Feb 12, 2016, 8:56 am
Last edit by: beltway
This is the general 2016-2019 thread for weighing the relative merits
of keeping, downgrading, or canceling Chase-issued credit cards.
Post-2019 discussion continues in this thread.
of keeping, downgrading, or canceling Chase-issued credit cards.
Post-2019 discussion continues in this thread.
What's the main reason people product change (PC)?
The benefits offered by a particular card, might suit you better than the card you are holding. Many people, unable to qualify for a new Chase Sapphire Reserve application, upgraded from the Sapphire Preferred to the Sapphire Reserve, because the benefits of the CSR's cash reimbursements made the annual fee a nominal difference the first year. And vice versa- the onerous $450 yearly fee of the CSR makes an appealing case to downgrade to the Sapphire Preferred, and eventually to the no-fee Sapphire or a Freedom card.
Many people product change to avoid the annual fees on the premium versions of the card. Keeping the card open, via a product change, keeps the account open. This allows you to retain the seasoned account, and the banking relationship that the older card has established with Chase.
Why not just cancel the card and be done with it?
This may be the right choice for you, but others want some of the card benefits without having to reapply. Also, Chase has become very restrictive for new card applicants. For Chase cards, you must wait 24- 48 months since the last time you received a bonus before reapplying. Please see the threads on the individual cards for updated overlay rules.
An additional (and more stringent) overlay is the infamous 5/24 rule, which Chase instituted in May 2016 as a counter-measure against churning, or, as they refer to it, "Serial Starters." The 5/24 rule is that you won't be eligible for most Chase card products if you've opened more than 5 credit cards in 24 months. For more on this and other application-related issues, see the current "Applying for Chase Credit Cards " Master thread.
Finally, canceling certain cards--those earning Chase Ultimate Rewards--may deprive you of the ability to exchange UR for miles/points in air & hotel programs. See Ultimate Rewards transfer partners, times & rules.
Is there any way I can keep a card without paying the annual fee?
See Chase Retention Bonuses: June 2015-Present
Are there any restrictions on product changes?
Product changes are only allowed within the same card "family," and are not permitted between business and personal cards. Also, Chase cites the federal CARD Act to deny product changes on any account less that one year old.
Will a product change count as a new card?
No, you will keep your same card number, "opened on" date, credit line, automatic payment arrangements, etc. A product change does not count against Chase's 5/24 limitations on new cards.
Will I get a signup bonus when I change?
No, product changes do not result in point bonuses. Signup bonuses are reserved for new applicants only. For the complete list of public sign up offers, check the Chase sitemap here: https://creditcards.chase.com/sitemap
Is there a place I can look to compare cards?
Go here: https://creditcards.chase.com/credit...D=177087865887
Click: All cards
Place a checkmark in the Compare box for up to three cards.
Click: Compare cards...and you should see a side-by-side display.
I've figured out what I want to switch to. How do I product change my card?
Call the number on the back of your card.
Product changes for the Ultimate Reward Business and Personal Card Family
The UR family of cards includes the Chase Ink business cards, the Freedom Unlimited, the Freedom Card, and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Reserve and Sapphire.
The Slate (personal) card is also available to downgrade to. It has no annual fee and does not earn any type of reward points. It offers a low fee (currently 0% for the first 60 days) balance transfers and APR.
Personal Cards
- Freedom: 5X points in rotating quarterly categories up to $1500 spend per quarter. If you max out the $1500 every quarter, it totals 7500 UR per quarter, or 30,000 UR per year.
- Freedom Unlimited: 1.5X for all spending, no bonus categories. $20,000 in spend would net 30,000 UR per year.
- Sapphire Reserve: $450 annual fee, $300 annual travel credit, 3X points for travel and dining. Books travel through the UR portal for 1.5 per dollar. Lounge access and other goodies. See the thread here for details.
- Sapphire Preferred: $95 annual fee, 2X points for travel & dining
- For discussion specific to the Sapphire Preferred Card, see Chase Sapphire Preferred - Keep, Downgrade, or Cancel?
- Sapphire: Not available to new applicants. Available as a product downgrade/change only, must tier down from the Sapphire Reserve to Sapphire Preferred to Sapphire or Freedom cards. No annual fee. Some Customer Service Reps are citing that the original product (i.e., the CSR), must be held for one year before downgrading. Please provide data points in the thread if this happens to you.
Business Cards
- Ink Plus: $95 annual fee, 5X office supplies, 5X cellular/landline/cable; 2X gas and hotels
- Ink Preferred: 3x on travel, shipping, internet/phone/cable, & some online advertising.
- Ink Cash: No annual fee, 5X office supplies, 5X cellular/landline/cable; 2X gas and restaurants
If you still have a legacy Ink Classic or Ink Bold business card, neither of which is available for new signups, you can product change to one of the other Ink cards.
Considerations for downgrading/upgrading:
Can I combine my UR points?
Yes, UR can be combined freely across the cardholder's own personal and business accounts.
What about transfering my UR to another person's Chase UR account? To their air/hotel partner account?
With restrictions, UR from a personal card can be transferred to a person living at the same address. Business cards allow transfer to owners of the company listed as authorized users.
However, be warned that there are transfer restrictions. Unauthorized transfers have resulted in shut-downs. Review the Chase T&C for details before planning a transfer. For discussion, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase...-accounts.html.
The Freedom cards, no-fee Ink Cash, and no-fee Sapphire cards do not allow UR transfer to airline/hotel partners. If you are downgrading from a premium UR card and will only have no-fee cards left, it may be prudent to transfer your points to the partner of your choice beforehand.
I know I can use UR to pay for travel directly (as opposed to transfering points into a travel partner program). Do the Chase UR cards differ on this?
Only the Sapphire Reserve books travel on the UR portal for 1.5. So you can stack your card bonus opportunities when your UR points are combined into your CSR account and used for booking travel. If, for instance, you earned 5x on your Ink Plus on your phone bill, and combine those 5x Ink earned points into your CSR's UR account, you'll now get an additional .5 in value when you redeem them on the travel portal.
Product Changes for United Airlines Cards
There are options to downgrade or upgrade UA cards.
- United Mileage Plus Card- no annual fee, 1 UA mile per $2 in spend
- United Mileage Plus Explorer Card- $95 annual fee, 1 mile per dollar earning, additional award inventory on UA, free checked bag, 25% bonus on the shopping portal.
- United Plus Club Card- $450 annual fee, 1.5 miles per $1, many additional premium card benefits
- Business Cards for the Mileage Plus and Club Card give you a choice to upgrade or downgrade between those two.
Southwest Airlines Cards
The difference here is a nominal $30/3000 points per year.
Personal cards
- Plus Card- $69 annual fee, 3000 bonus points upon renewal
- Premiere Card- $99 annual fee, 6000 bonus points upon renewal
Chase Product Change/Card Conversion: Downgrade, Upgrade, Keep or Cancel? (2016-2019)
Jan 24, 2019, 4:57 pm
#976
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 5
i have a CSR that I will be downgrading to freedom within the next week or so. I also have two other freedoms currently. Is there something to stop me from upgrading one of those other freedoms to a CSR in say 3 months? Even if I have to go Freedom-->CSP-->CSR. how quickly can a freedom be upgraded to a CSR? or does chase have some limitation in place to stop this kind of downgrade and upgrade cycling
Jan 24, 2019, 6:26 pm
#977
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
i have a CSR that I will be downgrading to freedom within the next week or so. I also have two other freedoms currently. Is there something to stop me from upgrading one of those other freedoms to a CSR in say 3 months? Even if I have to go Freedom-->CSP-->CSR. how quickly can a freedom be upgraded to a CSgR? or does chase have some limitation in place to stop this kind of downgrade and upgrade cyclin
Can't remember on which thread I reported one incident that the person was told by the rep that the system did not show any option for product change. On top of that the rep reminded the person he had done it quite a few times in the past...
If you do decide to play with Chase, please report back the outcome.
Jan 25, 2019, 6:56 am
#978
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,857
i have a CSR that I will be downgrading to freedom within the next week or so. I also have two other freedoms currently. Is there something to stop me from upgrading one of those other freedoms to a CSR in say 3 months? Even if I have to go Freedom-->CSP-->CSR. how quickly can a freedom be upgraded to a CSR? or does chase have some limitation in place to stop this kind of downgrade and upgrade cycling
Jan 28, 2019, 8:42 am
#979
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 422
i have a CSR that I will be downgrading to freedom within the next week or so. I also have two other freedoms currently. Is there something to stop me from upgrading one of those other freedoms to a CSR in say 3 months? Even if I have to go Freedom-->CSP-->CSR. how quickly can a freedom be upgraded to a CSR? or does chase have some limitation in place to stop this kind of downgrade and upgrade cycling
Jan 30, 2019, 11:05 am
#980
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AS 75K (OW), SK Silver (*A), UR, MR
Posts: 3,346
i have a CSR that I will be downgrading to freedom within the next week or so. I also have two other freedoms currently. Is there something to stop me from upgrading one of those other freedoms to a CSR in say 3 months? Even if I have to go Freedom-->CSP-->CSR. how quickly can a freedom be upgraded to a CSR? or does chase have some limitation in place to stop this kind of downgrade and upgrade cycling
Jan 30, 2019, 3:37 pm
#981
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,193
Feb 10, 2019, 3:41 pm
#982
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 122
We have one of the legacy Ink Plus card each.
With annual fee coming up in next two months, will ask if they have any offer to offset it.
If not considering downgrading atleast one of the cards to the no-fee Ink Cash card.
Question: Once downgraded to Ink Cash card, in the future if I need to have the ability to transfer UR to airline partners, is it straight forward and easy to upgrade to the Ink Preferred card? (which I already had and also downgraded to a Cash card)
With annual fee coming up in next two months, will ask if they have any offer to offset it.
If not considering downgrading atleast one of the cards to the no-fee Ink Cash card.
Question: Once downgraded to Ink Cash card, in the future if I need to have the ability to transfer UR to airline partners, is it straight forward and easy to upgrade to the Ink Preferred card? (which I already had and also downgraded to a Cash card)
Feb 10, 2019, 8:10 pm
#983
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
We have one of the legacy Ink Plus card each.
With annual fee coming up in next two months, will ask if they have any offer to offset it.
If not considering downgrading atleast one of the cards to the no-fee Ink Cash card.
Question: Once downgraded to Ink Cash card, in the future if I need to have the ability to transfer UR to airline partners, is it straight forward and easy to upgrade to the Ink Preferred card? (which I already had and also downgraded to a Cash card)
With annual fee coming up in next two months, will ask if they have any offer to offset it.
If not considering downgrading atleast one of the cards to the no-fee Ink Cash card.
Question: Once downgraded to Ink Cash card, in the future if I need to have the ability to transfer UR to airline partners, is it straight forward and easy to upgrade to the Ink Preferred card? (which I already had and also downgraded to a Cash card)
Feb 11, 2019, 6:55 am
#984
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Sunny AZ
Programs: HH Diamond, Sixt Platinum, IHG Spire Ambassador, Marriott/SPG Gold .....
Posts: 3,213
We have one of the legacy Ink Plus card each.
With annual fee coming up in next two months, will ask if they have any offer to offset it.
If not considering downgrading atleast one of the cards to the no-fee Ink Cash card.
Question: Once downgraded to Ink Cash card, in the future if I need to have the ability to transfer UR to airline partners, is it straight forward and easy to upgrade to the Ink Preferred card? (which I already had and also downgraded to a Cash card)
With annual fee coming up in next two months, will ask if they have any offer to offset it.
If not considering downgrading atleast one of the cards to the no-fee Ink Cash card.
Question: Once downgraded to Ink Cash card, in the future if I need to have the ability to transfer UR to airline partners, is it straight forward and easy to upgrade to the Ink Preferred card? (which I already had and also downgraded to a Cash card)
I would only do Plus > Cash if you have another “premium” card to transfer UR (private sapphire reserve/preferrred) as otherwise the risk is too high to save $95
Feb 11, 2019, 8:54 am
#985
Moderator: Travel Buzz
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 3,099
Most of our cards are 5- 6+ years old, with the 2 CSR's being newer, obviously, since they haven't been around that long. We pay fees on 2 CSR'S as mentioned above. Also paying fees on 1 Marriott, 2 UA cards, and 3 IHG cards, and have one additional UA card downgraded to a fee free card and 4 Freedom cards across the household. I think that's about 16 Chase issued cards for the household. WHEW! It was all much less expensive to keep credit cards when the annual fee waivers were forthcoming across all issuers.
Feb 12, 2019, 7:42 pm
#986
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
When husband did his product change from Ink Preferred to Ink Cash today, the rep called the Ink Cash card as "Ink Cash 5-2-1". This is the first time we heard about such name for the Ink Cash. He repeated that several times during the conversation.
He also asked, "was the product change due to the annual fee?" To that my husband honestly answered Yes, and asked the rep would the AF reversed after the change ... (knew the answer but why not, given the rep brought it up.) It is obvious because the last usage of the Preferred card was in June 2018 to pay AS award tickets taxes, as well as a future cruise deposit. Then it hasn't been used once. Husband keeps CSR and I keep Ink Plus - that is enough fee-based cards for us.
Oh, the rep also mentioned about husband's Ink Preferred has "Referral Bonus Offer" that he would forfeit when the card is changed. Big deal.
He also asked, "was the product change due to the annual fee?" To that my husband honestly answered Yes, and asked the rep would the AF reversed after the change ... (knew the answer but why not, given the rep brought it up.) It is obvious because the last usage of the Preferred card was in June 2018 to pay AS award tickets taxes, as well as a future cruise deposit. Then it hasn't been used once. Husband keeps CSR and I keep Ink Plus - that is enough fee-based cards for us.
Oh, the rep also mentioned about husband's Ink Preferred has "Referral Bonus Offer" that he would forfeit when the card is changed. Big deal.
Feb 13, 2019, 11:33 am
#987
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: UA 1K - 2.1MM, HH LT Diamond, IHG Diamond, Bonvoy LT Titanium, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 766
There is a grandfathered Ink Cash 3-1 (or 3-3-1?) card aka “Old Ink Cash” card in another thread in this forum. I have this card and it gives 3x on gas, home improvement, office supply and dining up to $2,000 spend per statement cycle and 1x on everything else. It counts as a separate product from the 5-2-1 product currently offered.
Feb 13, 2019, 1:03 pm
#988
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
There is a grandfathered Ink Cash 3-1 (or 3-3-1?) card aka “Old Ink Cash” card in another thread in this forum. I have this card and it gives 3x on gas, home improvement, office supply and dining up to $2,000 spend per statement cycle and 1x on everything else. It counts as a separate product from the 5-2-1 product currently offered.
The Ink Preferred was changed to Ink Cash instantly once husband gave the consent. $95 refund posted the next day. Will see how long it takes for the Ink Cash card to arrive. In Dec when I changed mine, I did not receive the card after almost 3 weeks. I SMed them and was told the card wasn't ordered so the SM rep ordered it and it arrived in a few days. A few more days passed, another card arrived. But Chase obviously thinks I only receive one card as when I went to confirm receipt, the site said I already confirmed it.
Feb 13, 2019, 4:02 pm
#989
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 262
When husband did his product change from Ink Preferred to Ink Cash today, the rep called the Ink Cash card as "Ink Cash 5-2-1". This is the first time we heard about such name for the Ink Cash. He repeated that several times during the conversation.
He also asked, "was the product change due to the annual fee?" To that my husband honestly answered Yes, and asked the rep would the AF reversed after the change ... (knew the answer but why not, given the rep brought it up.) It is obvious because the last usage of the Preferred card was in June 2018 to pay AS award tickets taxes, as well as a future cruise deposit. Then it hasn't been used once. Husband keeps CSR and I keep Ink Plus - that is enough fee-based cards for us.
Oh, the rep also mentioned about husband's Ink Preferred has "Referral Bonus Offer" that he would forfeit when the card is changed. Big deal.
He also asked, "was the product change due to the annual fee?" To that my husband honestly answered Yes, and asked the rep would the AF reversed after the change ... (knew the answer but why not, given the rep brought it up.) It is obvious because the last usage of the Preferred card was in June 2018 to pay AS award tickets taxes, as well as a future cruise deposit. Then it hasn't been used once. Husband keeps CSR and I keep Ink Plus - that is enough fee-based cards for us.
Oh, the rep also mentioned about husband's Ink Preferred has "Referral Bonus Offer" that he would forfeit when the card is changed. Big deal.
I have the CI+ and we both (wife and I) have the CSR each. CSR is still within the first year and with the renewal coming up, I am thinking about canceling (downgrade) at least one CSR (on the fence about getting rid of both). Want to see why you/husband kept CI+ and CSR combo.
TIA
Feb 13, 2019, 4:07 pm
#990
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: UA 1K - 2.1MM, HH LT Diamond, IHG Diamond, Bonvoy LT Titanium, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 766
Thanks for the clarification. Now I remember the old Ink Cash that is from many years ago. My own Ink Cash is at least 4 if not 5 years old, and it is already the 5-2-1 version. My recollection was, the old version was no longer offered for at least a year or more when I finally got my Ink Cash after receiving 4 or 5 $250 sign up bonus pre-approved solicitation in a year's period. Back then I did not realize it wasn't $250 but 25000 UR pts, so kept ignoring it.
The Ink Preferred was changed to Ink Cash instantly once husband gave the consent. $95 refund posted the next day. Will see how long it takes for the Ink Cash card to arrive. In Dec when I changed mine, I did not receive the card after almost 3 weeks. I SMed them and was told the card wasn't ordered so the SM rep ordered it and it arrived in a few days. A few more days passed, another card arrived. But Chase obviously thinks I only receive one card as when I went to confirm receipt, the site said I already confirmed it.
The Ink Preferred was changed to Ink Cash instantly once husband gave the consent. $95 refund posted the next day. Will see how long it takes for the Ink Cash card to arrive. In Dec when I changed mine, I did not receive the card after almost 3 weeks. I SMed them and was told the card wasn't ordered so the SM rep ordered it and it arrived in a few days. A few more days passed, another card arrived. But Chase obviously thinks I only receive one card as when I went to confirm receipt, the site said I already confirmed it.
When I downgraded my Ink Preferred to Ink Cash 5-2-1 they never sent me a new card, so I still have the Preferred card which acts as the Cash.