I don’t know that I am a stereotypical Amex cardholder (member since 2012) but I certainly love perks like that and will always check for FHR listed hotels when booking travel.

Reality is that you want a couple of benefits, maybe airport lounge or late checkouts. That's not worth the Platinum card fee -- but if you are saving $25/month with Uber, getting your free Four Seasons breakfast, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, etc, suddenly you're making money by paying $1000 for a charge card. For me, I pay for a Hilton and Delta card. I basically end up with a completely $0 3-5 day getaway annually, with a value that is well above the baseline 2% cash back.

Other brands charge lower fees, but make you use captive portals for travel. Sometimes that hurts your earnings with the hotel and airline programs, which is meaningful to some folks. Personally, I find value in having airline and hotel "status" for preferred boarding and little perks.

My salary is decent enough compared to the general population (>$200k yr), so does my SO. But when we travel it never occur to us to check FHR -- those places are too expensive, and we didn't see value in those "perks".

Chances are that your income is much higher than mine, or at least you are much more willing to spend even at the same income level.