City National Bank Crystal Visa Infinite Review (Old Review NOT Updated)
Updated September 23, 2019. Please see our updated review here.
The Facts
The Math
The 3-1 rewards structure is not that attractive compared to the premium travel rewards cards offered by other issuers due to the fact that the points can not be transferred to frequent traveler miles/points and the fixed value for travel redemption is not as high as major competitors. However, Crystal does offer a wide range of benefits that may easily justify paying the $400 annual fees. After the $250 airline credit, you are essentially paying $150 for up to two Priority Pass memberships, 12 GoGo passes, and all Visa Infinite benefits, which in our opinion, could be a huge bargain for many travelers. If you leverage $250 airline credit and GoGo passes on authorized user(s), this card is even bigger.
To see how CNB Crystal 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, Amex Marriott Brilliant, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.
The Conclusion
As the first Visa Infinite in the U.S., CNB Crystal offers very mediocre rewards but potentially very lucrative travel perks. We welcome the competition it brings against some of our favorite high-end cards such as Amex Platinum, JPM Ritz-Carlton, and Citi Prestige. It is currently rated as one of Best Credit Cards for Perks and also one of the Best Credit Cards for Protection.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $400. $0 for an authorized user.
- Signup Bonus: 50,000 points after you spend $5,000 within 3 months of new account opening. No online application - you need to go to a branch to apply and CNB only operates branches in California, Delaware, Georgia, New York, Nevada, and Tennessee. Historical Best Bonus: 100,000 points in October 2015 (in branch application); 75,000 points in September 2018 (in branch application).
- Rewards: 3x travel, groceries, gas, and dining, and 1x everywhere else
- The Best Use of City National Rewards points: They can be redeemed towards merchandise, gift cards, and credit, up to around 1 cent per point; when redeem for travel, the value will be a little higher at about 1.25 cents per point. See Frequent Miler's post for details.
- An annual $250 airline incidental credit. Different from other issuers (Amex, Cit, Chase), CNB actually allows $250 per cardholder, meaning an authorized user will get up to $250 as well.
- Airport lounge access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide through Priority Pass Select. CNB issues up to two Priority Pass Select memberships to the cardholders in one Crystal Visa account, and membership(s) will give lounge access for the cardholder(s) and their accompanying guests.
- Annual up to $550 airport lounge membership fee credits when your annual spending exceeds $50,000. The credits can be used towards any airport lounge program membership worldwide, e.g., United Club, American Airlines Admirals Club, Delta Sky Clubs, etc. See our review All About Airport Lounges for details of lounge access.
- Visa Infinite Benefits: (1) Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, a collection of luxury hotels around the world with benefits like 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 an hotel specific amenity such as a $100 spa or hotel credit per stay. The unique benefit over the lower-tier Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection which is available on most Visa cards issued in the U.S. is the hotel specific amenity, which is comparable to Amex FHR's (see our review for Amex Platinum); (2) Visa Infinite Hotel Privileges at 500+ Relais & Chateaux hotels, including VIP welcome at all hotels and free breakfasts at 120+ participating hotels. (3) Visa Infinite $100 companion discount per trip on domestic round-trip coach class tickets for your companion(s) on your reservation. (4) Visa Infinite Car Rental Privileges at Avis, National, and SilverCar.
- Other Benefits: (1) Waived foreign transaction fees and embedded EMV chip for foreign travel. (2) $100 credit Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application (every five years). (3) 12 GoGo inflight Wi-Fi passes (an authorized user also receives this benefit). (4) 24/7 concierge service. (5) Purchase House Seats or Premium Seats through the Broadway League. (6) Crystal Experiences. (7) Troon benefits - golf tee times savings and access to private clubs.
- Other Facts: this card has a metal design and weighs about 13 grams.
- History: Introduced in May 2015, CNB Crystal is the first U.S. Visa Infinite card, the top-tier Visa card that has been available to customers in many other countries for quite a while. Free CLEAR membership (saving $179 a year), which enables you to clear airport security faster at select U.S. airports, was offered from the introduction until February 2016. 3x on groceries was offered for a period of time until April 2016 and again starting 2018. The first annual fee waiver was offered until 2018.
The Math
The 3-1 rewards structure is not that attractive compared to the premium travel rewards cards offered by other issuers due to the fact that the points can not be transferred to frequent traveler miles/points and the fixed value for travel redemption is not as high as major competitors. However, Crystal does offer a wide range of benefits that may easily justify paying the $400 annual fees. After the $250 airline credit, you are essentially paying $150 for up to two Priority Pass memberships, 12 GoGo passes, and all Visa Infinite benefits, which in our opinion, could be a huge bargain for many travelers. If you leverage $250 airline credit and GoGo passes on authorized user(s), this card is even bigger.
To see how CNB Crystal 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, Amex Marriott Brilliant, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.
The Conclusion
As the first Visa Infinite in the U.S., CNB Crystal offers very mediocre rewards but potentially very lucrative travel perks. We welcome the competition it brings against some of our favorite high-end cards such as Amex Platinum, JPM Ritz-Carlton, and Citi Prestige. It is currently rated as one of Best Credit Cards for Perks and also one of the Best Credit Cards for Protection.