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So I noticed the 800 numbers behind my Chase Amazon and Freedom are different. The Amazon card yielded a rep with a presumably Indian accent, whereas the Freedom I presume was an American agent.
This raises a question:
Given that we know lots of CC companies outsource their call centers overseas, do higher tiered cards (Freedom vs Amazon in my case) yield "level 2" or American reps? Could this be another perk of having a Visa Signature or WMC? If so, I'd say it's a pretty useful benefit.
I also notice it's the same case with backdoor numbers.
This is a good question and I think yes. Every time I have called Citi for my AA WMC, it's been in the US and customer service was very good. I'm curious to hear other responses.
Also if it's high traffic or off hours, they will redirect the call to an outsourced rep.
@ACsteel wrote:Also if it's high traffic or off hours, they will redirect the call to an outsourced rep.
^ This is true. I recall getting a foreign CSR when calling the number on the back of my American Expresss PRG card. I was quite surprised, but it made sense being that it was 6AM Sunday morning.
Discover has been the most consistent when it comes to the quality of CSR.
Hmm..I know for sure AMEX outsources to the Phillipines, and given PRG is only a charge card....I think that was correct..but then again it's all speculation.
And Discover markets the US based customer service in their mailers. Pretty important if you ask me. Sometimes I honestly can't understand some reps.
Both my Chase Freedom and Citi Forward are Visa Signatures and I don't recall the number on the back of the card changing when they were upgraded. The few times I've called with an issue I've gotten both American and foreign reps so I don't think the Visa Signature status in itself comes with a higher tier of customer service. Some premium products such as the CSP have dedicated American call centers and they happen to be issued as Visa Signatures.
When you speak with a Chase analyst, it is always american but when they transfer yo to ask the verifying questions, its an outsourced call center. Happened every time with my three cards with them.
My CSP is always an american rep. I haven't needed to talk to u/w on it or anything, but it's something (IIRC) that they advertise as a perk. For the no-AF version too, I believe. I like it
@virgo wrote:When you speak with a Chase analyst, it is always american but when they transfer yo to ask the verifying questions, its an outsourced call center. Happened every time with my three cards with them.
I'm trying to be concise because this is a pretty complex question to ask.
Basically issuers direct specific product types to targeted call centers which can mean getting a rep abroad or in the US or both. This is almost always tied to product such as CSP vs Slate and not association tier like VS or WMC. However the one exception are accounts designated as high value which often have different queues that handle important customers. So you can have a $125 TY Premier card for 2000 years but spend so little that you are sent to standard call queues for that product type and another user has a 12 month $0 AF TY Preferred card with $50,000 in spend is directed to a premium queue.