Amex Travel App puts hotels first, flights lag behind

American Express has consolidated parts of amextravel.com into a new Amex Travel App™ for cardmembers in 2025—but the experience isn’t a perfect copy. Hotels, airport lounges, wishlists and in-app chat work smoothly, while cruise and vacation rental booking st

For American Express cardmembers used to planning travel on a phone. the new Amex Travel App™ sounds like exactly what they’ve been waiting for. In 2025. Amex merged parts of the Amex Travel website concept into a smartphone app. shifting inspiration and bookings into a more mobile-friendly workflow.

But once you start using it, the trade-offs show up quickly. The app feels built for hotel hunting, lounge discovery and day-of trip management. When it comes to cruises, vacation homes and—most importantly—flight booking reliability, it doesn’t fully keep pace.

The Amex Travel App is separate from the main Amex card account app. To use it, you have to download it either through the iOS App Store or Google Play. Once it’s installed. you can jump into it from the Amex card management app by going to the “Membership” tab and selecting “Book Travel.” The two apps are integrated. but they still act as distinct platforms.

After logging in, the app opens up four tabs: Inspiration, Wishlists, Book and Trips. The Inspiration tab pulls in a tailored mix of articles, guides and trends, including destination guides and hotel lists. Wishlists let you create your own tailored lists of hotel properties—complete with a title and description you choose—and then add hotels as you browse. The Book tab is where you can actually reserve flights, hotels or car rentals through the app. The Trips tab is designed to help you see and manage upcoming. past and canceled trips made either in the app or on the amextravel.com website.

There’s one limit that matters immediately for anyone planning a bigger itinerary: you cannot book cruises or vacation rentals through the Amex Travel App. Those are only available on the amextravel.com website.

Beyond the travel tabs, the app also has a profile section. There. you can view your Membership Rewards points balance. access travel benefits specific to your card. and find nearby airport lounges. The profile area also lets you update your loyalty program numbers, flight preferences and companion details. It even includes in-app chat with an Amex representative.

If you hold a card with access to Fine Hotels + Resorts and/or The Hotel Collection—The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay—you can see those properties in the app. Reservations can be paid with an eligible Amex card or with Membership Rewards points.

For cards and points earners. Amex Travel App booking comes with a set of bonus Membership Rewards rules that depend on what you’re booking and which card you use. Booking through the app earns bonus Membership Rewards points on multiple popular Amex travel cards. with one highlighted example being the Consumer Amex Platinum: on up to $500. 000 of airfare purchases per calendar year. you earn 5 points per dollar spent on airfare booked through the Amex Platinum tier structure—then 1 point per dollar spent after that threshold.

Amex Travel’s flight math carries another wrinkle. The app can be used to book flights, but the cost can be different than booking directly. The reporting tied to these numbers says Amex Travel flights cost over 10% more on average than booking directly. based on research. It also points out that Amex Platinum cardmembers can get 5 points per dollar spent on airfare booked directly with airlines on the Amex Platinum. and 3 points per dollar spent on airfare booked directly with airlines on the Amex Gold.

Membership Rewards redemptions through the app also come with a reality check. You’ll always receive a 1-cent-per-point value when redeeming Membership Rewards points through the Amex Travel App or website. With June 2026 valuations placing Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece when transferred to one of Amex’s valuable loyalty program partners. the general guidance is that redeeming this way usually won’t be the best use—though it can still be a simple option.

Where the Amex Travel App clearly wins is in the smaller moments that make planning feel less like work. One standout feature is “Find Airport Lounges. ” which for Amex Platinum cardmembers pulls up the nearest airport and shows what’s available. including operating hours and where lounges are located within the airport. When the lounge search is used for a different airport. the app can do that too—such as pulling up available lounges at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

There’s also a Centurion Lounge feature tied to check-in. The app can provide an eligibility code so you can start your Centurion Lounge check-in early. The idea is to reduce time in the entry line by getting you into the queue as soon as possible. The experience described here is that this feature hasn’t been used yet. but it’s framed as useful for crowded terminals.

Hotels are where the app feels most natural. The app offers curated inspiration. and it lets you tailor your browsing by selecting vacation types such as “beachfront. ” “boutique. ” or “amazing restaurant.” When you find a hotel. you can quickly review policies—including whether they apply to card benefits or special offers—and other property details.

Statement credits can also be applied through the app. The app shows the full value of statement credits offered by eligible cards you hold, and if a statement credit is available, you can apply it to a booking through the app.

An example given: an Amex Platinum cardmember receives up to a $600 annual hotel credit per calendar year as a statement credit—up to $300 semiannually—on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings made through American Express Travel when paying with the Amex Platinum (enrollment required; THC stays require a two-night minimum). The app allows viewing this benefit.

What it doesn’t show is progress. While you can apply an eligible credit to a booking. you can’t view how much of a credit you’ve already used inside the Amex Travel App. To track that progress. the reporting says you have to switch to the Amex account and navigate to the “Rewards & Benefits” section.

The app also keeps a key support option close by. It offers live chat with a dedicated “travel specialist” about bookings and statement credits—so you don’t have to rely on opening a laptop for live help.

Still, the biggest friction point shows up in the booking flow itself.

The Amex Travel App falls short in several ways. It can’t book or even support research for cruises or vacation homes—those actions are available only on the amextravel.com website. It also can be slow when booking flights. In a test of booking flights on the app. the experience redirected to a mobile version of the amextravel.com website rather than a fully app-first booking system. Flight searches also had trouble loading over a cell connection, requiring Wi-Fi to see results.

Hotels and rental car searches performed differently in testing, with consistency regardless of connection strength. But flights were described as slower and less reliable, and the conclusion drawn from that experience is that booking a flight via the app doesn’t feel comfortable in the same way.

There’s another missing convenience that frequent travelers notice fast: map views for hotels. The reporting says it wasn’t possible to view hotels on a map in the Amex Travel App. That’s described as a disappointment because map-based hotel browsing is treated as a valued website feature.

So, should cardmembers use the app or stick to the website?. The recommendation splits cleanly: use the Amex Travel App for brainstorming hotel stays. viewing property details and perks. discovering inspiration. locating airport lounges near you or at a specific airport. and quickly managing upcoming. past and canceled trips. Use amextravel.com for booking or researching cruises or vacation home rentals. making flight reservations. tracking statement credit progress. and viewing hotels on a map.

It’s also acknowledged that some elements work the same across both platforms. Live chat functions the same, and booking hotels and car rentals is described as similarly easy. In the same set of tests, booking flights is still described as slower and less reliable in the app.

Price outcomes also matter to travelers deciding where to book. The reporting says prices were the same whether booking through the website or the app, but it adds a caution: prices through Amex Travel may differ from those if you book directly with an airline, hotel or car rental company.

In the end, the Amex Travel App reads less like a full replacement and more like a smarter companion. It’s strongest as a research and inspiration tool, especially for hotels, lounge discovery, wishlists and on-the-go trip management. But it isn’t meant to replace the website entirely. Flight booking can feel slower and less reliable. and key tasks—cruise reservations. vacation rentals. statement credit tracking. and map-based hotel search—remain website-only.

For now, the message for travelers is straightforward: use the app to plan and manage while you’re moving, but keep the website within reach for the parts that still demand the most dependable booking experience.

Amex Travel App American Express Travel amextravel.com Membership Rewards airport lounges Fine Hotels + Resorts The Hotel Collection statement credits flight booking