Ritz Carlton Credit Card Benefits

Earlier this week Chase decided to freshen up the Ritz Carlton Credit Card Benefits. The extra perks come with an additional $55 to an already high annual fee, but it’s worth it. The Ritz Carlton Credit Card now has an annual fee of $450 (not waived for first year) which is in line with the majority of high end credit cards; such as the Citi Prestige and American Express Platinum. Let’s see what this $450 get you.

Ritz Carlton Credit Card Benefits:

• Three Complimentary Nights at any participating Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton^® hotel after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • This is a great sign-up bonus since you can easily get a value of more than $1,000 for those three nights; depending where you use them.
• $300 annual travel credit to use for qualifying airline purchases such as seat upgrades, baggage fees and preferred lounge memberships or passes.
  • I don’t have experience with using travel credit with Chase. However, I’ve read in many places that you will need to call Chase in order to process the credit. This is a cumbersome process unlike Citi’s and American Express automatic rebate process.

• $100 hotel credit toward dining, spa or other hotel recreational activities on paid stays of two nights or longer.
  • If you tend to stay in a Ritz Carlton property during your travels; this is a nice perk.

• $100 Airline Credit when you book a qualifying airline itinerary with The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card atvisadiscountair.com/ritzcarltoncard. Your card saves you $100 on the total cost of between 2 and 5 qualifying round-trip, domestic coach airline tickets purchased on the same itinerary.
  • This is a great benefit to take advantage of whenever you’re booking revenue flights for 2 – 5 passengers on a single itinerary. The great thing is, there’s no limit on how many times to use this benefit.
• Earn 5 points per $1 on Ritz-Carlton and partner hotel stays
• Earn 2 points per $1 spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, and at car rental agencies and restaurants.
• Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• 10% Annual Points Premium on Ritz-Carlton Rewards points earned through card purchases made during the year.
  • This means that you’re essentialy going to earn 5.5 points on Ritz Carlton stays, 2.2 points on airlines tickets, restaurant and car rentals and 1.1 points on everything else.
• $100 statement credit towards Global Entry or TSA Pre ✓^®
  • This is a usual benefit that comes with many high end cards and it’s something you should definitely take advantage of.
• EARN 10,000 BONUS POINTS when you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • This is not a big deal since awards range between 30,000 and 70,000 points per night
• Automatic Gold Elite status your first account year. Maintain your Gold Elite status by spending $10,000 on purchases your first account year and each account year thereafter
• Achieve Platinum Elite status when you spend $75,000 on purchases each account year.

• Receive a complimentary annual Priority Pass™ Select membership with access to over 900 VIP airport lounges in over 400 cities worldwide (~$399 retail value)
  • This is also similar to other high end cards. However, Priority Pass Select membership through Citi Prestige is still the best, because you receive guesting privileges where you can bring in 2 guests or entire immediate family. Otherwise, each guest will cost you $27.

• 24-HOUR J.P. Morgan Premier Concierge
• No foreign transaction fees

Bottom Line:

I think this is another high end card with a high annual fee of $450 that is not waived in the first year; however, it might be a good idea to get it for at least one year. The three night sign-up bonus can be easily worth more than double the annual fee. Additionally, you can get a few more hundred dollars out of it when you use the $100 airline credit, $300 travel credit, $100 hotel credit and $100 Global Entry credit.

If you have any questions comment below or tweet me @pointspointers or email me at pointspointers@gmail.com