With the new Chase Freedom Flex coming to us as a World Elite Mastercard, I thought I’d go over some its benefits. So, today, I’m covering the Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts collection.
The Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts program is very similar to Chase’s Luxury Hotel Collection and the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts. That means, when you book through the portal, you can expect special benefits and rates. So, let’s compare the offerings of all three portals.
Royal Hawaiian Hotel
The Royal Hawaiian Hotel is part of Marriott Luxury Hotels Collection. It is often one of the most expensive Marriott in Waikiki. So, I thought it be a good baseline to compare. The rates I’m pulling are for the last weekend in March 2021.
Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts
Mastercard offers two separate rates: prepaid and traditional. The prepaid rate starts at $312.87 for a standard king room with no extra amenities. Standard rates begin at $472.51 for a standard room with either two double beds or one king bed. All rates include tax.
Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts cardholder amenities include:
- Complimentary continental or full breakfast for up to two
- Basic WiFi
- Daily $100 resort credit
- Personalized welcome amenity
Chase Luxury Hotel Collection
The rate for a standard king room through the Chase Luxury Hotel Collection starts a little higher than Mastercard at $473 including all taxes and fees. However, cardholder benefits include much more:
- A la Carte Breakfast for two at the Surf Lanai Restaurant
- One-time $100 resort credit for use at the spa, restaurant, or beach services
- Waived daily resort fee
- Complimentary internet access
- “VIP status”
- Space available room upgrade
- Early check-in/late check-out based upon availability
American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts
The American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts rate is the cheapest at about $424 including all taxes and fees. Cardholder amenities are pretty similar to those of the Chase Luxury Hotel Collection and are, in some ways, better. Those amenities include:
- Daily breakfast for two
- Room upgrades available at check-in
- Early, noon check-in when available
- Guaranteed 4:00 pm check-out
- Complimentary WiFi
- One-time $100 property credit
- Earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points
Other Considerations
Rates and amenities are fairly similar across the three different programs. However, the Chase Luxury Hotel Collection and the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts programs are clearly better than the Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts program. But, to gain access to Chase’s program, you need to have a Sapphire Reserve, which comes with a $550 annual fee. And, of course, the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program requires you to carry an Amex Platinum which also has a $550 annual fee. The Mastercard program, however, isn’t connected to any particular card. And, with the new Freedom Flex (or the existing Citi Double) you can get access to it without an annual fee!
Either way, if you have access to even two or three of the above programs, its great cross-check all that you have access to. After all, they don’t all include the same hotels. For example, both the Mastercard and American Express versions include the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, while the Chase version does not.
Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts, Final Thoughts
Personally, I have access to two of these portals. After all, I currently have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard in my collection. I used to have the Amex Platinum, but I couldn’t justify the annual fee on that card. And with my plan to get rid of the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard, being able to get the Chase Freedom Flex would allow me to keep this great feature without the annual fee.