Following in the footsteps of American Express US’s bevy of changes to Marriott Bonvoy cards, Chase has made some moves on their own Marriott Bonvoy co-branded portfolio, too.
New Chase Bonvoy Bountiful Card
Chase has debuted a new credit card known as the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card, which slots into their Marriott Bonvoy portfolio alongside the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and the Marriott Bonvoy Bold.
The Bonvoy Bountiful is the most expensive of the lot with a $250 annual fee (all figures in USD), while the other two cards have a $95 annual fee and no annual fee, respectively.
The Chase Bonvoy Bountiful Card is essentially a carbon copy of the American Express US Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card, down to every last detail (refer to the linked article for a deeper breakdown of the benefits).
- $250 annual fee
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
- 1,000 bonus points per stay
- Free Night Award worth 50,000 points upon spending $15,000
- 15 elite qualifying nights
- 6/4/4/2 earning rates
- Welcome bonus of 125,000 Bonvoy points
Just like the Bonvoy Bevy Card, there isn’t too much about this card that stands out in exchange for a $250 annual fee.
The welcome bonus of 125,000 Bonvoy points is worth consideration, especially if you’re maxed out on five Amex US credit cards.
But other than that, the lower-end $95 Chase Bonvoy Boundless or Amex US Bonvoy Card would appear to cost less but offer more, while the higher-end $650 Amex US Bonvoy Brilliant would appear to cost more but offer a lot more.
The Ritz-Carlton Card: Anniversary Free Night Award Increases to 85,000 Points
The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card by Chase emerges as a winner among today’s shakeup of the US-issued Marriott Bonvoy credit cards.
Matching the change to the Amex US Bonvoy Brilliant, the Ritz-Carlton Card’s anniversary Free Night Award will now be worth 85,000 points, up from the previous 50,000 points.
In addition to that change, the card’s additional benefits will continue to apply:
- Three Club Level upgrades per year, up to seven nights per stay
- Complimentary Marriott Gold Elite status
- $300 annual airline incidentals credit
- Unlimited $100 luxury credit at The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis hotels on stays of 2+ nights
- 15 elite qualifying nights
- Priority Pass membership with unlimited guests
- Free authorized users who are also eligible for their own full Priority Pass membership
In addition, the Ritz-Carlton Card from Chase is known for having the best travel insurance of all US cards (identical to the Chase Sapphire Reserve), including primary rental car insurance, lost luggage reimbursement up to $3,000 per passenger, and trip interruption/cancellation insurance of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses.
These benefits go quite a long way towards offset the card’s $450 annual fee, making the Ritz-Carlton Card a hidden gem that all Marriott loyalists should consider putting in the effort to obtain.
Chase stopped accepting applications for the Ritz-Carlton Card many years ago. In order to get it now, you’ll have to request a product-switch from a current Chase Marriott card, like the Bonvoy Boundless, Bonvoy Bold, or the new Bonvoy Bountiful, after at least one year of holding it.
(For Canadians approaching the US credit card game, the Ritz-Carlton Card would very much be a late-stage addition to your wallet. That’s because it takes a fair bit of time to be eligible for Chase cards, and then you’d have to wait at least one year after that to product-switch to the Ritz-Carlton Card.)
The Ritz-Carlton Card can be seen as a direct, if deliberately understated, competitor to the Amex US Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card.
In my view, it compares rather favourably: the annual fee is $200 cheaper, but there’s still the same $300 in credits to offset against the fee, bringing it down to an effective $150 fee for an anniversary Free Night Award worth 85,000 points.
And even though the Ritz-Carlton Card lacks the Platinum Elite status benefit and 25 elite qualifying nights that the Bonvoy Brilliant now offers, it does come with unlimited Priority Pass-bearing authorized users with access to Priority Pass restaurants, allowing frequent travellers to recoup any difference in value in the form of free airport food and drinks.
Conclusion
Chase has introduced the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card, which is essentially a carbon copy of the Amex US Bonvoy Bevy Card that runs on the Visa network.
Quite disappointingly, the two cards are equally as underwhelming, and don’t really appear to justify their $250 annual fees beyond the welcome bonus of 125,000 Bonvoy points in the first year.
Meanwhile, the Ritz-Carlton Card has received a boost to its anniversary Free Night Award, which is now worth 85,000 Bonvoy points.
It may take quite a painstaking process to get your hands on one, but the Ritz-Carlton Card remains one of the most powerful credit cards for any Marriott loyalist with a taste for the brand’s luxury properties.
If I upgrade boundless to ritz does the annual fee get charged right away? And if so do we get the 85k free night cert this year to use?
Based on my experience, the RC annual fee gets charged a few months after product changing (PC), and the Boundless annual fee gets refunded (pro-rated).
No, you won’t get the 85k cert unless you are somehow extremely lucky — Chase gives you the FNA on your anniversary date (so no waiting 8-10 weeks like is the case with Amex). So, in most cases, you’ll get your 35k cert and then you’ll PC.