So going through my new benefits for the CSR and I notice that I have a $250 credit at the "Shops at Chase". I never really paid much attention to this over the past few months as I have been reading about the new card offerings, so I thought it was a pleasant surprise. I need a new toaster oven, and thought maybe I could use this benefit on something pragmatically useful for me. I found the following on the "Shops at Chase" page:


$555 for a Cuisinart Toaster Oven? Seems kind of expensive, especially for a Cuisinart. I would rather buy a Brevel for that much. As I am now learning about anything bought through the Chase "benefits" website, I follow up with a quick Google search to see what the MSRP is:

MSRP of $369.95. Chase has literally no shame. They are charging $159.05 (43%) more for a toaster oven that can be bought at Williams ....ing Sonoma. I haven't checked all the options on their exclusive online shopping experience, but given the headline prices of just about everything I suspect its a similar situation.

Now don't get me wrong, I am going to buy something for $249.99, regardless of how ridiculously it is priced. However I am slowly starting to realize this is the "catch" for a lot of these advertised "benefits".

I spent quite a lot of time planning a recent vacation around the Edit hotels. I eventually found something that provided value at 2.0ccp redemption, and would not have added benefit with the credit. However it took a while, and was rather agitated by the experience. Similar to their little shopping portal here, a lot of the Edit hotels were just outright overpriced versus booking direct. A lot of Edit hotels did not offer cheaper class of rooms, even though their were available direct at the hotel. That is, they were pushing you to a more expensive "Superior" room rather than a "Deluxe" room. Many hotels weren't available at all during peak times, even though again they were available direct. I have not messed with the dining credit yet, but from my investigations into it shows a lot of opacity regarding what is and is not eligible for the credit,

Ultimately this is just another example of the new Chase rebrand being more of an agitating game I need to play, and not a supporting supplement to my travel or lifestyle.