Never use American Express Travel to make reservations for hotels. Platinum American Express benefits include Hilton Honors™ Gold Status and Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite Status; however, Hilton Honors™ Gold Status benefits will be negated if booked by American Express Platinum Travel. American Express Platinum Travel uses sites like Hotels.com, Expedia, Priceline, etc. to book hotel reservations. Hilton Honors considers this as a third-party booking and benefits granted Gold or above status are null and void (i.e. No points, No Breakfast, No upgrades, No Discounts, etc.) Getting Gold Status is useless if you book a reservation through American Express Travel. See excerpt from the Hilton letter I received: "Gold member benefits apply to reservations made directly with Hilton; however, these benefits do not apply to bookings made through third-party sites. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and recommend booking directly via the Hilton website for your future stays." The corrections: 1- Hilton recognizing all Gold status customers; or 2-Amercan Express making the reservation directly with the hotel; 3- Use Marriott ( ask if Benefits are applied to you reservation); 4-Never use American Express Travel and book directly with the hotel; and 5-Use the third-party site for your booking and know no benefits apply. This may add steps for you travel plans, but it may be worth it. read more