Chase Fairmont Visa Signature Review (discontinued as of August 2017)
Updated June 15, 2017. Note: as of January 2017, this card is no longer available to new applicants. As of August, 2017, the existing card members are given a replacement Chase card such as Sapphire Preferred.
The Facts
Collection A 25,000 30,000 35,000
Collection B 35,000 40,000 45,000
Collection C 45,000 50,000 55,000
Collection D 65,000 70,000 75,000
The Math
If you think the complimentary Fairmont Premier status is worth more than the $95 annual fee, keeping this card is a no-brainer. The other great feature which alone may be worth the annual fee is the primary rental car collision coverage.
As for whether or not it is worthwhile to spend $12K to get the annual free night is up to how much a Fairmont Rewards point values. If you value a point at 1 cent, then your one free night essentially costs $120 since since if you use Fidelity Amex instead you earn 2% rewards instead of 1%. For many people that is a steal. Of course, if some of the spending goes to Fairmont hotels to earn 5x points, it is even sweeter. Also if you are working on getting the Fairmont Platinum status but are short of stay credits, spending another $3K on the card will get you two stay credits, which is not a bad deal at all.
The Conclusion
Fairmont Visa could be another card to keep in drawer while paying the annual fee - just like Chase IHG Rewards MC, Chase Marriott Premier Visa, or Chase Hyatt Visa. For customers who stay or plan to stay at Fairmont hotels, charging at least $12K to earn the annual free night or $15K to earn two stay credits will make a lot of sense. Fairmont Visa is currently rated as one of Top 10 Credit Cards for Perks.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $0 for the first year, and $95 thereafter
- Signup Bonus: two free nights including breakfasts for two at any Fairmont hotels except Fairmont Heritage Place after spending $3,000 within 3 months of new account opening. Each breakfast certificate is in form of dining credit towards breakfasts, up to $25. All certificates expire after one year of issuance. There is no capacity control (if there is a basic room available for sale you can use the free night certificate) except for two top of line properties - The Plaza in New York and The Savoy in London. However, certain blackout dates apply at each properties. The Plaza also has additional limits. Please see fairmont.com/cardlimitedaccess for details. Another great thing to note is that you can use the suite upgrade certificate you receive through the complimentary Fairmont Premier status (see details below) towards your free nights - in this way your free nights will be in a suite instead of a basic room. Examples of amazing redemptions include but are not limited to the newest member of the chain The Grand Del Mar in San Diego (where a suite can run you over $1,000 per night), Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui (where the basic room type is a suite that costs over $500 per night), Fairmont Orchid in Big Island Hawaii (suites from $800 per night), The Plaza in New York (rates from $500 per night, capacity control applies, only one certificate can be applied per stay and not combinable with the suite upgrade), Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (suites from $800 per night), Fairmont Banff Springs (suites from $900 per night), and The Savoy in London (suites from $900 per night, capacity control applies).
- Rewards: 5x Fairmont, 2x airlines, car rental, transit, and commuting, and 1x everywhere else
- Best Use of Fairmont Rewards points: When this card was launched, we speculated that Fairmont was overhauling its rewards system. However it turned out that Fairmont did not and the rewards points you earn from the Chase card are simply linked to Ovation Rewards certificates. You can redeem points for stays at Fairmont, Raffles, and Swiss hotels according to their Ovation Collection levels and room types or for gift cards of a variety of merchants. Redeeming for gift cards or airfare gives a fixed value at 1 cent per point while you may (or may not) get better value with Ovation redemption. Chase maintained a page for Ovation redemption details for a while but it has been pulled and you won't be able to find the information on Chase/Fairmont/Ovation websites. We make this information available to you here:
Collection A 25,000 30,000 35,000
Collection B 35,000 40,000 45,000
Collection C 45,000 50,000 55,000
Collection D 65,000 70,000 75,000
- Complimentary Fairmont Premier status. Premier is the mid-tier status of Fairmont's frequent guest program President's Club and is very valuable - you receive one room upgrade certificate, one suite upgrade certificate, two $25 dinner/lunch/spa certificates, one third night free certificate each year, and other benefits like free internet. To many Fairmont guests, the free Premier status is worth much more than the credit card's $95 annual fee. If you are an existing Fairmont Premier member, or every year you earn Premier status through stay/night, you will receive one Fairmont Gold floor upgrade certificate plus two $25 dining certificates ($50 total) instead. If you are an Fairmont Platinum (top-tier) member, you will receive one Fairmont Gold floor upgrade certificate plus four $25 dining certificates ($100 total) each year instead.
- Other Benefits: (1) One stay credit toward Fairmont Platinum status for every $7,500 spent, up to two stay credits per year. (2) One annual free night upon anniversary after $12K spending. (3) Waived foreign transaction fees. (4) Primary rental car collision coverage. Note while most credit cards provide rental car insurance, they are secondary, meaning your personal insurance's collision damage coverage kicks in before the credit card's. Please see our featured review on credit cards that come with primary rental car insurance for details.
- History: In April 2015, Chase removed the Lounge Club membership benefit from this card (it used to be a free membership plus two free visits per year and $27 per visit thereafter). With the merger of Fairmont and Accor, Chase discontinued the card to new applicants in January 2017. As of August 2017, existing card members were given a replacement Chase card such as Sapphire Preferred.
The Math
If you think the complimentary Fairmont Premier status is worth more than the $95 annual fee, keeping this card is a no-brainer. The other great feature which alone may be worth the annual fee is the primary rental car collision coverage.
As for whether or not it is worthwhile to spend $12K to get the annual free night is up to how much a Fairmont Rewards point values. If you value a point at 1 cent, then your one free night essentially costs $120 since since if you use Fidelity Amex instead you earn 2% rewards instead of 1%. For many people that is a steal. Of course, if some of the spending goes to Fairmont hotels to earn 5x points, it is even sweeter. Also if you are working on getting the Fairmont Platinum status but are short of stay credits, spending another $3K on the card will get you two stay credits, which is not a bad deal at all.
The Conclusion
Fairmont Visa could be another card to keep in drawer while paying the annual fee - just like Chase IHG Rewards MC, Chase Marriott Premier Visa, or Chase Hyatt Visa. For customers who stay or plan to stay at Fairmont hotels, charging at least $12K to earn the annual free night or $15K to earn two stay credits will make a lot of sense. Fairmont Visa is currently rated as one of Top 10 Credit Cards for Perks.