CNB Crystal Visa Infinite Application Process
The CNB Crystal Visa Infinite is probably the most valuable credit card on the market today. After procrastinating for years to apply, my wife and I finally bit the bullet just before the sign-up bonus dropped on August 1. Despite the currently lower bonus I thought it could be valuable to share my CNB Crystal Visa Infinite application experience since it is far from the typical process you find with other banks.
CNB Crystal Visa Infinite Benefits
As a reminder, the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite is a premium credit card. Here are some of the card’s benefits:
- $250 Airline Incidental Fees Statement Credit per Calendar Year per Card (Primary and up to 3 authorized users)
- Priority Pass Select – You get 2 memberships. Each membership allows entry for the Priority Pass cardholder you choose and their guests.
- Global Entry Application Fee Statement Credit
- $100 Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit
- No Foreign Transaction Fee
- Up to $550 Airline Lounge Club Membership fee statement credit when you spend $50,000 or more annually
All of this plus more comes with a $400 annual fee. So why is it worth it? Well, look at those credits! If you have 3 authorized users then you will receive $1,000 annually in incidental credits. Not to mention you get 2 Priority Pass memberships with unlimited guests plus even more like 12 free Gogo passes per year.
3X Earnings
This card earns well too. While the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite earns 1X on all normal purchases, that is upped to 3X for gas, grocery and most travel expenses.
The CNB Crystal Visa Infinite Application Process
One of the reasons I had held off on applying for the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite was because of the complicated application process. While an online application was briefly available earlier this year, for the most part you have had to either contact a banker or go into a branch to get this card. CNB Branch Locations
That truly wasn’t the biggest obstacle for me in applying though. The real reason for me was laziness and a lack of wanting to send in a ton of financial documents. CNB treats credit card applications with more scrutiny than other banks as they have stringent income and asset requirements and strictly enforce them. While anecdotally more people seem to be getting approved compared to before, the bank often requires bank statements, tax returns and sometimes even more documentation to support your application.
My CNB Crystal Visa Infinite Application Experience
To apply for the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite I emailed a banker who had helped out a friend of mine. Unfortunately I cannot share this banker’s information, however you can visit a branch or contact the bank to see if you would be able to apply without going in. YMMV, of course.
After contacting the banker I was asked for some basic information including my name, social security number, address and income. After determining I would qualify based on that info, the fun then began. The agent sent me a pre-filled online application where I had to complete a few details before electronically signing it.
Providing Documentation
One thing CNB is well known for with Crystal Visa Infinite applications is requiring documentation. My wife and I both have excellent credit scores, so I didn’t see that as being a factor. When submitting my application the banker also asked for our most recent tax return.
She did inform me though that the underwriter often requires more documentation such as assets, etc. when considering the application. We were prepared to provide this, but I was hoping a single tax return would be fine.
CNB Crystal Visa Infinite Application Processing
My entire application was done in a day. I did have a brief phone conversation with the banker to confirm things, but otherwise everything was done via email/web. I was informed it could take 2-3 business days for a decision, but alas the answer to my application came within hours.
APPROVED
But my wife’s application remained pending for a couple of days. It was submitted after mine so that sort of made sense, but she would not get such a quick answer. Thankfully though after two days of waiting she too was approved without the need for additional documentation. While I wasn’t thrilled about providing a tax return for a credit card, I think the value gained should be worth it.
Procrastinating the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite
I should say I have known about this card for quite a few years now and unfortunately let myself get turned off by the application process. As is usual in those types of scenarios it proved to be much simpler than I had built it up to be and I am glad that I am finally on board given the overall value of this card. If there aren’t any significant changes I suspect we’ll be keeping our CNB Crystal Visa Infinite cards for quite awhile.
Wait for A Better Offer?
Right now the bonus offer on the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite is 30K points after $3K spend in the first 3 months. It has been as high as 100K and we have also seen 75K and 50K offers in the past. While it is impossible to know if the bonus will increase, I suspect we might see higher bonuses from time to time. Keep in mind though that this card pays for itself with our without a bonus.
Conclusion
The CNB Crystal Visa Infinite application process went smoothly and as expected for both my wife and I. In the end we will both score the 50K point bonus plus a ton of travel credits and a few other awesome perks which will more than offset the fees. Right now the bonus is only 30K, but if a better offer comes along then this might be a card worth jumping on.
Lower Spend - Chase Ink Business Preferred® 100K!
Chase Ink Business Preferred® is a powerful card that earns 3X Ultimate Rewards points in a broad range of business categories on the first $150K in spend per year. Right now earn 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points after Learn more about this card and its features!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Does this card have an annual fee?
Could you please explain : Priority Pass Select – Airport Lounge Access For 2 People (Primary and AU plus their guests)
Seems contradictory
I have updated it to be a little more clear. When you are approved you are able to choose any two people who get a Priority Pass membership. This can be you, but you can choose other people as well. Each CNB account gets two Priority Pass memberships. Each of those memberships allows the cardholder plus unlimited guests into the lounge.
So think of it this way. The Amex Platinum card gives you one Priority Pass membership in your name only plus 2 guests per visits. The CNB membership allows you to gift the membership if you want and you get 2 memberships instead of 1. Unlike the Platinum limit of 2 guests, you also get to bring as many people as you have traveling with you into the lounge.
Thanks!
[…] Just in case you wanted to find out how it is applying for the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite credit card and what to expect. […]
Applied online in late July, still waiting for these clowns to get their act together. I sent in my 1040, I’ve been told I’m approved. Still no card, just emails with no real follow-up. I’ve pretty much given up, 3+ weeks to issue a cc? This card is meant to be a bridge to them managing your finances. F- there, wouldnt trust these people to manage a $5 McDonald’s Arch card properly.
@Parts – yup, it’s a clown show. They’ve done a bang-up job ensuring I’d never deposit a dime with them.
On one of the other travel forums, someone provided an email for banker named Ralph Rodriguez: Ralph.Rodriguez at cnb.com. I worked with him online and got the card, as there is no physical branch location where I live. They do ask a lot of documents, but Ralph has been good. I will say the card is not like Chase or Amex; but the experience is very personalized, and you continue to have contact with your banker long after the card if you want to. For example, for an error charge, you can simply email the banker and they will help you take care of it. So its different, not good, not bad, just different. I like the card benefits.
Thanks for the glowing self-recommedatiin Ralph!
Wow. Let me know how else you want me to prove that I am a points reader like some of the others on this forum. I would say like you – but at least I dont make such presumptions.
If I was giving a “glowing self recommendation” – why would I say – So its different, not good, not bad, just different.
Is that glowing?
Its because of people like you that the internet is increasingly becoming a cesspool.
Wife applied in-branch. Just needed recent pay stub (a far cry from the outrageous requests for documents when I applied a few years ago). But as usual (they are a lousy bank to deal with on day-to-day matters – their IT is sub-par), they didn’t follow up. So had to call about status – was approved with nice CL, but zero communication from CNB. Finally rec’d cards 3 weeks later.
My only complaint is that one of my AU cards never came. Everything else seemed to come in a few days, although my wife’s cards all came first even though she was approved days after. There are definitely some strange things going on. I think it is best if people get a banker’s email to deal with them directly. I know that helped in my case.
With chase, Barclays, and others being increasingly sensitive to the number of recent accounts opened, it is not a straightforward proposition as to whether to add authorized users. The authorized user could well end up getting denied lucrative signup bonuses because of being added as an authorized user and thereby having too many new accounts.
This is always a consideration one should make when adding anyone to their cards.
That’s not a thing. If you were under 5/24 & have some AU cards, a manual recon will get you approved if 5/24 was the only thing that got you denied.
Thanks Shawn. I have been wanting this for a while. The perks are indeed solid. I called the nashville branch a year ago but apparently they are a specialty branch. They don’t have a physical public location in nashville and only cater to specialty clients. I found out that I am not what they consider a “specialty client”. haha. I will give another branch a call to see if there is anything I can do to get this done over the phone. If anyone else has success, please let us know here.
See my post below. I had success applying for this by getting an email reference from another travel points forum – without having to go into a branch. As I mentioned below, its not good, not bad, its just different. I like the perks a lot. I see a lot of people who dont like the bank in the comments; but the card has been good for me.
I am having a hard enough time using existing airline incidental credits without looking for more!
That is certainly a concern and something that will keep this from being a card for everyone.
Pretty sure this is the USA RBC. it’s surprising a card like this can compete when there are other cards out there from amex and chase that you can apply for easily online. Instead of this convoluted process for a card that’s less valuable then the plat or CSR. Even if I missed something and this is Canada only. I’ve never been declined for a card with amex, Scotiabank or RBC. No calling in or going to the branch. I can easily see the Cobalt amex, Scotia bank gold and TD first class card being a hundred times better then this. Unless there are some unlisted perks or the points are worth a whole lot more then those other cards. Heck the TD card has a huge signup bonus right now. You can’t make a card with crappy benifits with a high price good by having to apply in person.