Access to Amex Platinum-Like Hotel Benefits... With Your United Chase Card

Teaser on chase.com account

Recently I noticed a new link when I was reviewing my Chase credit card accounts online. United MileagePlus cardholders ($95 annual fee) have access to the Chase "Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection".  Much like the American Express Platinum Card's ($450 annual fee) "Fine Hotels & Resorts Program", the Chase hotel booking portal offers a range of perks at participating hotels:

• Daily breakfast for two
• Room upgrade (if available at check-in)
• Early check-in
• Late check-out
• An additional special amenity specific to the property

Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection landing page

This is a way to get some additional value tacked on to your hotel stay, especially if you're staying at a property where you don't currently have elite status.  The portfolio of properties in Chase's program appears to be more extensive than what I've seen in the Amex program.  It appears that many Kimpton hotels participate along with others like Mandarin Oriental.

To get a glimpse of the portfolio, I ran a search for a hotel in Boston and there were several hotels listed including those pictured below.

Partial listing of Boston hotels in Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection

Bottom Line:
The rates were comparable to the best available rate on the respective hotel's direct booking site.  However, generally the AAA rate was lower if offered but not available through the Chase portal.  You'll have to weigh the benefits of Chase hotel perks vs. other discounts and perks available to you through direct booking channels.  Keep in mind some hotels will not offer loyalty program points if you don't book directly through their own site.

It looks like this could be a good way to get access to additional perks at a lower annual fee than the Amex Platinum Card, but of course the Amex Platinum does offer a host of other benefits as well.  If you're an existing Chase MileagePlus cardholder, it can't to add the "Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection" portal to your hotel deal research routine.

Has anyone booked through the Chase "Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection" portal?  What additional value did you receive?  Any downside?