The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card review

The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card is no longer open to new applications, but if you’re keen on earning rewards with Ritz-Carlton hotels, you can still derive significant value out of another Marriott Bonvoy card. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is a comparable co-branded card issued by American Express. It has a higher annual fee than the Ritz-Carlton card, but still offers generous rewards rates in popular travel categories.

You can earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar spent at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program, 3X points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2X points on all other eligible purchases. Although the Bonvoy Brilliant has a hefty annual fee of $650, its rewards rate might help you offset the cost. By becoming a Marriott Bonvoy member (10X points) and qualifying for Platinum Elite status (5X points), you can increase your rewards rate from 6X points at Bonvoy locations to up to 21X points. This boosted rate will help you quickly offset your annual fee through frequent stays at Marriott Bonvoy hotels. 

The Bonvoy Brilliant also currently has a welcome offer: Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. This welcome offer is worth roughly $665.00 based on Bankrate’s points valuations, which give Marriott Bonvoy points a value of 0.7 cents.

Though the Chase Sapphire Reserve® may have a steeper annual fee of $550 and a higher APR, this card is considered one of the best travel cards due to its attractive rewards rates, highly valuable welcome offer and luxury perks. Cards like the Sapphire Reserve are typically more flexible and offer more lucrative rewards than cobranded cards. 

With the Sapphire Reserve, you earn 10X points on hotels, car rentals, and Chase dining purchases through Chase Travel, which is one of the best rates you’ll find on general rewards cards. Plus, you can earn 5X points on air travel purchased through Chase Travel and 3X on general travel purchases after the annual travel credit is applied plus 3X points on restaurants. Its points are worth about 2.0 cents per point when transferred to the right airline or hotel partner and redeemed through the Chase Travel℠ portal, according to Bankrate’s points and miles valuations. This value is much higher than the Marriott Bonvoy points earned through The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card. These boosted rates and the travel credit help you get closer to offsetting the card’s annual cost. It also has a competitive welcome offer that elevates this card's value in the first year. 

That said, much of the card’s earning potential depends on its rewards portal. The extra work may not be ideal for a frequent traveler who already knows their preferences and is unwilling to compromise. 

If you prefer the concentrated perks of a co-branded card, an airline card such as the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express card could complement The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card well. With Delta Airlines being one of the largest airlines in the world, there are plenty of opportunities to use this card. Although the rewards rate is lower (3X miles for Delta purchases and hotels, 2X miles at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants), the annual fee is also slightly lower at $350 per year.

If you’re looking for a non-travel card option, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express could be a good choice. With its high rewards on groceries, streaming services and transit purchases (including rideshares, tolls, trains and more), this card is ideal for families who travel often. It also comes with classic Amex perks like complimentary ShopRunner (enrollment required), American Express Experiences and Global Assist Hotline. Plus, the $95 annual fee is waived in the first year, giving you time to figure out the best way to combine the two. 

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2023 was $77,280 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $6,000
• Dining out: $3,900
• Entertainment: $2,500
• Gas: $2,400
• Apparel and services: $2,000

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 26 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners.

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card is no longer open to new applications, but current cardholders can still use the card and earn rewards. However, you can still acquire this card through a Chase product change from an existing Marriott credit card. 

Several credit cards earn rewards at Marriott Bonvoy hotels. These include: 

• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card