[10/16 Update] I believe this should be the final update to this post. A Free Night certificate earned from prior spending has already been issued, and you can log in to your Fairmont account to check it. If you spent $6,000, the certificate will expire in February 2018; if you spent $12,000, the certificate should expire one year after issuance. For how to use the certificate and some tips, see:
If you’re traveling to California, I highly recommend trying Fairmont Santa Monica. It should not disappoint.
As for this card, which has already been converted to the Chase Sapphire Preferred, I have since product changed it to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. After the product change, I also received a prorated refund of about $40 for the CSP/Fairmont annual fee. You can also convert it to the no-annual-fee Freedom, and the annual fee should likewise be refunded.
[8/15 Update] As expected, this card has now been converted to the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, and all Fairmont points were converted 1:1 into Ultimate Rewards. Point transfers and related features are now available as well. After becoming a CSP, this card can also be used for the walmart.com 10x cashback promotion, so if you need it, remember to use it. Buying gift cards also works to trigger it. If you do not want a card with an annual fee, you can downgrade it before the next annual fee posts to the no-annual-fee Chase Freedom or Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Feel free to leave a comment and tell us why~
[8/9 Update] This card will officially be discontinued on August 15 and converted to the Chase Sapphire Preferred. However, from the time the annual fee is charged through August 15, if you spend $6,000, you can still get one Free Night, and those 6,000 points will eventually be converted to UR. I’m putting a lot of spend on mine. Curious where everyone else stands right now. Vote in the poll~ Here are a few stay reviews for reference.
- Guide to Using Fairmont Free Night
- In-Depth Fairmont Santa Monica Review
- Fairmont Peace Hotel Shanghai Review
- Fairmont New York The Plaza Review
[6/15 Update] After receiving the letter yesterday, I found a few unclear points about the conversion. I sent a secure message to Chase to confirm, and they verified that points will transfer to UR at 1:1, and that the Free Night really only requires $6,000 in spend to earn ($12,000 gives the FN a longer expiration). Their detailed reply is below:
[6/14 Update] This card will be converted to the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card on August 15 (HT: reddit)! There are three additional pieces of good news:
- Any unused Fairmont Rewards points will be converted directly into CSP Ultimate Rewards points (conversion ratio unknown). Although the ratio was not announced, I think it should be 1:1. Since UR points are worth more than 1c, while Fairmont points are worth less than or equal to 1c (for gift card redemptions), I recommend not using your points and simply waiting for them to become UR.
- The Fairmont card normally gives one free night after $12,000 in cardmember-year spending, valid at any property in the portfolio. If your cardmember year from your open date to August 15 is less than 12 months, then you only need to spend $6,000 to get one Free Night instead (potentially worth $400+)! If you can use it, I strongly recommend spending the full $6,000, especially if you just opened the card. After meeting the initial minimum spend, you would only need another $3,000 to earn an additional FN.
- After the card becomes a CSP, if your total cardholding history is at least one year, you can use SM to product change it again to the no-annual-fee Freedom (quarterly 5x) or Freedom Unlimited (1.5x on everything). If you still need a card that can transfer to airline miles or hotel points, you can move credit limit from another card to this one to bring it up to $10,000 and then change it to the Chase Sapphire Reserve ($450 annual fee - $300 travel credit, 3x on travel, and 1.5x higher value when redeeming points directly). In other words, you have options!
Of course, under Chase’s approval rules, once this card becomes a CSP, you will no longer be able to apply directly for another CSP. The only way would be to first product change the CSP to Freedom/Freedom Unlimited, and only then apply again for a new CSP. Since a product change does not come with a signup bonus, it will not affect your ability to earn a CSP signup bonus the next time you apply.
[1/27 Update] I received a secure message from Chase introducing the first change to this card. Starting March 12, purchases made through Chase Travel with this card will no longer earn the extra 1 point/$, though there may be bonus opportunities through other methods. The full message is below:
Contents [Hide]
Chase Fairmont Credit Card Overview
- Application link: No longer available for new applicants!
Basics
- Signup bonus: Two free nights at any participating property (worth $800+)
- Earn Fairmont Rewards: 5x at Fairmont hotels; 2x on airfare, car rentals, and dining; 1x on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fee
- $0 first year, then $95
Highlights
- Annual free night: You only get a Fairmont free night after spending $12,000 on the card each year, so this is really for people who enjoy luxury hotels
- Point redemptions:
- Starts at 25,000 points for one standard room night and goes up to 75,000 for one suite night (see image below), for an average value of about 1 cent per point
- Category information: official website
- Fairmont elite benefits:
- Automatic Premier status for cardholders: official website
- You can receive SPA certificates, suite upgrade certificates, and dining certificates, and they can be combined with free night certificates
Cons
- Points are not flexible and can only be used at properties in the chain
- If you do not plan to stay at luxury hotels, the two free nights from the signup bonus may go to waste; in that case, a points card like the Marriott credit card may be better
- There are relatively few Fairmont hotels overall, so it makes sense to apply only if you already have a specific property in mind
- The annual free night is valuable, but compared with the Marriott credit card and Hyatt credit card, which give you a certificate just for paying the annual fee, this one is less straightforward
My Take
According to reports, in April Chase’s “5/24 rule” would likely expand to co-branded cards, and of course this card would not be an exception. In the past, people mainly applied for this card because of the signup bonus free nights at Fairmont hotels. This brand is entirely made up of luxury properties, and the Fairmont in New York can sell for $400+ per night, so the two free nights from the signup bonus can let you splurge a little. On top of that, spending $12,000 per year on the card earns an extra free night. The biggest downside, though, is that Fairmont only has a little over 60 properties in the U.S., and even with a free night certificate, award availability is not guaranteed. For hotel locations, see: official website.
In December 2015, Accor acquired the Fairmont hotel portfolio (news link), and the brand would gradually be integrated into Accor. That means this Fairmont credit card issued by Chase would eventually be discontinued. More importantly, this card might end up like the old Chase Amtrak card (after Amtrak signed a card-issuing agreement with another bank) and be directly converted into the Chase Freedom credit card, a popular card for earning Ultimate Rewards quickly. So if you cannot get the Chase Freedom because of the “5/24 rule,” this could be an indirect workaround. Of course, if you already have a Chase Freedom credit card and want one more, this is also a bit of a gamble.
Apply (Discontinued)
- This card has been discontinued and will be converted to the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card on August 15
Hotel Photos
- Fairmont Boston
- Peace Hotel Shanghai (The Bund)
