Ritz offer dropping from 3 to 2 free nights.

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Yesterday I told you about the soon to be gone Fairmont 2 free night offer.  At the moment there are still a couple of live links to that offer, but they won’t last long.

Now we have a new fire drill.  The standard offer for the Ritz Carlton card has dropped from 3 free nights after $5,000 spend to 2 free nights after $4,000 spend.  Fortunately, links to the previous 3 night offer are still alive… for now.  The offer on my Best Offers Page is still at 3 nights, but I’ll insert it here for convenience, along with any new links we dig up:

Just like the Fairmont card, the Ritz card is NOT subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule.

ritz-3-nights

Personally, I am not planning to rush to sign up for this card, but some readers may want to.  Unlike the Fairmont card, this is a premium card with a premium first year fee and premium features:

  • Signup offer includes 10,000 points for adding authorized user (this is true of the new 2 night offer as well)
  • $450 annual fee not waived the first year
  • $300 in annual airline fee reimbursements. Unlike the Sapphire Reserve, this is only meant for airline fees and it is not automatic: you have to request each reimbursement.
  • Free nights limited to Ritz categories 1-4
  • Earns 2X airline, car rental, & restaurants. 5X Ritz & Marriott; 1X elsewhere.
  • 10% annual points bonus.
  • Ritz points are identical to Marriott points.  In fact, you can sign up for this card with your Marriott Rewards number and you’ll earn Marriott points.
  • Elite Status: Automatic Gold status first year. $10K spend per account year to keep Gold elite status; $75K spend per account year for Platinum elite status.
  • 3 club level upgrades for rooms booked with standard rate.
  • $100 hotel credit for each 2 night or longer stay.
  • Priority Pass Select airport lounge access.
  • Free authorized users (who also get Priority Pass)
  • Global Entry fee reimbursement
  • Visa Infinite $100 companion discount for round trip domestic flights

Overall, this card has a lot going for it, so it definitely makes sense for some.  Personally, I already get many of its premium features from other cards, so it is not as appealing to me as it may be to others.  Plus, the 3 free nights are only valid for one year.  So unless you have a concrete plan for how best to use them you might not get as much value from those free nights as you had hoped.  In my case, since we already have to figure out how to use our Fairmont free nights, I don’t need or want the headache of planning for Ritz free nights too!

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