Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card

The new Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card is a Visa Infinite card, a higher tier than the Visa Signature that nearly all other premium rewards cards top out at.

In addition to Gold Elite status (which is honored at Marriott hotels, comes complimentary the first year and that you retain each year you spend $10,000 on the card); a $300 Airline Fee credit, $100 Global Entry credit, and unlimited use $100 Airline Ticket discounts when buying for 2 or more passengers (apparently also an authorized user benefit); 3 complimentary upgrades to The Ritz-Carlton Club® Level each year valid on paid stays of up to seven nights (here’s how to use them); plus airport lounge access and a premium concierge, the card gives you:

A great signup bonus of 3 complimentary nights at any participating Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton hotel after $5,000 spend on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

Hotel cards often give 2 night stays. That’s great for a Friday to Sunday, or as part of a stay. But 3 nights makes a big difference for a trip. Here are some ideas for where to redeem your 3 complimentary nights in Asia.

The Ritz-Carlton Bali

Bali is one of my favorite tropical vacation spots, with friendly people and good food. It’s a generally inexpensive destination for those spending US dollars, and it’s certainly easier to get to than the Maldives or French Polynesia.

The Ritz-Carlton Bali is in the southern part of Nusa Dua, the resort enclave. Most places in Bali aren’t built tall, and treelines obscure the ocean from rooms built back from the shore. But the Ritz-Carlton is on a cliff with a panoramic view of the Indian Ocean.

The hotel has a glass elevator down to the beach level with spectacular views. But get out of the hotel, there’s plenty to discover in Bali. I found my favorite coffee there back in 2008, enjoyed the art district Ubud, and took in a cooking class in Jimbaran Bay.

Rates for a 3-day weekend in spring: US$350++ per night, US$1273 all-in.

Credit: Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton Sanya

Sanya, the southernmost city on Hainan Island, is a premier resort getaway spot in China. And the Ritz-Carlton is one of the top Sanya resorts with its own beach on Yalong Bay.

In ancient China Sanya was sufficiently remote to be known as “the end of the sky and ocean” and “the end of the earth” and exiled officials were sent here as a place of peaceful retirement when they fell out of favor.

Rates for a 3-day weekend in spring: US$294++ per night, US$1029 all-in.

Credit: Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton Osaka

The Ritz-Carlton Osaka is located in Nishi-Umeda. It’s described as having “the look and feel of 18th century English nobleman’s Georgian home” and has a collection of 450 pieces of art and antiques.

In my first trip to Japan I was struck by the small size of hotel rooms, but the Ritz-Carlton Osaka has some of the larger standard rooms in the country. (Of course I didn’t much mind small rooms when I was staying at the Hilton Tokyo on a $3 mistake rate, and of course I’ve been fascinated with Osaka — and in particular Osaka Castle — since I was 6 years old and watched Richard Chamberlain in Shogun.)

If you’re booking a paid rate and want to use club upgrade certificates it’s worth noting that the hotel’s club is being renovated during the first half of 2017 (there will be a temporary club lounge during this time).

Rates for a 3-day weekend in spring: US$507++ per night, US$1855 all-in.

Credit: Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton Seoul

Seoul can be quite reasonably priced for North Asia, and I like that this property is just a ‘tier 2’ hotel meaning you can add nights for 40,000 Ritz-Carlton or Marriott points.

There are places in the city worth traveling to just for the food in my opinion. I know that bibimbap is like a club sandwich here in the States, I always marvel flying Asiana that Koreans order the steak (and so do most of Americans!) while I’m nearly along thrilled to have it. I’ll gladly have bean sprout, seaweed and rice noodle soup. And only in Seoul is there a rice cake museum.

Rates for a 3-day weekend in fall: US$212++ per night, US$723 all-in.

Credit: Ritz-Carlton

The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai

Like Seoul, the Portman Ritz-Carlton is a tier 2 hotel so one you can reasonably add-on additional nights at using points. The property is located on West Nanjing Road, one of the city’s main commercial streets near the Shanghai Natural History Museum, Jing An Sculpture Park, and Taixing Road Zhang’s Garden.

Rates for a 3-day weekend in spring: US$231++ per night, US$810 all-in.

Credit: Ritz-Carlton

Earning Ritz-Carlton Nights With This New Visa Infinite

Based on reader feedback and other reports Chase doesn’t seem to be imposing restrictions on getting this card like they are many of their other cards. Customers haven’t been reporting being denied for too many new cards in the last 24 months.

And you can earn more Ritz-Carlton nights quickly, too. In addition to the complimentary nights signup bonus offer you also get 10,000 bonus points when you add the first authorized user to your new account and make a purchase within 3 months from account opening.

The card earns 5 points per dollar on Ritz-Carlton and Marriott spend, and double points on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, and at car rental agencies and restaurants. You also earn a 10% annual bonus on points earned through card purchases made during the year.

A PointSaver reward at a category 1 Ritz-Carlton costs 20,000 points. After spending the $5000 required to earn the bonus, and adding an authorized user to your Ritz-Carlton credit card, you’ve got a minimum of 15,000 points. If your initial spend is on airline tickets or restaurants you’ve got the points for a complimentary night. And you can transfer points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card to Ritz-Carlton to top off as well.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card