Gary at View From the Wing recently wrote that it appeared that the Chase Fairmont card may be gone or possibly headed that way. The application link no longer worked and, for quite a while now, it has not been on the Chase homepage of credit cards. Well, the link is back up and without an annual fee for the first year, via Gary.
The Fairmont Credit Card
It is a nice card for those that have upcoming trips to the cities covered by Fairmont properties (see map here) as the sign-up bonus of two free nights is a great opportunity to stay in some special places. When the card was introduced, it also had the annual fee waived but it had since been added to the first year. Having it waived the first year now means you can get those two free nights essentially for free – though any of the Fairmont properties would certainly be worth $47.50 per night!
The Sign-up Bonus – Two Free Nights
– Chase Fairmont Credit Card Link (I do not earn a commission from this card)
The two free nights can be earned after spending $3,000 in 3 months. These nights need to be be used within a year so make sure you have a plan for them before you apply for this card! It also gives you a complimentary night each year that you spend $12,000 on the card. The one thing to be aware of – The Plaza hotel (in Manhattan) only allows you to use a single free night per stay. Keep that in mind if your thought for redemption of these nights was at the iconic Plaza.
There are several other perks that come with the card as well – elite status, annual upgrade certificates, and dining certificates. The catch on the upgrade and dining certificates is that you must maintain elite status through stays – the elite status via the card will not apply.
I have not had opportunity to pick up this card yet (because of the year validity on the nights) but when I do, I already know the hotel they will be redeemed at – the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. That hotel had actually been on my honeymoon list but my wife has never been a fan of snow. 🙂
This is not a bad looking place to use your free nights! – From the Chateau Lake Louise website
However, seeing photos of this property has convinced her that she does want to make it an anniversary trip at some point. By each of us applying for this card, we can get 4 nights at this hotel without spending anything for our stay!
This is a nice card to consider, even nicer with the annual fee now waived the first year. Just remember to have a use for the nights before you apply so you do not let this very valuable sign-up bonus go to waste.
Thanks for the info, but this is mostly useless and just a waste of another hard inquiry if we get denied as now is not the right time to apply for cards issued by Chase since they are really tightening up their system and turning down a lot of applicants who has 4-5 credit inquiries within the last 1-2 years (which most of us in this hobby do).
As of right now, that limit does not extend to co-branded cards so you could get this one. But, you are right that it would possibly prevent you from getting the Chase UR cards in the near future.