centurion card that gives you access to Fine Hotels & Resorts, you have a few options:
1. Book with Peninsula PenClub Peninsula Time Flexible Check-Out
If you're reserving a hotel in a city with a Peninsula hotel, book with TravelSort or another Peninsula PenClub advisor to enjoy Peninsula Time late check-out. This is even better than AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts, because you will either get to stay in your room or have access to another room until you need to leave that evening, even as late as 11pm at night. Similarly, if you arrive off a red eye flight in the early morning, you can have access to either your reserved room or a holding room even at 1am in the morning of your check-in day.
2. Book with Langham Couture Benefits: 6 Complimentary Hours to Customize Your Arrival/Departure
A little known preferred partner program is Langham Couture, which can be stacked with Virtuoso benefits, for those Langham hotels that are members of Virtuoso. Langham Couture provides 6 hours to customize your arrival and departure time. For example, if you're arriving at the hotel's regular check-in time or later, you could use all 6 hours to give yourself a 6pm late check-out on your departure day.
3. Check Whether the Hotel Offers Guaranteed Late Check-Out via Virtuoso or Preferred Partner
While very rare, a few hotels do offer guaranteed 4pm late check-out as a Virtuoso or Preferred Partner benefit. For example, the InterContinental Madrid offers 4pm late check-out, and the Four Seasons Bora Bora offers as a Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefit a guaranteed 4pm late check-out, exclusively for overwater suites and villas booked for 7 consecutive nights or more (for reservations of 6 nights or fewer, late check-out is subject to availability).
4. Request Late Check-Out When Booking, and Remind Hotel of Request
If all else fails, you can at least request a late check-out at time of booking, and remind the hotel of the request on arrival, and also the night before your departure day, as well as the morning of your departure. And while I don't suggest looking for some deficiency, if something very disruptive happens during the stay, it won't hurt to mention this when reiterating your late check-out request. For example, this morning there was a false fire alarm when my son was still sleeping, which woke him up, so I did mention this when making my late check-out request, which was granted.
How often have you used the AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts guaranteed 4pm late check-out benefit?
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