The Edit vs. FHR Comparison in Las Vegas

• Two nights at Mandalay Bay using Chase The Edit
• One night at The Palazzo using American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts

Same city. Similar timing. Very different value.

The goal was not just to stay somewhere nice. The goal was to see how these benefits worked in real life after room rates, resort fees, property credits, breakfast benefits, late checkout, and overall experience were all factored in.

What The Edit Promises

• $100 on-property credit
• Daily breakfast for two, although we learned this often does not apply at many Las Vegas properties
• Potential room upgrade
• Late checkout when available
• Luxury hotel positioning

The $100 credit was easy to use.

This was probably the simplest part of the Mandalay Bay stay. There were plenty of eligible venues across MGM Resorts where we could charge purchases back to the room and use the credit.

We used:

• $55 at Tom’s Watch Bar at New York-New York for dinner
• The remainder at Seabreeze Café at Mandalay Bay for breakfast the next morning

That part worked well. No awkward process. No complicated redemption step. We charged the meals to the room, and the credit did what it was supposed to do.

The base rate made sense.

Mandalay Bay often prices lower than some of the more central Strip luxury properties, which made the booking feel reasonable upfront.

For this kind of credit, that matters. The closer the room rate gets to the value of the credit, the easier it is to turn the benefit into real savings instead of just an excuse to spend more.

The resort fee caught us by surprise.

This was our miss.

The resort fee was pre-charged, meaning the Chase credit tied to The Edit could have applied to it — but we didn’t fully catch that in time.

Our total came to about $340 including the resort fee, meaning we overshot the $250 credit. Looking back, we may have been able to choose a different property, like Park MGM, and stay closer to fully covered by the credit.

That is one of the biggest lessons from this stay:

With The Edit, you need to understand exactly what is being prepaid and what the credit can cover before you book.

This also worked differently than our FHR stay, where the prepaid amount covered the base rate and taxes, while the resort fee was charged separately by the property.

The room upgrade was minimal.

We technically received an upgrade, but it was not especially meaningful.

Our view faced the airport, and if we looked hard left, we could see the new A’s stadium under construction and a little bit of the Strip. It was still nice to get something, but functionally, the room felt very similar to what we booked.

This is why we never like to count on upgrades as guaranteed value. They are nice when they happen, but they should not be the reason the math works.

The location is a trade-off.

Mandalay Bay is the furthest south resort on the Strip.

For this trip, that was not a problem. We had never stayed there before, and we enjoyed spending more time around Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur. We also used the trams and did plenty of walking, which we actually enjoy.

But the location does matter.

Mandalay Bay can be a great fit if you want to stay south Strip or spend more time around that end of Las Vegas. If most of your plans are centered around Bellagio, Caesars, Venetian, or Wynn, the distance becomes more noticeable.

What FHR Promises

• $100 property credit
• Daily breakfast for two, up to $65
• Guaranteed 4pm late checkout
• Room upgrade when available

The breakfast benefit is real money.

Breakfast for two at Palazzo is not symbolic. In Las Vegas, it can easily be worth $50 to $70 per day.

We used our breakfast credit at Yardbird, which has become one of our favorite spots at Venetian and Palazzo. We already liked Yardbird for dinner, and breakfast was outstanding too.

We did overspend the credit slightly, and tip was not included, but the overall experience still felt like strong value.

This is where FHR really separates itself from The Edit in Las Vegas. A true breakfast benefit can change the math quickly, especially if you were going to eat on property anyway.

Guaranteed 4pm checkout is a major benefit in Las Vegas.

We intentionally booked Palazzo as our last night because we love the guaranteed 4pm checkout.

On this trip, our flight was at 3:45pm, so we did not fully maximize it. But on other Las Vegas trips with later flights, that benefit has been huge.

Instead of checking out in the morning, storing bags, and wandering around waiting to leave, you can actually use the room for most of the day.

That can make departure day feel much less stressful.

The standard room already feels premium.

Standard rooms at Palazzo are spacious suites, and that makes a big difference.

• A true bedroom area
• A large bathroom
• A separate living area
• Plenty of space to relax

We have stayed at Palazzo several times and have always been impressed by the rooms. The layout does not change much from stay to stay, but the view can. With FHR, we have consistently been given Strip-view rooms.

Again, we do not like to assign guaranteed value to upgrades, but the base room at Palazzo already gives the stay a more premium feel.

The overall experience felt more polished.

Palazzo is more expensive than Mandalay Bay, but it also feels like a more premium stay.

That matters if you want the hotel itself to be part of the experience. If you plan to spend time relaxing in the room, enjoying the property, eating on site, or using the late checkout, FHR can feel like more than just a discount.

It can genuinely improve the trip.

The Edit works best when:

• You want a lower nightly rate
• You are okay with the two-night minimum for the $250 credit
• You understand the $100 on-property credit is spread across the stay
• You do not need guaranteed late checkout
• The prepaid total lines up cleanly with the credit

We will absolutely use our two $250 Edit credits again in 2026, most likely in Las Vegas because the value can still be strong.

But we will pay closer attention next time to the total prepaid amount, resort fees, and whether another property would let us maximize the credit more cleanly.

FHR shines when:

• Breakfast matters
• Late checkout improves your trip
• You value room size and comfort
• You want the credit to work on a one-night stay
• You will actually use the hotel as part of the experience

For us, Palazzo through FHR felt like the stronger overall value even with a higher nightly rate.

The breakfast benefit, guaranteed 4pm checkout, suite-style room, and overall property experience made the stay feel meaningfully better.