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@M_Smart007 wrote:
@SALEEN961 wrote:I did make sure to reallocate my available credit before closing the card, before hand my other Chase cards had my lowest limits by a large margin, but now they're pretty comparable with my other cards.
For a minute, I was worried that you closed it with the full CL.
But even then, OP's profile (good other CLs and $25k of what I'm guessing is largely travel/dining spend) is probably one that could get the credit back elsewhere pretty easily. Slate aside, Chase cards aren't generally great for carrying balances...though I suppose Chase may send some customers the occasional nice BT offer.
@MyFault wrote:I'm not sure i would have just closed the account entirely, however i'm not sure how much history you had with the card. Why not xfer the CL from it to your other cards and PC to the Sapphire no AF card with the lowest CL they allow, and keep it open?
Great question, I did make sure to transfer my available credit to my other Chase cards before closing the account, Chase has never really given me any CLIs aside from one small increase on my Freedom and before closing my CSR I had a 28.5K CL on it, 6.5K on my Freedom, and 4K on my Amazon card, making the Freedom and Amazon card my smallest CL cards by far. After transferring my available credit to the other two cards their CLs now match my other cards pretty well.
I suppose could have downgraded to a CSP or no-fee Sapphire but to be perfectly honest I'm trying to cut down on my non-essential spending this year to help my wife tackle the student loan debt she racked up before we met. With that being the case a travel and dining card really doesn't fit into what I'm trying to do anymore. The CSR was my youngest card at 2 years old, so it's no big loss, and in two years time when I'm past the 48 month cutoff for Sapphire sign up bonuses I'll probably sign up for a CSP or maybe a CSR equivalent depending on what the program/offer looks like in two years when I'm ready to start spending again. For the time being I'm probably just going to garden or open a Freedom Unlimited for 1.5% cash back, I could have done a PC to a Freedom Unlimited, but then I'd miss out on the sign-up bonus and potential for an increased CL. I don't have many open accounts or accounts in total compared to some people, but closing the CSR and opening a new account isn't going to have a big impact on my 6.5 year AAoA because I still have the first 5 cards I ever opened. Even after opening a new card the average age of my open accounts will still be roughly 5.6 years while my overall AAoA will be roughly 6.2 years.
@MyFault wrote:The CSR was never a profitable card for Chase, so those who don't want to pay the new $550 AF i'm sure they're happy to let go if they don't want to stay. Not to knock the OP's spending, but i do believe that $25k annual spend isn't large to Chase. I'm still deciding whether to PC my CSP to CSR, but i have until July to figure it out. The DoorDash doesn't do much for me, nor does the Lyft membership, but i can definitely utilize them to use the credits to keep the effective AF down.
I think Chase's position moving forward is, to say goodbye to those who don't want the CSR now due to the increased AF and move it into a more profitable card for them. Vs how it's been since it was released.
I have to agree that while my 25K annual spend on the CSR was large to me and accounted for the vast majority of my spending, 25K simply isn't a large amount to Chase given their target audience for this card. I only mentioned it because it shows that I was really using the card and not just abusing their sign-up offer so it surprised me when they didn't even ask why I wanted to close my account. For 25K annual spend I just expected some sort of discussion about why I wanted to close the account even if no retention offer was made.
I plan to downgrade my CSR to a Freedom in August, after I've completed a trip already booked with the CSR but before the $550 annual fee hits on September 1. I thought briefly about downgrading my CSR to a CSP, but when I did the math, the CSP would be no better for me than the CSR.
@UpperNwGuy wrote:I plan to downgrade my CSR to a Freedom in August, after I've completed a trip already booked with the CSR but before the $550 annual fee hits on September 1. I thought briefly about downgrading my CSR to a CSP, but when I did the math, the CSP would be no better for me than the CSR.
Any idea what you'll use instead? BofA Premium and Schwab Platinum cover a lot for me these days.
@wasCB14 wrote:
@UpperNwGuy wrote:I plan to downgrade my CSR to a Freedom in August, after I've completed a trip already booked with the CSR but before the $550 annual fee hits on September 1. I thought briefly about downgrading my CSR to a CSP, but when I did the math, the CSP would be no better for me than the CSR.
Any idea what you'll use instead? BofA Premium and Schwab Platinum cover a lot for me these days.
I would look at the Amex Green. Same 3x point earning, lower AF, and the travel category for point earning is very similar to the CSP/CSR.
If i were to leave the UR system, i would do an Amex Quadfecta with Green, Platinum, Everyday Preferred, and Blue Business Plus.
If you have a relationship with US Bank, i'd look into the Altitude Reserve also.
If not, you can open an Easy checking account with them, and just stash $1500 so they don't hit you with any fees.
Has anyone tried for the seldom talked about downgrade path to the no-fee "Sapphire Card" - can't apply for one, apparently you need to ask.
This was a downgrade option up to about a year ago, was curious if anyone recently did this successfully
@Anonymous wrote:Has anyone tried for the seldom talked about downgrade path to the no-fee "Sapphire Card" - can't apply for one, apparently you need to ask.
This was a downgrade option up to about a year ago, was curious if anyone recently did this successfully
A few people PCed to that in late 2019. PC options are somewhat YMMV. Most get CSP/CS as PC options, some others also get CF/CFU.
just curious why you chose closing over downgrading? I'm in the same situation but don't want to give up a $35K CL :-) I'm going to ask for a downgrade path instead.
@Anonymous wrote:just curious why you chose closing over downgrading? I'm in the same situation but don't want to give up a $35K CL :-) I'm going to ask for a downgrade path instead.
I considered downgrading but not knowing that the no annual fee Sapphire still existed I thought my options were basically a Sapphire Preferred, a Freedom, or a Freedom Unlimited. The CSP isn't appealing to me at the moment because I plan to drastically cut my dining and travel expenses over the next couple years, which is a big part of why the CSR doesn't make sense for me anymore, I just couldn't see spending $1100 in annual fees for the CSR over the next two years when the card would be of very little use to me as most of my spending would be in the 1% cash back category. I already have a Freedom, and I could have PC'd to a Freedom Unlimited, but by closing the card and applying for it directly I'll get the sign-up bonus I would have missed out on otherwise. I honestly should have applied for a Freedom Unlimited when it first came out, but I don't like to have more cards than what fits in my wallet at one time and I already had two sharing a slot.
I was able to reallocate my 28.5K credit limit from my CSR to my Freedom and Amazon cards which had very low limits compared to my other cards (6.5K and 4.5K respectively), which acted as a bit of an incentive to close the card rather than PC it. By asking to close it I also had a chance at getting a retention offer, but based on my experience I really wouldn't expect one from Chase.
The CSR was my youngest card, which was also a big factor, had it been one of my oldest cards I would have PC'd it into something else to keep the line open; but being my youngest card, losing it doesn't feel like much of a loss. After I'm done helping my wife pay off her student loan debt and done saving up a down payment for a house my dining a travel spending will increase again and I expect to get another card comparable to the CSR if not the CSR itself should it still be available and have good perks, and when I'm ready to do so I'll be eligible for another Sapphire sign up bonus which could go a long way towards sending my wife and I back to Belize where we got married.
@Anonymous wrote:Has anyone tried for the seldom talked about downgrade path to the no-fee "Sapphire Card" - can't apply for one, apparently you need to ask.
This was a downgrade option up to about a year ago, was curious if anyone recently did this successfully
I downgraded my CSP to the no AF Sapphire last August. I got the CSP in August 2018 when there was still a first-year AF waived offer. When my AF hit August 2019, I called to get a retention offer but they wouldn't give me one. I already knew there was a no AF Sapphire card, but I told the agent I want get the AF credited back and to either downgrade or cancel it. They offered the 2 Freedom cards or the no AF Sapphire as PC options and credited back the full AF. I downgraded to the no AF Sapphire so I can leave open the CFU for a future SUB (I already have a CF). They were of course happy to PC instead of me closing but they reminded me of the CSP bonuses I would miss out.
On a side note, I have recently decided to go all in with Chase URs so I will be upgrading back to the CSP.... possibly tomorrow. They would not PC to it through secure chat but told me I was eligible and had to call the number on the back of my card.