leonard016

I was late to come across this card - it came out in June 2011. It is on Chase website: https://creditcards.chase.com/credit...lect-card.aspx. There are some discussions about the card in the USA EVM card thread. However, most discussions are on Chip-n-Sig or potentially Chip-n-PIN transactions outside USA. EVM is of course a huge selling point of the card, but I would also like to hear discussions about the card itself, especially from the rewards point of view. Mod: if there is another existing thread please consolidate.

Here is what I see:
- First year free, $95/year thereafter
- No signup bonus at this point
- 3x airfare thru UR, 2x airfare, hotel, rental cards, and 1x everywhere else.
- Annual 25K booster after $100K spending.
- Premium Ultimate Rewards just like Sapphire Preferred and Ink Bold: (1) 25% bonus in UR travel redemption, i.e. 1 point = 1.25 cent; (2) transfer points into miles/points of frequent traveler programs (BA/CO/KE/Hyatt/Marriott/PC/Amtrak). I assume this since it mentions transferring points into frequent traveler programs. Can anyone confirm?
- Equipped with EVM Chip. For now it is Chip-n-Sig but it MAY be Chip-n-PIN the the future.
- No forex fees
- No late and overlimit fees
- Primary rental car CDW
- Extremely high level of customer service? This is obviously geared towards JP Morgan customers even though the card is issued by Chase. Anyone has an idea if they have a dedicated customer service team?

JP Morgan Select vs. Sapphire Preferred:
- They have the same $95 annual fee.
- Currently Sapphire Preferred has 50K signup bonus while JP Morgan Select has none.
- Sapphire Preferred has 2x dining and all travel (including local and commuter transportation, and travel agencies) while JP Morgan Select has 2x airfare, hotel, and car rentals.
- Sapphire Preferred has 7% annual dividend on points collected while JP Morgan Select has 25K annual booster after $100K spent.
- JP Morgan Select has EVM Chip while Sapphire Preferred has none.
- JP Morgan Select has primary rent car CDW while Sapphire preferred has none.
- There may be difference in customer service? Wait for more inputs on this.

In general, if you value points high enough (assuming you use the transfer feature), JP Morgan Select is a great card. If you spend $100K a year on the card and/or have big foreign spending, it is even better.

mia

Also comparison with Sapphire Preferred in the early portions of this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...ts-thread.html

philwupdx

I just acquired the JPM Select mainly because of the EMV chip and the primary car rental coverage. For me the latter is particularly important since until now I've been using the SPG Amex premier car rental coverage at $25 per rental. Two years ago I had the unfortunate experience of $2000 worth of damage to a Hertz car (not my fault) that was completely covered by the primary AMEX insurance, and I didn't have to report a thing to my regular auto insurance (USAA). The $95 annual fee for the JPM will easily beat even this modest cost over the course of a year.

As far as the EMV chip is concerned, I'm just now departing for two weeks in Iceland, so I'll see how the JPM card works in a number of situations including remote fuel stations.

JPM Select does allow one-to-one transfer of points to Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Korean Air, British Air, and one or two others I may be forgetting. On the UR website I don't see an additional "bonus" when transferring points; however, I haven't checked out what possibilities exist with redemptions.

I called customer service twice about the EMV "chip and signature" issue, and talked with very polite individuals who seemed knowledgeable about the PIN issue but really couldn't say what would happen in all circumstances.

leonard016

Thanks mia.

Thanks for the firsthand info philwupdx. Please come back and update us of your Iceland experience.

Seems just like with $0 forex fees, Chase is rolling out cards that come with Primary car rental CDW - Continental OnePass Plus and Presidential Plus, United Explorer and JPM Select. My biggest question is actually how Chase handles claims - will it be as easy as Diners Club and Amex Premium Plan ($18 for Californian and $25 for others)? Of course it may still be too early to see reports.

On the UR side, could you confirm that you will have 25% bonus in redemption value when booking through UR (1 point = 1.25 cent)? It seems logical if JPM Select allows transfer, it will have this feature as well (available on Sapphire Preferred and Ink Bold). BTW the transfer partners you can't remember are Continental and Amtrak. I have updated the OP.

Aaron01

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm interested in this card because of the $0 FX and the EVM, since I travel to Canada frequently. I'll be interested in hearing people's reports on how the EVM chip performs in various countries and points of service.

SirWilliam

I am pretty sure this is what I will be replacing my Diners Club card with.

cardtracker

The website is pretty skimpy on details. Any insight to whether any concierge access comes with the card and who provides?

2tall4economy

Take it up a notch and just get one of these

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit...dium-card.aspx

Seriously though, sounds like a pretty simple equation for most people who need car rentals regularly. This or, if you fly UA/CO, their card. Don't think there's anything else (you can't get a Diners Club anymore) offering primary. No FX fees is nice but you can get that for free with Cap1 or as a side benefit on many, many, many of the $450 cards.

mia

Typically rental car collision damage waiver coverage is handled by the transaction network, not by the card issuer. It may be that VISA has decided to test primary coverage as a marketing gambit through various issuers:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...-excluded.html

leonard016

That is interesting to know!

2tall4economy

Very interesting. I recently reviewed my Visa Signature cards and each of them said Secondary in the T&C.

I would suggest it's the bank then that determines it, but I have a Citi AA Visa Sig and pretty sure it's also secondary.

philwupdx

I have three Chase cards: Freedom Rewards (base card), Chase Marriott non-premier Visa Sig, and the JPM Select Visa Sig. Only the latter has primary car rental coverage.

mia

I did not mean that all or most VISA cards have this feature, only that it is not unique to JPM Select nor to Chase, because Citi has also issued such cards. The banks are looking for features which will reduce the churn rate on cards.

leonard016

My review on JPM Select is up:
http://drcreditcard.weebly.com/chase-jpm-select.html

saradon

The discover escape (now using the diners club merchant network since discover owns it) is offering primary car rental insurance, with actually better terms for NY state residents (this may be the reason Citi DC did not offer it in the past to NY state residents as I have heard) related to non-accidental damage (it's confusing, but is located in the policy information at the link below if anyone is curious about its applicability to NY state residents).

Insurance policy information here:
http://discovercard.com/customer-ser...hanced-tc.html

Hope this helps. With the point bonus, the card is free for two years so you could get primary car rental insurance free for two years.