Chase J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards Visa Infinite (before August 2018)
Updated July 28, 2018. As of August 2018, this card has been discontinued to new applicants. The existing cardmembers will continue to keep the card until further notice. This review is for the updated product introduced in August 2016; for the Visa Signature version visit our old review.
The Facts
The Math
If you can make use of the $300 annual airline credit, the effective annual fee becomes a very reasonable $150. For that, you receive four major travel perks including three annual Ritz-Carlton club-level upgrade certificates, Ritz-Carlton & Marriott Gold with $10K annual spending, Priority Pass Select membership (for primary cardholder and authorized users), Visa Infinite $100 per trip companion discount, and other great features such as primary rental car coverage, car rental privileges, waived foreign transaction fees, embedded EMV chip, and Global Entry credit. However, we won't recommend using this card for your purchases other than Marriott/Ritz-Carlton and/or the $10K to maintain Gold status, because generally the rewards are worth less than 1 cent per point and you'd better off with a 2% cashback card (such as Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Visa) or a high earning miles/points card (such as Amex SPG or Amex EveryDay Preferred)
Visa Infinite version vs. Visa Signature version: For $55/year more than the Visa Signature, Visa Infinite offers an increased signup bonus and enhanced benefits including Priority Pass Select in lieu of Lounge Club, Global Entry credit, $100 companion ticket discount, and car rental privileges. For most travelers, the upgrade is worthwhile. 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.
To see how JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum Card, Amex Delta Reserve, Amex Hilton Aspire, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, JPM Ritz-Carlton, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, Diners Club Elite, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.
JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa vs. Amex Hilton Aspire: These are the two high-end hotel co-branded credit cards currently in the market, and both carry the same $450 annual fees and are packed with amazing features and perks. Let's break down the differences. (1) Annual airline incidental credits: $250 on Hilton Aspire vs. $300 on Ritz-Carlton Visa. Amex requires you to select a certain airline, but once set up, the reimbursement will be automatic. JPM doesn't have this limit but requires you to call in to request reimbursement. (2) Elite status: you have Hilton Diamond as long as having Hilton Aspire, while you have Ritz-Carlton/Marriott/SPG Gold for free for the first year and with $10K annual spending thereafter on the Ritz-Carlton Card. While either status guarantees lounge access at certain brands within their portfolio (Conrad/Hilton/DoubleTree/Curio/Tapestry vs. JW/Marriott/Renaissance/Autograph/Delta), Hilton Diamond is the top-tier status and the members usually receive better treatments in general. In addition, you don't need to spend with Hilton Aspire to maintain the Diamond status, while you need to spend $10K on Ritz-Carlton Visa to maintain the Gold status. For this one, we will give it to Hilton. (3) Hotel Benefits: one free weekend night + $250 resort credits from Hilton Aspire vs. three lounge upgrades for paid stays (up to 7 nights each) from Ritz-Carlton Visa. We will say this one is neck to neck, and it depends on how you travel and how much you are willing to pay. Hilton's free nights and $250 resort credits can easily be redeemed for reasonable value, as there are hundreds and thousands properties to be considered; on the luxury side of the spectrum, the free night could be worth $400 to over $1,000. On the other hand, if you are wealthy enough to stay a few times a year at Ritz-Carlton properties, the three lounge upgrades could be extremely valuable too, as there is no elite status to offer lounge access at Ritz-Carlton properties and upgrading to the lounge floor usually costs $150 to $400 per night. (4) Ritz-Carlton Visa provides a few valuable perks that are not available on Hilton Aspire, such as hotel privileges at 500+ Relais & Chateaux properties and over 1,000 other luxury properties worldwide through Visa Signature/Infinite Hotel Collection, $100 companion discount per trip on domestic economy class travel, and primary rental car collision coverage. (5) In terms of travel and consumer protection, Ritz-Carlton Visa has much more to offer, for example, travel delay, baggage delay, price protection, event ticket protection, etc. In the end, even though they are posed as direct competitors, each card has its own unique features which may be appeal to certain travelers. You decide which one to pick or just get both.
The Conclusion
After the May 2014 enhancement, we have recommended the Ritz-Carlton card to travelers very strongly - we would even pay the annual fees while keeping it in the drawer most of the time. With the August 2016 upgrade to Visa Infinite, we think it is getting even better for most travelers. Despite scored low in Rewards, it is rated #2 Best Credit Cards for Perks and #3 Best Credit Cards for Protection.
© 2018 DrCreditCard.net All rights reserved.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $450
- Signup Bonus: two free nights at any Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton hotel, after you spend $4,000 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. 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 New York Central Park, Bachelor Gulch, Naples, Miami South Beach, Miami Bal Harbour, Miami Key Biscayne, 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 Half Moon Bay (rates from $599 per night), San Fransisco (from $399), Laguna Niguel (from $479), Los Angeles (from $409), Washington DC (from $329), Georgetown Washington DC (from $409), Boston (from $345), Dallas (from $399), Charlotte (from $399), Reynolds Lake Oconee (from $309), Maui Kapalua (from $399), Cancun (from $299), Aruba (from $299), Hotel de la Paix in Geneva (from $475), Vienna (from $360), Herzliya (from $395), and Macau (from $460). This bonus is not available if you currently have this card or have received a signup bonus for this card in the past 24 months. Historical best bonus of this card: three free nights at Tier 1-4 hotels + 10,000 points.
- Application Landing Page
- Rewards: 5x Ritz-Carlton, Marriott and Starwood (over 5,500 hotels worldwide) , 2x airfare, car rental and dining, 1x everywhere else. You also receive 10% annual points bonus every year - this essentially makes the earning rate 5.5-2.2-1.1.
- Best Use of Ritz-Carlton Rewards points: Since the Ritz-Carlton is part of Marriott International, Ritz-Carlton points are essentially Marriott points. There are several great options for redeeming Marriott points. (1) You may redeem points for hotel stays or upgrades at over 4,000 Marriott portfolio hotels worldwide, including Ritz-Carlton, EDITION, JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Marriott, Renaissance, Delta, AC Hotels, Gaylord, Moxy, Courtyard, Fairfield, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites, Protea, Marriott Executive Apartments, and Marriott Vacation Club. (2) You may transfer Marriott points into frequent flyer miles, but the transfer rates are OK. For example, the best rate you get for United miles is 2.24:1 (112K points = 50K miles) and for Alaska, American, British, Delta etc. is 2.8:1 (140K points = 50K miles). (3) The best value for redeeming Marriott points is perhaps the hotel+air travel package where you get 7 free nights plus a certain number of airline miles. Even though the four package charts look very complicated, this option essentially allows you transfer points to miles at 1:1.1 for United Airlines, 1:1 for 13 airline partners (including Alaska, American, British, Delta, Southwest, etc.), 1:0.7 for 26 airline partners, or 1:0.5 for one airline partner, when you book a 7-night awards stay. Undoubtedly, this is an extremely valuable option; however, the problem is that you need a lot of points for one single redemption (200K to 540K). (4) With the merger of Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts and before the two frequent guest programs fully integrate, you may also transfer Marriott points to SPG points at a 3:1 ratio, which allows you to redeem points at Starwood hotel stays as well as for transfer to 30+ SPG's airline partners. Please see our featured review for details of SPG program. As SPG points may be transferred into most its airline partner miles at 1:1.25 ratio, when you transfer Marriott points to SPG points and then to frequent flyer miles, the ratio is essentially 2.4:1 (e.g. 120K Marriott points = 50K miles), a little better than Marriott's own formula with the exception of United Airlines.
- Ritz-Carlton Benefits: (1) Three certificates for club-level room upgrade at Ritz-Carlton hotels each year, for each stay up to 7 nights. Since Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge access is not offered for free to any Ritz-Carlton or Marriott elites and you have to pay quite a premium for it (mostly $200 to $400 per night for two guests), this benefit could be quite valuable. (2) $100 hotel credit for each stay of two+ nights at Ritz-Carlton hotels, which can be combined with club-level upgrades. (3) Complimentary Ritz-Carlton Gold status for the first year and can be maintained with $10K spending per account year thereafter, and Ritz-Carlton Gold is essentially the same as Marriott Gold. Marriott Gold is normally achieved by staying 50 nights a year and can be very valuable - you get an upgrade to a better room (suites and Ritz-Carlton club-level rooms are excluded), complimentary lounge access or continental breakfasts at JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Marriott, and Delta hotels (resorts are excluded), and free internet. (4) Starting May 2014, you will also receive Ritz-Carlton & Marriott Platinum status if you spend $75,000 each account year. However, we wouldn't recommend spending that much to achieve the Platinum status because a) the earning rate on general spending is not that great and b) the extra benefits for Platinum over Gold don't justify an extra $65K spending.
- Other Benefits: (1) $300 airline incidental credit each calendar year, similar to Amex Platinum's. The difference is that you don't need to designate a single airline like with Amex but you will need to call J.P. Morgan to get credit (Amex has it set up automatically). If you make use of this benefit, your effective annual fee becomes $150. (2) Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership for unlimited airport lounge access for you and your guests. The authorized users on your account will receive Priority Pass Select memberships as well. Please see our featured review to learn more about airport lounge access. (3) Visa Infinite $100 companion discount per trip for 2-5 domestic round-trip coach class tickets on your reservation. Even though the terms says that primary cardholder must be one of the ticketed passengers, there are reports confirming that authorized users also enjoy this benefit for free. Visit visadiscountair.com/ritzcarltoncard to use this benefit. (4) Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection which offers perks including daily complimentary breakfasts for two, room upgrades upon availability, late checkout upon availability, $25 food and beverage credit per stay, free room wi-fi, and VIP amenities, at over 900 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. You may book a hotel on VisaSignatureHotels.com and the rates are the same as the Best Available Rates (BAR, refundable flexible rates set by the hotel). (5) Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection which covers a subset (200+) of Visa Signature hotels but offers an extra property specific perk like a $75 food and beverage credit or a $100 spa/hotel/rate credit per stay. You may book a hotel a VisaInfiniteHotels.com, and the rates are the same as BAR. (6) Visa Infinite Privileges at Relais & Chateaux (a collection of 500+ high-end luxury boutique hotels worldwide): a VIP welcome at all hotels (unique to each property) and complimentary breakfasts at 120+ participating hotels. Visit relaischateaux.com/visainfinite-us for details. You will also be accelerated to its Club 5C status after staying 2 nights in a 12-month period. Relais & Chateaux's Club 5C is by-invitation only if you don't have a Visa Infinite and normally requires staying 15 nights per year; perks include room upgrades upon availability, and "Discovery Privilege" unique to each property. (7) Visa Infinite Car Rental Privileges at Avis, National, and SilverCar. (8) Reimbursement for one Global Entry application fee ($100) every four years. (9) Waived foreign transaction fees with an embedded EMV chip. (10) Primary rental car collision damage waiver - please see our featured review on credit cards that come with primary rental car insurance for details. (11) 24/7 J.P. Morgan Premier Concierge. (12) Exclusive member-only events such as a private dinner with a celebrated chef.
- Protection: the Ritz-Carlton card enjoys the highest level of consumer and travel protection among Chase cards.
- Other Facts: Even though Chase is the issuer of the card, the Ritz-Carlton card is advertised as a J.P. Morgan product to enjoy higher level of customer service. When the Ritz-Carlton card was introduced, it contained some metal, just like Sapphire Preferred, and thus was heavier than regular plastics. The chipped version of the Ritz-Carlton card pushes this even further - it is completely made of metal and feels twice as heavy as before.
- The History: The Ritz-Carlton card was introduced as a Visa Signature in mid 2011, and enhanced in mid 2014. In mid 2016, it was upgraded to Visa Infinite, with increased annual fees (by $55) and several enhanced benefits.
The Math
If you can make use of the $300 annual airline credit, the effective annual fee becomes a very reasonable $150. For that, you receive four major travel perks including three annual Ritz-Carlton club-level upgrade certificates, Ritz-Carlton & Marriott Gold with $10K annual spending, Priority Pass Select membership (for primary cardholder and authorized users), Visa Infinite $100 per trip companion discount, and other great features such as primary rental car coverage, car rental privileges, waived foreign transaction fees, embedded EMV chip, and Global Entry credit. However, we won't recommend using this card for your purchases other than Marriott/Ritz-Carlton and/or the $10K to maintain Gold status, because generally the rewards are worth less than 1 cent per point and you'd better off with a 2% cashback card (such as Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Visa) or a high earning miles/points card (such as Amex SPG or Amex EveryDay Preferred)
Visa Infinite version vs. Visa Signature version: For $55/year more than the Visa Signature, Visa Infinite offers an increased signup bonus and enhanced benefits including Priority Pass Select in lieu of Lounge Club, Global Entry credit, $100 companion ticket discount, and car rental privileges. For most travelers, the upgrade is worthwhile. 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.
To see how JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum Card, Amex Delta Reserve, Amex Hilton Aspire, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, JPM Ritz-Carlton, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, Diners Club Elite, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.
JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa vs. Amex Hilton Aspire: These are the two high-end hotel co-branded credit cards currently in the market, and both carry the same $450 annual fees and are packed with amazing features and perks. Let's break down the differences. (1) Annual airline incidental credits: $250 on Hilton Aspire vs. $300 on Ritz-Carlton Visa. Amex requires you to select a certain airline, but once set up, the reimbursement will be automatic. JPM doesn't have this limit but requires you to call in to request reimbursement. (2) Elite status: you have Hilton Diamond as long as having Hilton Aspire, while you have Ritz-Carlton/Marriott/SPG Gold for free for the first year and with $10K annual spending thereafter on the Ritz-Carlton Card. While either status guarantees lounge access at certain brands within their portfolio (Conrad/Hilton/DoubleTree/Curio/Tapestry vs. JW/Marriott/Renaissance/Autograph/Delta), Hilton Diamond is the top-tier status and the members usually receive better treatments in general. In addition, you don't need to spend with Hilton Aspire to maintain the Diamond status, while you need to spend $10K on Ritz-Carlton Visa to maintain the Gold status. For this one, we will give it to Hilton. (3) Hotel Benefits: one free weekend night + $250 resort credits from Hilton Aspire vs. three lounge upgrades for paid stays (up to 7 nights each) from Ritz-Carlton Visa. We will say this one is neck to neck, and it depends on how you travel and how much you are willing to pay. Hilton's free nights and $250 resort credits can easily be redeemed for reasonable value, as there are hundreds and thousands properties to be considered; on the luxury side of the spectrum, the free night could be worth $400 to over $1,000. On the other hand, if you are wealthy enough to stay a few times a year at Ritz-Carlton properties, the three lounge upgrades could be extremely valuable too, as there is no elite status to offer lounge access at Ritz-Carlton properties and upgrading to the lounge floor usually costs $150 to $400 per night. (4) Ritz-Carlton Visa provides a few valuable perks that are not available on Hilton Aspire, such as hotel privileges at 500+ Relais & Chateaux properties and over 1,000 other luxury properties worldwide through Visa Signature/Infinite Hotel Collection, $100 companion discount per trip on domestic economy class travel, and primary rental car collision coverage. (5) In terms of travel and consumer protection, Ritz-Carlton Visa has much more to offer, for example, travel delay, baggage delay, price protection, event ticket protection, etc. In the end, even though they are posed as direct competitors, each card has its own unique features which may be appeal to certain travelers. You decide which one to pick or just get both.
The Conclusion
After the May 2014 enhancement, we have recommended the Ritz-Carlton card to travelers very strongly - we would even pay the annual fees while keeping it in the drawer most of the time. With the August 2016 upgrade to Visa Infinite, we think it is getting even better for most travelers. Despite scored low in Rewards, it is rated #2 Best Credit Cards for Perks and #3 Best Credit Cards for Protection.
© 2018 DrCreditCard.net All rights reserved.