pallhedge

This one:

Finance_underling

False. You have to call for card cancellations. I think shun was just offering an alternative suggestion. You missed it because you wanted to jump in with your uninformed guess. Please preface your comment as such rather than stating an opinion so matter of factly and potentially influencing others the wrong way (wasting their time).

mia

Not in my experience. Which card(s) have you tried to cancel by SM, and how recently were you told that you had to call? Did you pushback and tell them that there was nothing to discuss?

pallhedge

This is a false, uninformed comment. It wasn't a guess nor an opinion, so I didn't need to preface it as such. I've closed multiple Chase cards via SM, the most recent only a few short weeks ago. It's also commonly discussed on reddit churning, particularly by those opening and closing cards for spouses who don't like to call the bank.

Here is the SM response confirming my recent CSP cancellation:Next time, get your facts straight before accusing someone of wasting FTers time.

Finance_underling

My most recent attempt was last year when I was told to call for cancellation (I do not remember which card). And today I spoke with a Chase rep who confirmed that he has never seen a card successfully cancelled over SM. What do you mean by "pushback and tell them there was nothing to discuss"? Did they or I? Please clarify.

Finance_underling

When I stated that cards must be cancelled via phone, I was speaking from experience with SM and phone representatives. That being said, I rarely cancel and never churn cards. Therefore, I don't have that many data points as you claim to have. I'll take your word for it.

mia

If I ask to close an account by SM, the first reply may suggest that I "call for assistance". I explain that I do not need any help because the decision is already made, please close the account now. This has worked at every issuer, including Chase. pallhedge has also shown you that the agent you spoke with is uninformed. The SM agents have pre-written email which they send when they close an account.

sdsearch

If you "rarely cancel" cards, is there really more than one card you canceled with Chase last year? If not, it should obvious that the only card you cancelled with Chase last year would been the one where you were told to call for cancellation, right?

Finance_underling

Sorry I don't understand or follow. RE: last year cancellation attempt, I tried to cancel the WOH or Explorer card over SM. I ended up not cancelling or calling. So you are correct (?) that it is obvious that the only card I tried to cancel was the one I was told to cancel over phone. Does this answer your question?

sdsearch

Well, what I don't understand is if you really "rarely cancel" cards, then why do you not remember why you try to cancel that card and thus which card it was? If you had succeeded, it would have a cancellation which you say is "rare", so I presume the attempt to cancel would itself be rare.

I cancel relatively rarely too these days, and I remember why I decided to cancel each card I cancelled (and thus I would except that I would have remembered why I decided to cancel any card that I might have failed at cancelling).

I cancelled my Delta Amex card because it was not worth holding onto it for me, especially after Amex denied me an application for a no-AF Delta Amex card that was "picked especially for you" even though the denial was on the basis of me having the other Amex card already, which their system should have known.

I cancelled my personal AA Aviator card because they degraded the benefits and meanwhile the benefits worked at better for me on the business AA Aviator card which I had applied for several months earlier, and I didn't need both.

So you can't remember why you would have been cancelling that card, and thus which of those two cards it was? For me, the WOH card is a keeper because of the annual free night cert, while the UA card is a less obvious keeper because of lounge passes and supposed better award availability.

Finance_underling

I'm not sure why stating I "rarely cancel cards" is causing this extreme reaction from you. As I stated before, I tried to cancel the WOH or Explorer card but ultimately did not. Having not cancelled one or the other, I do not remember which one. I was on the fence with both last year. No offense but I did not read through your personal pros and cons for keeping some cards, but I'm sure you had good reasons for them. I clearly do not dedicate as much concern to that.

StartinSanDiego

Moderator Note: Lest this thread goes down the rabbit hole, let me step in with a gentle reminder: Please do not get personal with each other. Don't bicker. Be nice. Review Rule 12 for the complete details. Thanks!

Tailgater

If nothing else, I learned a little more about this business regarding cards. Tact is an art and not everyone is good at it.

karenkay

a data point about retention offers on this card:

just called to cancel my $95 chase explorer card, on which I have zero annual spend--except when traveling on united (which I'm obviously not at the moment). got offered a downgrade to no annual fee card, or a a $60 statement credit. took the latter.

Polytonic

Does anyone happen to know what the modified benefits are on the no-annual-fee version of this card? The only thing I really care about from this is access to increased award space (and maybe boarding group if/when I lose status?).