Some cards are keepers and some are those you get just for the bonus. I keep cards that continually provide me more value than they cost to keep. The Ritz-Carlton Card is a keeper as it comes with these easy-to-use awards and statement credits.

• $300 Airline Incidental statement credit each calendar year
• 1 Free Night Award (85k value) each cardmember anniversary

The $300 airline credit is technically for seat selection or upgrades, baggage fees, or lounge membership fees. In reality, it can be used for any airline related purchase. The bank does not have the ability to see specifically what the charge is for – only that it is an airline related travel purchase.

To claim this credit, you can either call Chase or send a Secured Message via the Chase app. If an agent gives you any kind of trouble (like asking for proof of type of purchase) simply hang up and call again.

Note that this credit is available to you each calendar year – not each cardmember anniversary. If you obtain this card in November you will have $300 credit to use immediately, and another $300 credit to use on January 1^st.

The 85k Free Night Award is available to use at any Marriott Bonvoy property worldwide. This will easily get you a free night in a room worth over $500, and it’s definitely possible to redeem this for rooms charging over $1,000 per night.

In reality, I would never spend this much for a hotel room. I value this at $100 as that’s roughly how much I’d be willing to spend, but it’s still fun to experience luxury for a night. How much you value this Free Night Award is up to you.

Note that this is available to you each cardmember anniversary – you will receive it after holding the card for 1 year. If you’d like to, you can top-up this 85k FNA with up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for a 100k redemption.

The $300 Airline Incidental statement credit is pretty straight forward, and I value the 85k Free Night Award at $100. This covers $400 of the annual fee, meaning that I’m paying $50 per year for the lounge benefits. I would spend more than that for my family of 4 on a single trip if I didn’t have lounge access in airports.

The Ritz-Carlton Card comes with a long list of perks and benefits. If any of these are useful to you, then you’re probably at a point where you’re earning money from the card and the lounge access is free.

The Ritz-Carlton Card

• 6x Points for purchases at Marriot Bonvoy properties
• 3x Points on dining, car rental, and airline purchases
• 2x Points on all other purchases
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status
• 15 Elite Night Credits
• 1 Free Night Award (85k value)
• 3 Club Level Upgrade Certificates
• $300 Annual Travel Credit
• $100 Hotel Credit

The Earn Rate

The Ritz-Carlton card gives you 6 points per dollar spent at Marriott properties, which is on top of the 10 base points anyone would earn as a regular member. Having Gold Elite Status gives you a 25% bonus on the base points, which means an additional 2.5 points per dollar. Your total comes to 18.5 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar.

Gold Elite Status

The key benefits that come with Gold Elite Status are late checkout, a welcome gift or 250-500 welcome points upon arrival, ultimate reservation guarantee, and enhanced room upgrades.

The ultimate reservation guarantee means that the hotel will pay for your stay at a nearby hotel and compensate you if they are unable to honor your reservation.

The meaning of enhanced room upgrades varies by property. In my experience, hotels outside of the United States are more generous with room upgrades. Technically this does not include upgrades to suites, but you’ll find yourself sleeping in suites regardless

Club Level Upgrade Certificates

The Club Level Upgrade Certificates can only be used at Ritz-Carlton Hotels that have club lounges. These can be used for stays of up to 7 nights when the booking is paid for in cash at the regular member rate – you cannot use these for a stay booked with points, discounts, or Free Night Awards.

Elite Night Credits

As this card comes with Gold Elite Status, the 15 Elite Nights are only useful if your targeting Platinum Elite Status – which require 40. Elite Night Credits from any other Chase Marriott Bonvoy card will not stack with  these 15, but the Elite Night Credits from an American Express card will.

$100 Hotel Credit

The $100 Hotel Credit is available when you book a paid stay of 2 nights or more at any Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis property. This can be used for dining, spa, or other recreational activities.

Travel Benefits

The Ritz-Carlton Card comes with the best Chase has to offer in travel benefits

• Primary Auto-Rental Insurance reimbursable up to $75,000
• Baggage Delay Insurance for covered passengers when baggage is delayed over 6hrs – $100 daily per person for necessities
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement for each covered passenger for up to $3,000 to repair or replace lost, damaged, or stolen luggage during a covered trip
• Trip Delay Reimbursement if your common carrier is delayed over 12 hours or requires an overnight stay. You are eligible for up to $500 per covered passenger for food and lodging
• Roadside Assistance covering you for $50 up to 4 times per year. You can call for a tow, a tyre change, battery assistance, a locksmith, or gas. This is for both personal and rental cars within the United States and Canada
• Travel Accidental Insurance for covered passengers. You are eligible for up to $1,000,000 for death or dismemberment
• Emergency Medical and Dental for covered passengers who become sick or injured more than 100 miles from home on a trip. You can be reimbursed for up to $2,500 for medical expenses, subject to a $50 deductible
• Global Entry application fee statement credit of $120
• Car Rental Privileges with Hertz, National, and Avis

Covered passengers include immediately family members traveling together when the flight or common carrier is paid for with the card – including fees and taxes for Award Flights.

This card is not available to new applicants, and Chase puts no effort into marketing it. You’ll only read about it on blogs, in newsletters, and on forum boards discussing award travel. Fortunately, Chase does provide a path to obtain the Ritz-Carlton Card. You must meet the below criteria to be eligible

• Hold any Chase Marriott Bonvoy credit card for at least 12 months
• Have a credit limit of $10,000+

To product change a Chase credit card, you must call Chase Customer Service. They will confirm if you are eligible, read out the terms and conditions of the card you are changing to, and ask you to verbally agree to these terms. They should then ask if you’d like to have your new Priority Pass account activated – if they don’t, be sure to have them do this.

If you’re current card’s credit limit is below $10,000, you can request a credit limit increase or manually transfer credit from any other personal Chase card online.

If you’re holding a Marriot Bonvoy Boundless Card, you will still receive your card anniversary 35k Free Night Award after product changing to the Ritz-Carlton Card.

Setting up Priority Pass after product changing to the Ritz Carlton Card for yourself and your Authorized users is more complicated than you’d expect. Here is step by step guide to getting it done

Primary Cardholder Priority Pass Setup

1. After product-changing to the Ritz-Carlton Card, be sure the phone agent activates your Priority Pass
2. Wait a minimum 6 days for your new account to be activated
3. Once activated, a QR code for lounge access will be available on the Chase app under ‘Benefits and Travel’
4. Call Chase Customer Service to obtain your Priority Pass card number. This is not the same as your membership number displayed under your QR code on the Chase app
5. Activate your Priority Pass membership at https://www.prioritypass.com/jpmdmc 
6. Download the Priority Pass app and login

Authorized Users Priority Pass Setup

1. Add Authorized Users to your Ritz-Carlton Card on the Chase app
2. Have each user download the Priority Pass app and login
3. Wait for their credit cards to arrive in the mail
4. Call Chase Customer Service to activate each users Priority Pass
5. Wait a minimum of 6 days for each users account to be activated
6. Once activated, a QR code for lounge access will be available on the Chase app under ‘Benefits and Travel’
7. Call Chase Customer Service to obtain each users Priority Pass card number. This is not the same as the membership numbers displayed under the QR codes on the Chase app

Activate each users Priority Pass membership at https://www.prioritypass.com/jpmdmc