Chase J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite (old review NOT being updated)
Updated August 12, 2018. This card has been discontinued to new applicants; the existing cardmembers continue to keep the card until further notice. This review is for the Visa Infinite version 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. With that, you receive five major travel perks - an annual Marriott portfolio free night capped at 50K points, three annual Ritz-Carlton club-level upgrades, luxury hotel privileges through Visa Infinite/Signature Collection and Relais Chateaux, Visa Infinite $100 per trip companion discount, Priority Pass Select membership (for primary cardholder and authorized users), and other great features such as Marriott Gold for free and Marriott Platinum after $75K spending, primary rental car coverage, car rental elite status, waived foreign transaction fees, embedded EMV chip, and Global Entry credit. In our opinion, the total travel perks offered by this card are so lucrative that they could even edge out those from Amex Platinum Card, the current #1 Credit Card for Perks. The only reason for Ritz-Carlton Card not being listed is because it is currently unavailable to new applicants.
JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa vs. Amex SPG Luxury: Even though the Ritz-Carlton Visa has been discontinued to new applicants due to Marriott-Amex-Chase agreement that makes Amex SPG Luxury the sole high-end Marriott credit card, it will still be interesting to compare the two. With the same $450 annual fees as well as several features like the annual free night capped at 50K points, Marriott Gold for free and Marriott Platinum after $75K spending, Priority Pass Select membership, Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit, and premium roadside assistance, the two cards differ in: (1) even though both have very similar 6-3-2 rewards earning structure, Ritz-Carlton Visa has car rentals as an additional 3x category; (2) the annual $300 travel credits are different - SPG Luxury's is for any Marriott portfolio hotel charges while Ritz-Carlton Visa's is for airline incidental charges; (3) Ritz-Carlton Visa offers several lucrative travel perks unavailable on SPG Luxury, such as three Ritz-Carlton Club level upgrades, hotel privileges through Visa Infinite/Signature Collection and Relais Chateaux, Visa Infinite $100 companion discount in domestic economy class travel, car rental elite status, primary rental car collision coverage, while SPG Luxury's unique perks pale in comparison (starting 2019 annual 15 night credits toward elite status); (4) Ritz-Carlton Visa's travel protection is much better than SPG Luxury's, as the latter doesn't cover travel cancellation, travel delay, baggage delay, and extended family members as well as awards tickets. Without doubt, Ritz-Carlton Visa packs a much better suite of perks.
JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa vs. Amex Hilton Aspire: Again both cards carry $450 annual fees, and 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 Marriott Gold for free and Marriott Platinum after $75K spending on Ritz-Carlton Visa. Hilton Diamond is comparable to Marriott Platinum; however, $75K spending is ridiculously excessive for most consumers. (3) Hotel Benefits: one free uncapped weekend night + $250 resort credits from Hilton Aspire vs. one free night capped at 50K points + three lounge upgrades for paid stays (up to 7 nights each) from Ritz-Carlton Visa. We will say this one is probably neck to neck, but for wealthy travelers who stay at Ritz-Carlton regularly the potential gain using lounge upgrades could be huge. (4) Ritz-Carlton Visa provides a few valuable perks that are not available on Hilton Aspire, such as luxury hotel privileges at Relais & Chateaux properties and through Visa Signature/Infinite Hotel Collection, $100 companion discount in domestic economy class travel, car rental elite status, and primary rental car collision coverage. (5) Ritz-Carlton Visa's travel protection is much better than Hilton Aspire's, as the latter doesn't cover travel cancellation, travel delay, baggage delay, and extended family members as well as awards tickets. In general, we think Ritz-Carlton is better but your opinion may differ due to your pick of loyalty program, and quite a few travelers will actually keep both.
The Conclusion
After the May 2014 enhancement, we have recommended the Ritz-Carlton card to travelers very strongly - we said 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, the card got even better for most travelers. In August 2018, the card was again enhanced. It is such a pity that it has been made unavailable to new applications. If you currently have this card, there are too many reasons to keep it as long as you can.
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The Facts
- Annual Fee: $450
- Rewards: 6x Marriott portfolio hotels , 3x airfare, car rental and dining, and 2x everywhere else.
- Best Use of Marriott Rewards points: (1) You may redeem points for hotel stays or upgrades at over 6,500 Marriott portfolio hotels worldwide, including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, JW Marriott, EDITION, W Hotels, Marriott, Renaissance, Delta, Gaylord, Autograph Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels, Courtyard, AC Hotels, Fairfield, SpringHill Suites, Protea, Moxy, Four Points, element, aloft, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Marriott Executive Apartments, and Marriott Vacation Club. (2) You may transfer points into airline miles of 30+ frequent flyer programs, mostly at 3:1 ratio. If you transfer 60,000 points in a bulk you will get 5,000 miles as a bonus (60K points = 25 miles). Please see our review on Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. CR for details of the programs that allow frequent flyer miles transfer. (3) You may also redeem points for Marriott Hotel+Air Travel Packages - you exchange a certain number of Marriott points for a certain number of frequent flyer miles plus a 7-night certificate for a Marriott portfolio hotel at a certain redemption level. Generally, the new Travel Packages represent devaluation from the old Travel Packages before August 2018 - you will still save some points when use this option, but in our opinion most of the time the saving is not big enough for the hassle of finding a single hotel to stay seven nights in a row.
- Ritz-Carlton & Marriott Benefits: (1) An annual free night at any Marriott portfolio hotels with a redemption level of 50,000 points or less upon each cardmember anniversary after you renew the card (the e-certificate expires 12 months after issuance). (2) 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 usually not offered for free to 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. (3) $100 hotel credit for each stay of two+ nights at Ritz-Carlton hotels, which can be combined with club-level upgrades. (4) Complimentary Marriott Gold Elite status, the third tier status in the combined Marriott loyalty program effective August 2018. Normally achieved by staying at least 25 nights per year, Marriott Gold doesn't offer much but at least is better than nothing. (5) Upgrade to Marriott Platinum Elite status, the second tier status, after you spend at least $75,000 in a calendar year. Marriott Platinum, normally achieved by staying at least 50 nights per year and offering lounge access/free breakfasts and upgrades to a suite, is the real deal; however, spending $75K is quite a requirement.
- 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 two 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. [discontinued 1/2020] (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 pushed this even further - it was completely made of metal and weighs 27 grams, twice as heavy as before. However, after the card was discontinued to new applications, existing cardholders have been receiving plastic version upon expiration.
- 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. With the final integration of Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, SPG loyalty programs in August 2018, this card was discontinued to new applications; however, the existing cardmembers received the 6-3-2 rewards structure as well as an annual free night capped at 50K points to align with the flagship Marriott credit card - Amex SPG Luxury Card. The enhancement is considered extremely generous; on the downside, Marriott/Ritz-Carlton Gold which used to be a selling point of this product becomes mediocre at the most due to Marriott revamp of elite status.
The Math
If you can make use of the $300 annual airline credit, the effective annual fee becomes a very reasonable $150. With that, you receive five major travel perks - an annual Marriott portfolio free night capped at 50K points, three annual Ritz-Carlton club-level upgrades, luxury hotel privileges through Visa Infinite/Signature Collection and Relais Chateaux, Visa Infinite $100 per trip companion discount, Priority Pass Select membership (for primary cardholder and authorized users), and other great features such as Marriott Gold for free and Marriott Platinum after $75K spending, primary rental car coverage, car rental elite status, waived foreign transaction fees, embedded EMV chip, and Global Entry credit. In our opinion, the total travel perks offered by this card are so lucrative that they could even edge out those from Amex Platinum Card, the current #1 Credit Card for Perks. The only reason for Ritz-Carlton Card not being listed is because it is currently unavailable to new applicants.
JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa vs. Amex SPG Luxury: Even though the Ritz-Carlton Visa has been discontinued to new applicants due to Marriott-Amex-Chase agreement that makes Amex SPG Luxury the sole high-end Marriott credit card, it will still be interesting to compare the two. With the same $450 annual fees as well as several features like the annual free night capped at 50K points, Marriott Gold for free and Marriott Platinum after $75K spending, Priority Pass Select membership, Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit, and premium roadside assistance, the two cards differ in: (1) even though both have very similar 6-3-2 rewards earning structure, Ritz-Carlton Visa has car rentals as an additional 3x category; (2) the annual $300 travel credits are different - SPG Luxury's is for any Marriott portfolio hotel charges while Ritz-Carlton Visa's is for airline incidental charges; (3) Ritz-Carlton Visa offers several lucrative travel perks unavailable on SPG Luxury, such as three Ritz-Carlton Club level upgrades, hotel privileges through Visa Infinite/Signature Collection and Relais Chateaux, Visa Infinite $100 companion discount in domestic economy class travel, car rental elite status, primary rental car collision coverage, while SPG Luxury's unique perks pale in comparison (starting 2019 annual 15 night credits toward elite status); (4) Ritz-Carlton Visa's travel protection is much better than SPG Luxury's, as the latter doesn't cover travel cancellation, travel delay, baggage delay, and extended family members as well as awards tickets. Without doubt, Ritz-Carlton Visa packs a much better suite of perks.
JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa vs. Amex Hilton Aspire: Again both cards carry $450 annual fees, and 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 Marriott Gold for free and Marriott Platinum after $75K spending on Ritz-Carlton Visa. Hilton Diamond is comparable to Marriott Platinum; however, $75K spending is ridiculously excessive for most consumers. (3) Hotel Benefits: one free uncapped weekend night + $250 resort credits from Hilton Aspire vs. one free night capped at 50K points + three lounge upgrades for paid stays (up to 7 nights each) from Ritz-Carlton Visa. We will say this one is probably neck to neck, but for wealthy travelers who stay at Ritz-Carlton regularly the potential gain using lounge upgrades could be huge. (4) Ritz-Carlton Visa provides a few valuable perks that are not available on Hilton Aspire, such as luxury hotel privileges at Relais & Chateaux properties and through Visa Signature/Infinite Hotel Collection, $100 companion discount in domestic economy class travel, car rental elite status, and primary rental car collision coverage. (5) Ritz-Carlton Visa's travel protection is much better than Hilton Aspire's, as the latter doesn't cover travel cancellation, travel delay, baggage delay, and extended family members as well as awards tickets. In general, we think Ritz-Carlton is better but your opinion may differ due to your pick of loyalty program, and quite a few travelers will actually keep both.
The Conclusion
After the May 2014 enhancement, we have recommended the Ritz-Carlton card to travelers very strongly - we said 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, the card got even better for most travelers. In August 2018, the card was again enhanced. It is such a pity that it has been made unavailable to new applications. If you currently have this card, there are too many reasons to keep it as long as you can.
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