Editors Note: This post is Part 4 of a 5 part series on the new Marriott and SPG merged loyalty program.
- Part 1: For Marriott Rewards Members: Everything You Need To Know About The Coming Merged Loyalty Program
- Part 2: For SPG Starwood Preferred Guest Members: Everything You Need To Know About The Coming Merged Loyalty Program
- Part 3: What You Need To Know About The Changes Coming To The Chase Marriott Suite Of Cards
- Part 4: What You Need To Know About The Changes Coming To The Chase Ritz-Carleton Cards
- Part 5: What You Need To Know About The Changes Coming To The American Express SPG Suite Of Cards
What You Need To Know About The Changes Coming To The Chase Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card
As with the Chase Marriott Suite of Cards, the Chase Ritz-Carlton Rewards credit card is changing to better align with the new merged loyalty program between Marriott and SPG.
New Changes To The Points Earning Structure
This past week, Chase officially announced some positive changes to the card to go into effect on August 1, 2018 (though these changes are not yet reflected on their websites as of the date of this post).
The good news is that Chase has increased the earnings of this card to 6X at Marriott and SPG properties and increased the earnings at restaurants, car rental agencies and airline ticket purchases directly from the airline to 3X. All other purchases will now earn 2X.
The above is already outdated – all of these earning categories will increase by 1X as of August 1, 2018!
New Changes To The Card Benefits
The Benefits side of things will also see a positive new change that is also not yet reflected on the Chase or Ritz-Carlton websites. A new annual free anniversary night has been added for redemptions up to 50,000 Marriott Rewards points.
There are also negative changes coming. The automatic [old] Gold Elite status will be replaced by automatic [new] Gold status, a major downgrade (as the lounge access and free breakfast benefits are lost).
The [old] Gold Elite Status when spending $10,000 in a card year benefit is also gone, however, Platinum Status in the new program can still be aquired by spending $75,000 in a year.
The $300 annual travel credits, $100 Global Entry credit, $100 Marrriott/Ritz-Carlton/SPG credit on 2 night+ stays will all remain intact.
The Bottom Line: What You Need To Know About The Changes Coming To The Chase Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card
Apart from the massive status-related downgrades, the Chase Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card largely escapes unscathed. In fact, with the added annual free night (up to 50,000 points) and the path to Platinum still intact, a compelling argument can be made that this card has been improved overall.
With all the benefits this card comes with, you should easily be able to come out ahead – even with the hefty $450 annual fee. The only question is, how does this card compare against the new Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Luxury card? We’ll take a look at that in Part 5 of this series.
Cheers!
