The Chase Ritz-Carlton credit card is no longer open to new applicants; however existing card members can still keep the card and enjoy its benefits as long as the card member does not close the card and keeps paying for the card’s $450 annual fee.
Last year, Chase has revamped the benefits on the Ritz-Carlton credit card. Two outstanding benefits that I think this card is worth holding on to are the $300 annual travel credit (you can see what triggers the travel credit data points here), and the anniversary Marriott Free Night Award Certificate that’s good for any Marriott Bonvoy (up to 50,000 points category) hotels and resorts in the world. 50,000 points Marriott property is equivalent to a standard category 6 Marriott property or an off-peak category 7 Marriott property. Therefore, the Marriott Free Night Award Certificate is in fact good for worldwide category 1-7 Marriott properties. If you don’t want to pay for the annual fee, you can still keep the anniversary free night certificate which we’ll cover in this post as well.
When Does Ritz-Carlton Credit Card Marriott Free Night Award Certificate Post?
When it comes to the anniversary Marriott Free Night Award with Chase credit card, card members receive the certificate sooner than the time it takes for the card’s annual fee to be posted. With my personal experience, I applied for the Ritz-Carlton credit card and got approved on April 4th, 2018. The $450 annual fee has not been posted to my account yet; however, when I logged on to my Marriott Bonvoy’s account, I saw that the Ritz-Carlton Card Free Night Award – 50K certificate has already been posted to my Marriott’s account with the expiration date of April 6th, 2021. So it was posted 2 days after my card’s anniversary date. See screenshot below.
How To Find Your Marriott Free Night Certificate?
On the Marriott Bonvoy Website:
- Log into your Marriott account.
- Click on your name on the top right hand corner and click on Activity.
- On the top under “Earned Award” you should see your Unused Certificate(s).
- Launch the Marriott Bonvoy app. Sign in to your Marriott account if you are not signed in.
- Tap “Account” then you should see available Certificate. Tap on it and your unused certificate(s) will be all listed there.
How To Use Your Marriott Free Night Certificate?
- Log into your Marriott account.
- Start searching for the hotel or resort with the “Use Points” checkbox checked.
- On the result page, click on the View Rates button for the specific hotel or resort you like.
- Before finalizing your reservation, Marriott will let you know that “You have eligible e-certificates that match your reservation.” You can either wish to use the certificate or pay with points instead.
Will I lose my earned annual Marriott Free Night Award in my Marriott’s account if I cancel Ritz-Carlton credit card?
The answer is NO! It’s nice that the annual Marriott Free Night Award is posted to Marriott’s account before the card’s annual fee is posted. Therefore, once the certificate is posted in your Marriott’s account, it is not going to be taken away whether later on you decide to keep the Ritz-Carlton credit card or not. Should you decide to not keep the card, it’s worth calling up Chase for retention offer to see if they can either waive the annual fee or offer Marriott Bonvoy points bonus to you. It does not hurt to ask!
Best Ritz-Carlton Category 6 Hotels & Resorts
It’s worth noting that, the annual free night (up to 50,0000 point) certificate earned through the Ritz-Carlton credit card is good for ANY properties that are under Marriott Bonvoy. It does not have to be the Ritz-Carlton properties only. But for the purpose of this post that is about the Ritz-Carlton, here are our top picks on the Ritz-Carlton category 6 (50,0000 points) properties in the world:
Asia:
The Ritz-Carlton, Bali – Indonesia
The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi – Malaysia
Europe:
The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin – Germany
The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest – Hungary
The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna – Austria
The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow – Russia
United States:
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island – Florida
The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta – Georgia
The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago – Illinois
The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, Miami – Florida
The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami – Florida
The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans – Louisiana
