topic Re: Interesting phone call from Chase in Credit Cards

Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:46:20 GMT

As some of you may have read in my previous post, I received a secure message from Chase saying they would like to upgrade my standard Chase Freedom card to the Chase Freedom Visa Signature. This sounded fine to me. Today, I got a phone call saying that their message contained incorrect information and that they would like to product change me to the Chase Sapphire in my choice of either Visa Signature or World Mastercard. The way I see it, it is basically the same card but I will lose my 5% categories. Is there any advantage to me doing the product change? If there is, I'm thinking that I can make up for the categories by getting a Discover More card as I get at least 1 preapproval from them a week and they soft my report sometimes more than once a month. My question with that is, do you have to meet the spending threshold before you earn the 5% like you have to to earn the regular 1%? Thank you all in advance.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

jason86423 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:50:43 GMT

The 5% bonus categories are outside of the standard accrual for calculation purposes.

Discover's 0.25% cash back scheme is awful..mine is Sock Drawered except for the 5% bonuses

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:03:08 GMT

@jason86423 wrote:
The 5% bonus categories are outside of the standard accrual for calculation purposes.

Discover's 0.25% cash back scheme is awful..mine is Sock Drawered except for the 5% bonuses

That's why I haven't applied for one yet despite all of the offers but if I take the Sapphire upgrade, that could make up for the lost categories.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

jason86423 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:16:00 GMT

I'm not too fond on the point accumulation of the Sapphire, but with it being a signature it gives you more card benefits that what the freedom does. Discover redemption for cash deposits to your checking / savings account starts at $50 another drawback as Freedom is $20 min.

If you shop online and use the ultimate rewards mall the points do add up quickly. At Christmas I ended up with almost 2500 bonus points that posed on my Jan 3rd Ultimate rewards statement.

You could always look at Citi Dividend as a fill in also as that has some 5% categories. PenFed's reward card is ok, 5% on gas but there is a new version based on Pts coming out in February.

Tough choice but if you are not fully utilizing the bonus categories on Freedom I'd say go for it. Maybe at the same time you can get some bonus points out of chase along with the upgrade

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:25:01 GMT

Did they stop offering the Freedom as a Visa Signature? If its available I would ask to switch into that instead of Sapphire since Chase started reporting CLs on their Signature cards. The 5% rotating categories on Freedom are far superior to the 2% you get on restaurants with Sapphire. Citi Forward gets 3-5% on restaurants depending on what you redeem points for. If its Sapphire Preferred, you also get 2% on travel expenses but there is a $95 AF which I'm sure people who don't travel frequently can't justify paying.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:45:05 GMT

I asked if they could just upgrade my Freedom to the Signature version and they said that they would have to get back to me on that. I was under the impression that in order for you to have the Signature version, your CL had to be 5k and up and mine is at 3k. I do like some of the perks of the Signature, although I'm not sure how often I would use them.

I'm not impressed with Discover's rewards system at all, but have not thought about any other cards having categories.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

jason86423 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:49:50 GMT

I found something that might interest you if you decide to upgrade to Sapphire.

http://creditcardforum.com/content/best-cash-back-credit-cards-4/

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:50:46 GMT

Are there any perks besides the concierge service? I wonder if its good, considering the non-signature BOA card I used to have also had concierge service and it was far from useful.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:11:05 GMT

@jason86423 wrote:
I found something that might interest you if you decide to upgrade to Sapphire.

http://creditcardforum.com/content/best-cash-back-credit-cards-4/

Thank you for this. I didn't realize there were so many options out there. I wish Citi had better categories. From my reading around here, it looks like they are giving out pretty good limits lately. It's a hard decision. If they will upgrade my Freedom to the Signature I'll take that. I don't mind opening a new accont though so if I could find something comparable I would just do that. I mostly only take advantage of the categories for gas.

I know someone (PenFed?) has a 5% gas card but I'm not sure how hard it is to get approved for someone with low income like myself, and if you have to be a member to even apply.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

jason86423 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:16:38 GMT

Not sure where you stand - Average Age of Accounts, Income, any baddies but the Blue Cash Everyday from Amex might be an option also. It has 3% back at Grocery Stores, 2% gas and dept stores and 1% everywhere else with no caps and no AF. Amex revolvers are more difficult to obtain but grow over time.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:26:12 GMT

@jason86423 wrote:
Not sure where you stand - Average Age of Accounts, Income, any baddies but the Blue Cash Everyday from Amex might be an option also. It has 3% back at Grocery Stores, 2% gas and dept stores and 1% everywhere else with no caps and no AF. Amex revolvers are more difficult to obtain but grow over time.

I actually have the Clear card from amex. I just sent them a secured message asking weather I can product change to the BCE but I'm not holding my breath.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:01:55 GMT

Incredible. I sent a simple secured message to Amex less than an hour ago saying simply, "I would like to product change my Clear card to the Blue Cash Everyday card."

I just recieved this response:

Hello mmduluth,

As you requested, I've changed your Clear Card account to Blue Cash Everyday Card account. The Product Change will be effective on 01/18/2012. You will receive details regarding the change in terms by mail.

Your current Card can continue to be used until the new Card is received. Your new Card will be received within 7-10 business days.

I hope this email addresses your inquiry.

Have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,

The mods will take the name out anyways,
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

jason86423 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:05:34 GMT

can't beat amex customer service!

congrats on the PC

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:14:13 GMT

@jason86423 wrote:
can't beat amex customer service!

congrats on the PC

Thank you. That's the first time I have ever actually had any interaction with them. I'm glad they did the product change. Maybe now I'll use the card more. The reason I didn't app for the BCE to begin with was becuase of the spending requirements but now that they're gone, there was no reason for me not to have it.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

JustMe77 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:50:51 GMT

@mmduluth wrote:
Incredible. I sent a simple secured message to Amex less than an hour ago saying simply, "I would like to product change my Clear card to the Blue Cash Everyday card."

I just recieved this response:

Hello mmduluth,

As you requested, I've changed your Clear Card account to Blue Cash Everyday Card account. The Product Change will be effective on 01/18/2012. You will receive details regarding the change in terms by mail.

Your current Card can continue to be used until the new Card is received. Your new Card will be received within 7-10 business days.

I hope this email addresses your inquiry.

Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,

The mods will take the name out anyways,
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services

That's pretty awesome, congrats!

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

Open123 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:26:47 GMT

@JustMe77 wrote:
@mmduluth wrote:
Incredible. I sent a simple secured message to Amex less than an hour ago saying simply, "I would like to product change my Clear card to the Blue Cash Everyday card."

I just recieved this response:

Hello mmduluth,

As you requested, I've changed your Clear Card account to Blue Cash Everyday Card account. The Product Change will be effective on 01/18/2012. You will receive details regarding the change in terms by mail.

Your current Card can continue to be used until the new Card is received. Your new Card will be received within 7-10 business days.

I hope this email addresses your inquiry.

Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,

The mods will take the name out anyways,
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services
That's pretty awesome, congrats!

Yeah, it is!

Amex customer service is noticeably better than everyone else. For instance, I inquired about a gift card (measly $5 one) they had neglected to send me, and for that they credited my account $100 for me to have lunch on them.

I can't imagine another CC that would make that offer.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:18:12 GMT

@Open123 wrote:
@JustMe77 wrote:
@mmduluth wrote:
Incredible. I sent a simple secured message to Amex less than an hour ago saying simply, "I would like to product change my Clear card to the Blue Cash Everyday card."

I just recieved this response:

Hello mmduluth,

As you requested, I've changed your Clear Card account to Blue Cash Everyday Card account. The Product Change will be effective on 01/18/2012. You will receive details regarding the change in terms by mail.

Your current Card can continue to be used until the new Card is received. Your new Card will be received within 7-10 business days.

I hope this email addresses your inquiry.

Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,

The mods will take the name out anyways,
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services
That's pretty awesome, congrats!
Yeah, it is!

Amex customer service is noticeably better than everyone else. For instance, I inquired about a gift card (measly $5 one) they had neglected to send me, and for that they credited my account $100 for me to have lunch on them.

I can't imagine another CC that would make that offer.

Woah talk about great customer service. I'm still waiting to hear back from Chase about weather upgrading my Freedom to Signature is am option instead of just changing to Sapphire. I'm impatient so this waiting isn't fun for me.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:28:15 GMT

If you switch to the Sapphire Preferred, I would argue their customer service is on par with AMEX. Always a live person and never a prompt when you call.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

UFGuy2006 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:34:53 GMT

@mmduluth wrote:
@Open123 wrote:
@JustMe77 wrote:
@mmduluth wrote:
Incredible. I sent a simple secured message to Amex less than an hour ago saying simply, "I would like to product change my Clear card to the Blue Cash Everyday card."

I just recieved this response:

Hello mmduluth,

As you requested, I've changed your Clear Card account to Blue Cash Everyday Card account. The Product Change will be effective on 01/18/2012. You will receive details regarding the change in terms by mail.

Your current Card can continue to be used until the new Card is received. Your new Card will be received within 7-10 business days.

I hope this email addresses your inquiry.

Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,

The mods will take the name out anyways,
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services
That's pretty awesome, congrats!
Yeah, it is!

Amex customer service is noticeably better than everyone else. For instance, I inquired about a gift card (measly $5 one) they had neglected to send me, and for that they credited my account $100 for me to have lunch on them.

I can't imagine another CC that would make that offer.

Woah talk about great customer service. I'm still waiting to hear back from Chase about weather upgrading my Freedom to Signature is am option instead of just changing to Sapphire. I'm impatient so this waiting isn't fun for me.

I was able to upgrade my Freedom to a Visa Signature after having the account open for 12 months. It was all done via the online secure message center. If they say they can't do it at this time, ask them when your card will be eligible to. They were able to provide me a month when my card would be eligible to - thats when I sent in the request to upgrade it to a Visa Signature.

Re: Interesting phone call from Chase

mmduluth — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:10:59 GMT

@UFGuy2006 wrote:
@mmduluth wrote:
@Open123 wrote:
@JustMe77 wrote:
@mmduluth wrote:
Incredible. I sent a simple secured message to Amex less than an hour ago saying simply, "I would like to product change my Clear card to the Blue Cash Everyday card."

I just recieved this response:

Hello mmduluth,

As you requested, I've changed your Clear Card account to Blue Cash Everyday Card account. The Product Change will be effective on 01/18/2012. You will receive details regarding the change in terms by mail.

Your current Card can continue to be used until the new Card is received. Your new Card will be received within 7-10 business days.

I hope this email addresses your inquiry.

Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,

The mods will take the name out anyways,
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services
That's pretty awesome, congrats!
Yeah, it is!

Amex customer service is noticeably better than everyone else. For instance, I inquired about a gift card (measly $5 one) they had neglected to send me, and for that they credited my account $100 for me to have lunch on them.

I can't imagine another CC that would make that offer.

Woah talk about great customer service. I'm still waiting to hear back from Chase about weather upgrading my Freedom to Signature is am option instead of just changing to Sapphire. I'm impatient so this waiting isn't fun for me.
I was able to upgrade my Freedom to a Visa Signature after having the account open for 12 months. It was all done via the online secure message center. If they say they can't do it at this time, ask them when your card will be eligible to. They were able to provide me a month when my card would be eligible to - thats when I sent in the request to upgrade it to a Visa Signature.

When they upgraded yours did you already have a 5k or higher limit? I've had the card for over 2 years now but the limit is at 3k. From reading these boards, it looks like they only give you the sig version with a 5k limit.