Does Chase backdate?

[MMB85]

I have no idea why I didn't think about this before opening up my Chase Freedom account. But way back in 2008 when I was in college, my laptop crashed right before finals. Had a big paper and had to get a new one immediately. Didn't have enough cash, so Best Buy approved me for one of their credit cards that is handled my Chase. Less than a year later they cut ties and close all the credit cards, including mine. So that cc account has been paid in full and closed since that then. When I applied for my Freedom, could I have had them use that account and help my AAoA?

I know it is too late to do anything about the Freedom and that close account, but can I take advantage of that old account and open up another chase card like the Saphire and use that 2008 account and give a major boost to my AAoA?

[dodgerslv]

i dont think so. So far Amex is the only bank known to backdate.

[unc0mm0n1]

no. I think only Amex does back dating. and it has to be a card issued by amex. Not just an Amex branded card.

[MMB85]

Oh ok. Just read in another thread of a person converting their Circuit City credit card to Chase Freedom when circuit city closed. So that what got me thinking about my old Best Buy/Chase card. But I guess that person did the conversion right when it closed.

[hot4u]

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@unc0mm0n1 wrote:

no. I think only Amex does back dating. and it has to be a card issued by amex. Not just an Amex branded card.

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+1

[evil_ducky]

I know Amex Gold or BCP, for instance, must be Amex-issued, but what kinds are only Amex-branded? And what about a co-branded card like Costco TrueEarnings?

[Revelate]

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@evil_ducky wrote:
I know Amex Gold or BCP, for instance, must be Amex-issued, but what kinds are only Amex-branded? And what about a co-branded card like Costco TrueEarnings?

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If it's issued by Amex (which the Costco TE is) then it's fine for backdating.  Basically check the Amex website, pretty much any card there is issued by Amex in one of their two banks (I get them confused).

The difference is there are other cards which authorize against the Amex transactional network from other banking insitutions: these don't backdate.  Think the classic example was the BOFA Amex which used to be pretty much their flagship card; before it was effectively discontinued we'd get a question every two weeks about backdating it it seemed .

[alvon123]

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@unc0mm0n1 wrote:

no. I think only Amex does back dating. and it has to be a card issued by amex. Not just an Amex branded card.

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+1

[takeshi74]

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@MMB85 wrote:

Oh ok. Just read in another thread of a person converting their Circuit City credit card to Chase Freedom when circuit city closed. 

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That's a product change (PC) and it's entirely different from backdating.  A product change means that the account retains its history but is changed from one product to another.  You can't PC a closed account.

Backdating is when a new account is opened and the open date is reported as the month the account was opened and the year that the member established AmEx membership.

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@evil_ducky wrote:
I know Amex Gold or BCP, for instance, must be Amex-issued, but what kinds are only Amex-branded? And what about a co-branded card like Costco TrueEarnings?

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Branding isn't really the determining factor.  AmEx can only backdate cards that are issued by Centurion Bank/AmEx (i.e. anything on their site).  Cards processed by AmEx but issued by other creditors (BofA, USAA, PenFed, etc) cannot be backdated.

[evil_ducky]

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evil_ducky wrote:
I know Amex Gold or BCP, for instance, must be Amex-issued, but what kinds are only Amex-branded? And what about a co-branded card like Costco TrueEarnings?

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Branding isn't really the determining factor.  AmEx can only backdate cards that are issued by Centurion Bank/AmEx (i.e. anything on their site).  Cards processed by AmEx but issued by other creditors (BofA, USAA, PenFed, etc) cannot be backdated.

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Ah, I see. Thanks, Revelate and takeshi!

I'm curious as to what advantange creditors/banks get when they team up like that. I assume a user would contact the issuer with any problems rather than the processor, so it's not a customer service issue. And I know Visa is the brand most likely to be accepted for transactions, so it's not just an availability issue. Is it just the way things are done?