Ritz-Carlton Card Annual Fee Going Up to $695?
🔃 Update: We have another datapoint that the annual fee will go up, but on August 1st. Plus we might see some new benefits. Here’s what has been reported so far:
- Annual Fee: $695 (up from $450)
- New: $200 Renowned Hotels & Resort
- New: 3x Ritz lounge vouchers
- The card will still offer:
- $300 annual credit
- 85K FNCs
- Priority Pass for AUs
- Marriott Gold
- Travel/Purchase protections
Another DP here with the same 8/1 date. Existing cardholders will likely renew at the lower annual fee for a few more months, based on Nun is reporting the comments.
The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card from J.P. Morgan is a discontinued luxury credit card that is quite popular. While you can no longer apply for this card directly, many people still have it in their wallets or upgrade to it, and for good reason. It comes with tons of benefits (see below) and it still has an annual fee of $450.
But that could be about to change soon based on a rumor that was shared on reddit. While trying to upgrade a Marriott card to the Ritz Carlton card, a redditor was told that the annual fee is going up from $450 to $695. That’s a significant increase if true.
He was also told that he would “be charged the new higher annual fee when my card anniversary comes in October”. That could mean that the annual fee increase could go into effect on the same date as it will for existing Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders (up to $795).
How to Get the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card?
As I mentioned above, you no longer apply for the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card. But you are still able to get it, and it’s actually quite easy. The answer is a product change from a specific Marriott Bonvoy card.
As a start, you need to first apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. Currently this card has a welcome bonus of 5 Free Nights (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That matches the highest ever bonus on this card.
You then need to hold the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card for at least a year (don’t forget to complete bonus requirements and earn the bonus). After that, you are finally eligible to upgrade to the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card You can use the chat feature in your Chase account, or call the number on the back of your card. If the rumor is true, that means that you will not be able to get the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card before the annual fee increase.
You will need at least $10,000 in credit limit to get the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card. So you might have to shift some credit around if that’s an issue.
Card Details
- Earn:
- 6x points for every $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
- 3x points for every $1 spent on dining, car rentals and airline purchases
- 2x points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Annual free night award for stays up to 85,000 Bonvoy points per night
- Three upgrades to the Ritz-Carlton Club each year. Valid on paid stays of up to seven nights.
- $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years
- $300 in statement credits each year for airline incidentals.
- Priority Pass membership for main cardholder (with unlimited guests) and authorized users. Includes access to Chase Sapphire Lounges.
- Automatic Gold Elite status, with the option to earn Platinum elite status after spending $75,000 in a calendar year
- Receive 15 Elite Night Credits every calendar year
- Travel protections and insurance
- Purchase protections and extended warranty
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Chase Offers
- Annual Fee: $450
- No Fee for Authorized Users