Recently my wife and I did a staycation at the Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels and Resorts. We stayed in a suite that cost $2,000 per night, got free food and drinks, and only paid just over $300! Here is how I did it.
First, one of the benefits of the American Express Platinum Card is a biannual $300 credit when booking hotels that are part of American Express’ Fine Hotels and Resorts program, which is one of my favorite ways to book hotel rooms. The hotels associated with this program are typically luxury hotels that American Express partners with to give cardholders added benefits when booking through the program, which I will discuss later.
When planning my stay, I booked the base room and paid with my American Express Platinum Card to trigger the $300 credit. The cost of the base room for the date of our stay was just under $300 per night. The base room is called a “Resort King,” which looked like a typical hotel room from the pictures. Shortly after booking, I received an e-mail from the hotel concierge asking if I needed anything prior to my stay. I told her I was interested in upgrading to a higher category room. She replied that because I booked through the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, I was entitled to a complimentary upgrade to the next higher category room, but she offered a paid upgrade to a Cottage Suite for $600. The Cottage Suites are 800 square foot suites with a separate living area and two bathrooms. The suites have two separate patios, one of which includes a gas fire pit. I was also offered complimentary access to the Citrus Club, which is a lounge offering high quality food (including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks) and drinks for free. Access to this lounge typically costs $150 per person per night.
I accepted this offer, knowing I also would be able to pay for the upgrade at the hotel using my American Express Hilton Aspire card and my American Express Hilton Surpass card. The Aspire card includes a biannual $200 Hilton credit, and the Surpass card includes a quarterly $50 Hilton credit. After applying those credits to my final bill, my cost for the upgraded room was approximately $350. The cash rate for the room was almost $2,000!
Because I booked the stay with the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, I was able to take advantage of other benefits as well. The program offers 12:00 p.m. check in (based on availability) and guaranteed 4:00 p.m. check out. I also received a $100 resort credit and free breakfast. My wife and I used the $100 resort credit to offset some of the cost of our dinner At the hotel’s Renata’s Hearth Latin inspired restaurant, which totaled $171. I also offset another $50 of the dinner by using our $25 per person food and beverage credit I get by being a Hilton Diamond member. We ate breakfast the following morning at the hotel’s MacArthur’s restaurant, which was covered by applying the free breakfast benefit for booking with Fine Hotels and Resorts.
Including our meals, the total cash rate for our one night stay would have been almost $2,600! Using the benefits available, I was able to cut our cost to just over $300! This is a great deal to stay at one of the most famous hotels in Arizona, and it made for a great weekend!