Free Hotel Elite Status with Amex Platinum: Hilton Gold & Marriott Gold Explained

Last summer I was standing at the front desk of the Hilton Malta. My booking: a standard room for three nights. The receptionist looked up from his screen, smiled, and said: "Sir, we've upgraded you to an executive room with sea view. And your breakfast is included." I had paid exactly zero euros extra. The reason? My Hilton Gold status via the Amex Platinum card.

Honestly, this was the moment the annual fee of that card paid for itself in five seconds. Three nights of free breakfast for two people at a Hilton, plus a room that's normally 40% more expensive. And I literally didn't have to do anything for it, except link my card number to my Hilton Honors account.

For those who didn't know yet: the American Express Platinum card automatically gives Belgian travellers Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. For free. Without sleeping a single night, without qualification requirements, without any hassle. And that hotel elite status is perhaps the most underrated benefit of the entire card. Let me explain why.

What does Hilton Gold status via Amex Platinum mean for Belgian travellers?

Hilton Honors Gold is normally the second tier in the Hilton loyalty programme. To earn it on your own, you need to stay 20 nights per year in Hilton hotels. Or earn 40,000 Base Points. For most Belgian travellers who go on holiday two to four times a year, that's simply not achievable. With the Amex Platinum you get that status as a gift, as long as you're a cardholder.

The benefits are more tangible than you might expect. With every stay at a Hilton hotel, whether it's a Hampton Inn or a Waldorf Astoria, as a Gold member you receive 80% extra Hilton Honors points on top of the base points. That adds up quickly. A three-night stay at the Hilton Brussels Grand Place at €180 per night normally earns you 5,400 base points. As a Gold member that becomes 9,720 points. Those points can later be redeemed for free nights.

But the real gold (literally) lies in two other benefits. First of all: free breakfast. At all Hilton brands worldwide, as a Gold member you receive free daily breakfast. At many Hilton hotels, a breakfast buffet costs €25 to €40 per person. During a four-night stay with your partner, you easily save €200 to €320. On breakfast alone.

Then there's the room upgrade. Gold members are eligible for upgrades to better rooms, including executive rooms. No suites (that's reserved for Diamond members), but the difference between a standard room on the car park side and an executive room with a sea view is enormous. In my experience, I get a noticeable upgrade at roughly 60 to 70% of my Hilton stays.

Finally: late checkout. Sounds minor, but when you don't have to leave your room at 11 AM on Sunday morning and can leisurely stay until 14:00, it feels like a mini holiday on top. Especially if you enjoyed a dinner in town the night before.

Marriott Gold Elite via Amex Platinum: what do you get (and what not)?

In addition to Hilton Gold, as an Amex Platinum cardholder you also receive Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. And here I have to be honest: the benefits of Marriott Gold are less spectacular than those of Hilton Gold. Yet it's absolutely worthwhile, especially when you consider you don't pay anything extra for it.

Marriott Gold Elite gives you 25% extra Marriott Bonvoy points on all your stays. That applies to the entire Marriott empire, and it's enormous: from Courtyard by Marriott and Moxy to W Hotels, St. Regis and The Ritz-Carlton. More than 8,000 hotels in 139 countries. Wherever you end up on a business trip or holiday, chances are there's a Marriott hotel nearby.

You also get enhanced room upgrades. With Marriott Gold that means an upgrade to a better room, but not to a suite. Be realistic about that. In practice I notice that Marriott is somewhat less generous with upgrades than Hilton. Sometimes I get a higher floor with a better view, sometimes nothing changes. It depends heavily on the hotel, the occupancy rate and whether you booked directly through Marriott.

What you don't get as Marriott Gold: free breakfast. That's the big difference with Hilton Gold. At Marriott, breakfast is reserved for Platinum Elite members and above (50+ nights per year). As a Gold member you receive a welcome gift in the form of 250 to 500 Bonvoy points per stay. Nice, but not comparable to a €35 breakfast buffet.

Late checkout until 14:00 is included though, and in my view that's one of the nicest benefits for those on holiday. Nothing more annoying than having to stand in the lobby with your suitcases at half past ten while your flight doesn't depart until 18:00.

Hilton Gold versus Marriott Gold: which hotel elite status is worth more?

The honest comparison, based on my own stays over the past year as a Belgian traveller.

In pure value, Hilton Gold wins by a wide margin, mainly thanks to the free breakfast. But don't forget that Marriott has a much larger hotel network. In cities like Dubai, Bangkok or New York you'll find Marriott hotels everywhere, and then that Gold Elite status is a nice extra. My strategy: I book Hilton when I can (for the breakfast), and Marriott when the location or resort is a better fit.

A concrete example. Last autumn I booked the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice. Three nights, standard room, for €195 per night. At check-in: upgrade to an executive room with a view of the Giudecca Canal. Breakfast included for me and my girlfriend, which normally costs €38 per person. Total savings: approximately €310 in three nights. I wouldn't have had that same benefit at the neighbouring Marriott.

How do you activate your hotel elite status as an Amex Platinum cardholder in Belgium?

It might sound too good to be true, but activating it is truly child's play. Yet many people forget to do it, causing them to miss out on the benefits during their first stay. Here's exactly how it works.

For Hilton Honors Gold: go to hilton.com and create a Hilton Honors account if you don't have one yet. Then log into your Amex account at americanexpress.com/be and look under "Benefits" for the Hilton Honors linking option. You can also directly add your Amex card number to your Hilton Honors profile. The Gold status typically appears within 24 to 48 hours. Sometimes faster.

For Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite: the same principle. Create a Marriott Bonvoy account at marriott.com. Link your Amex Platinum card number to your Bonvoy profile. With Marriott, activation can take a bit longer, up to six weeks in some cases. My tip: call the Amex concierge (free, 24/7) and ask them to speed up the process. They contact Marriott and usually arrange it within a week.

One important detail: you must always book with the email address linked to your loyalty account. And always book hotels directly through the hotel website or app, not through Booking.com or Expedia. If you book through a third party, your elite benefits are forfeited. I made that mistake once at a Marriott in Lisbon and missed out on my upgrade. What a waste.

Belgian travellers flying from Brussels Airport can ideally combine this with the other Amex Platinum benefits: the Fast Lane security at Zaventem (worth €169/year), the Priority Pass lounge access, and the other travel benefits I've described in a separate article.

When does that free hotel elite status truly pay for itself?

Let's do the maths as level-headed Belgians. The Amex Platinum costs €780 per year. That's not nothing. But you don't pay that amount solely for hotel elite status. You also get lounge access (value: ~€500/year), Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits (up to €650 per stay), travel insurance, the Brussels Airport Fast Lane, Dining for 2 (three times per year a free dinner, value ~€300/year), and of course the Membership Rewards points.

The hotel elite status is therefore a bonus on top of all those other benefits. But if you want to put a value on it: Hilton Gold breakfast alone is easily worth €150 to €400 per year, depending on how often you stay at Hilton hotels. Room upgrades are harder to quantify, but I estimate that last year I received roughly €800 worth of upgrades across five Hilton stays. That's more than the entire annual fee.

For those who only travel once or twice a year and stay in a budget hotel, the Amex Platinum is honestly overkill. But if you travel three to four times a year, occasionally book a nice hotel, and enjoy lounges and comfort: then you earn back the card twice over and then some. Not just in money, but also in experience. Because that breakfast with a sea view in Malta, that upgrade to the canal side in Venice: those are the things that turn a good trip into an amazing one.

I also use my Amex Platinum for the Fine Hotels + Resorts programme, where at more than 14,000 luxury hotels worldwide you receive free breakfast, room upgrade, early check-in and a welcome gift of approximately €100. That combined with Hilton Gold or Marriott Gold makes an enormous difference. Read more about that in my explanation of Fine Hotels + Resorts.

Frequently asked questions about hotel elite status with the Amex Platinum