J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Card is now a Visa Infinite, with increased signup bonus, benefits, and annual fees

8/8/2016

Over the weekend, the Ritz-Carlton website was updated to reflect an updated Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card. See the Visa Infinite logo? Yes, this is the first Visa Infinite product issued by Chase, and also among the major U.S. financial institutions. Previously, the only known U.S. Visa Infinite product was City National Bank's Crystal Card. Let's take a look at the changes from the Visa Signature version.

Increased Signup Bonus: Three free nights at any Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton hotel, after you spend $5,000 within 3 months of new account opening, and 10,000 points after you add an authorized user and make the first purchase within 3 months of new account opening. Note that the current signup offer on the Visa Signature version is two free nights at Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton. The free night certificates will expire after 12 months. Keep in mind that you can't redeem these certificates at 13 top-tier (Tier 5) properties including The Ritz-Carlton in Bachelor Gulch, Naples, Miami South Beach, Miami Bal Harbour, Miami Key Biscayne, New York Central Park, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Shanghai Pudong, and Dubai. However, there are still some amazing properties that are Tier 1-4, such as the ones in Laguna Niguel (rates from $449 per night), Half Moon Bay (from $495), San Fransisco (from $399), Washington DC Georgetown (from $369), Aruba (from $359), and Vienna (from $360). A Tier 4 Ritz-Carlton will cost 60,000 points per night, so this new offer may be considered as 190,000 points at most. However, we still think there is obvious difference between this offer and the actual 190K points, as the latter will offer more flexibility and no expiration date as long as you keep your Ritz-Carlton Rewards account active every 24 months. Proceed to Application Landing Page to find out more.
Increased Benefits: (1) Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership in lieu of Lounge Club that is offered by the Visa Signature version. Priority Pass Select covers the same lounges in Lounge Club plus an additional 400+ lounges. At this point, we are not sure about the number of guests that will receive free access and if an authorized user will receive a separate membership. (2) Reimbursement for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85) application every four years. (3) Visa Infinite $100 companion discount per trip on domestic round-trip coach class tickets for your companion(s) on your reservation. (4) There have been discussions on whether the Visa Infinite version will continue to receive three Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge upgrade certificates, as the new webpage and fine prints don't include this benefit. However, as of now, new Visa Infinite card members still receive this benefit.
Increased Annual Fees: The annual fee is $450 on the Visa Infinite, $55 more than the Visa Signature's. However, the existing Visa Signature card members will be grandfathered in for the $395 annual fee (we don't know for how long though) and upgraded to Visa Infinite to enjoy the extra benefits.
Worth it? If you make use of the $300 annual airline credit (on incidentals), your effective annual fee becomes $150. With that, you you receive Priority Pass Select membership, three Ritz-Carlton club-level upgrade certificates, Ritz-Carlton & Marriott Gold with $10K annual spending, Visa Infinite $100 companion ticket discount, and other great features such as primary rental card coverage, waived foreign transaction fees, embedded EMV chip, and Global Entry credit. We think this card is one of the best cards for signup bonus, perks, and protection.
Bottom Line: If you are an existing Visa Signature card member, you will get the best of both worlds - you should be able to request the upgrade and take advantage of the enhanced benefits (Chase is also likely to upgrade all members in the future). If you don't have a Ritz-Carlton Visa and would like to get one, you probably should go with the Visa Infinite version for the increased signup bonus alone, even though Chase still keeps the Visa Signature version here (only two free nights upon signup).

9 Comments

Thomas

8/10/2016 07:37:34 pm

It will be so wonderful this is a different card with signature version, so we can get the sign on again:)

Dr. Credit Card

8/20/2016 11:24:43 pm

http://www.proof-reading.services link

8/19/2016 05:56:31 am

Thanks a lot for the information about visa card to have and know what you can do for your wellness.

Philip Wu

8/20/2016 04:53:55 pm

I'm assuming that all current holders of the RC Signature Visa will be charged the new $450 fee on their anniversary and that staying at the Signature level with the lower fee will not be an option.

Dr. Credit Card

8/20/2016 11:25:34 pm

That's certainly very likely. But we don't know how it will be implemented.

Miles

9/7/2016 06:58:55 pm

My card was upgraded to Visa Infinite, and I was informed that I would be grandfathered in at the old $395 AF.

I am curious if the Priority Pass includes guests or not. Anybody heard data points yet?

Dr. Credit Card

9/8/2016 07:09:32 am

Miles, the guest policy of Priority Pass Select remains the same - you and your guests will be free.

Richard Voit

9/29/2016 07:17:38 pm

RITZ READ THE FINE PRINT -

1) There is a whole class of hotels (i.e. Ritz Carlton Reserve) where points may not be redeemed! For these hotels you have to go to cash first - my 460,000 points were good for exactly one night at Dorado Beach.
2) If you work for someone and have to book your hotel through your corporate travel service, Club Level Upgrades are not permitted. For the Club upgrade you have to book through Ritz' web site (and in my case pay about $100 more/night)
AARGH I got screwed and want to warn others. The Chase service is superb, though, so I'm closing the Ritz account in favor of Chase Sapphire. Stay away from this card.

Dr. Credit Card

9/29/2016 09:58:07 pm

Richard, thank you for sharing your experience with us. Sorry to hear that you don't like what this card offers. It may not work for everyone. Even though I hate the fact that Ritz-Carlton created a line of Reserve resorts that you can't redeem your points, I do understand where they are from and that there is still value in Ritz/Marriott points. However, as the return of rewards from this card is not that great, I wouldn't use it unless I am on the $10K to re-qualify Gold. Now with SPG Gold that can be matched to Marriott Gold, I most won't charge on this card at all. I would also argue that the $150 effective annual fee (I am grandfathered in with $95) could still be a bargain for some considering all those perks. Even though the Club upgrades have to be used on a special rate (which could be more or less than BAR), it may still be useful combined with the $100 credit for two-night stays.

J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Card is now a Visa Infinite, with increased signup bonus, benefits, and annual fees

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