Sep 2, 2017, 7:31 pm
Last edit by: kerrigjl
In 2017, at the first renewal of the 2016 Chase Sapphire Reserve card,* no retention offers have been forthcoming. It appears that Chase is not offering retention bonuses on this card at this time, and will cancel the card at the cardholders request without further ado.
*A retention offer has been reported (though it's minimal): https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28917524-post376.html
Posts 333 and 327 discuss a fee credit issued by Chase when cancelling the card. These have been called both "Annual Fee Refund" and "Membership Fee Credit."
This thread discusses the timing of both cancelling and product changing (downgrading to Sapphire Preferred) in order to 1) Keep from paying the $450 annual fee, and 2) possibly get a 2018 $300 travel credit before cancelling.
The rules changed for the travel credit on cards issued in May 2017, making the travel credit a calendar year issuance rather than a Dec statement to Dec Statement issuance.
The nuances discussed within this thread include changing your billing date, fees posting on the 1st of the month, and the 30 day window to cancel/60 day window to product change.
09/03/17 - 72k spend, no offer.
09/03/17 - 30k spend, no offer.
09/04/17 - 25k spend, no offer.
09/05/17 - 10k spend, no offer.
09/06/17 - 24k spend, no offer.
09/06/17 - Maybe 4-5K spend. No offer, closed.
09/06/17 - Spend unspecified, no offer.
09/07/17 - 10k spend, no offer.
09/12/17 - 15k annual spend, no offer, downgraded to Chase Freedom to preserve cl
09/18/17 - No offer.
09/22/17 - 25k spend, no offer.
09/29/17 - 17k spend, no offer.
10/02/17 - 64k spend, no offer.
10/10/17 - 16.5k, 2,500 point offer, declined.
10/13/17 - 165k, no offer.
10/13/17- No offer. ~$25k
10/21/17 - No offer, maybe $10k spend, transferred CL, cancelled.
03/02/18 - No offer, ~$13.5k spend
*A retention offer has been reported (though it's minimal): https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28917524-post376.html
Posts 333 and 327 discuss a fee credit issued by Chase when cancelling the card. These have been called both "Annual Fee Refund" and "Membership Fee Credit."
This thread discusses the timing of both cancelling and product changing (downgrading to Sapphire Preferred) in order to 1) Keep from paying the $450 annual fee, and 2) possibly get a 2018 $300 travel credit before cancelling.
The rules changed for the travel credit on cards issued in May 2017, making the travel credit a calendar year issuance rather than a Dec statement to Dec Statement issuance.
The nuances discussed within this thread include changing your billing date, fees posting on the 1st of the month, and the 30 day window to cancel/60 day window to product change.
09/03/17 - 72k spend, no offer.
09/03/17 - 30k spend, no offer.
09/04/17 - 25k spend, no offer.
09/05/17 - 10k spend, no offer.
09/06/17 - 24k spend, no offer.
09/06/17 - Maybe 4-5K spend. No offer, closed.
09/06/17 - Spend unspecified, no offer.
09/07/17 - 10k spend, no offer.
09/12/17 - 15k annual spend, no offer, downgraded to Chase Freedom to preserve cl
09/18/17 - No offer.
09/22/17 - 25k spend, no offer.
09/29/17 - 17k spend, no offer.
10/02/17 - 64k spend, no offer.
10/10/17 - 16.5k, 2,500 point offer, declined.
10/13/17 - 165k, no offer.
10/13/17- No offer. ~$25k
10/21/17 - No offer, maybe $10k spend, transferred CL, cancelled.
03/02/18 - No offer, ~$13.5k spend
Chase Sapphire Reserve: Renewal & Retention
Sep 5, 2017, 9:14 pm
#151
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SNA/LAX... somewhere sunny and warm, but crowded.
Programs: AA/UA/UR/MRP/IHG Plat
Posts: 916
CSR--downgrade or drop?
Hi, I've researched and can't find much on this topic. Please help.
Wife's CSR is up for AF next month. I don't see us using UR booking advantage or Club option enough to offset difference between annual fee and travel credit. She has Freedom card and recently had CSP. I have Ink, Ink$ and Freedom Unlimited. We will keep all of mine.
Trying to decide whether to downgrade or cancel and simply start the 24 month clock? Best downgrade option is Sapphire since neither of us has the card. But wondering if better option isn't simply to cancel her out of Chase and re-start 24 month clock? Any suggestions based on your own experience and decisions?
Thank you.
Wife's CSR is up for AF next month. I don't see us using UR booking advantage or Club option enough to offset difference between annual fee and travel credit. She has Freedom card and recently had CSP. I have Ink, Ink$ and Freedom Unlimited. We will keep all of mine.
Trying to decide whether to downgrade or cancel and simply start the 24 month clock? Best downgrade option is Sapphire since neither of us has the card. But wondering if better option isn't simply to cancel her out of Chase and re-start 24 month clock? Any suggestions based on your own experience and decisions?
Thank you.
Sep 5, 2017, 9:41 pm
#152
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,192
Hi, I've researched and can't find much on this topic. Please help.
Wife's CSR is up for AF next month. I don't see us using UR booking advantage or Club option enough to offset difference between annual fee and travel credit. She has Freedom card and recently had CSP. I have Ink, Ink$ and Freedom Unlimited. We will keep all of mine.
Trying to decide whether to downgrade or cancel and simply start the 24 month clock? Best downgrade option is Sapphire since neither of us has the card. But wondering if better option isn't simply to cancel her out of Chase and re-start 24 month clock? Any suggestions based on your own experience and decisions?
Thank you.
Wife's CSR is up for AF next month. I don't see us using UR booking advantage or Club option enough to offset difference between annual fee and travel credit. She has Freedom card and recently had CSP. I have Ink, Ink$ and Freedom Unlimited. We will keep all of mine.
Trying to decide whether to downgrade or cancel and simply start the 24 month clock? Best downgrade option is Sapphire since neither of us has the card. But wondering if better option isn't simply to cancel her out of Chase and re-start 24 month clock? Any suggestions based on your own experience and decisions?
Thank you.
You can have more than one Freedom card and that's what many people seem to do - in order to take advantage of the 5x categories with two different cards.
Keep in mind also that one is precluded from having more than one Sapphire card at a time. If you downgrade to the "regular" Sapphire, you still can't apply for another Sapphire card until you no longer have that card.
I'd suggest downgrading to another Freedom or close it outright.
Sep 6, 2017, 6:38 am
#153
Join Date: May 2014
Location: CMH, or else LHR or ORD
Programs: BA Executive Club Gold, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 11
Trooper: No, not CPC.
Last edited by CMH Jay; Sep 6, 2017 at 6:52 am
Sep 6, 2017, 6:40 am
#154
Join Date: May 2014
Location: CMH, or else LHR or ORD
Programs: BA Executive Club Gold, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 11
For all sorts of reasons (not least that I have so many travel credit cards and am allergic to paying interest on them) I keep track of all my finances through Quicken. I just call up the credit card account, and can quickly organize the data to show me my spend the last 12 months, or ytd, or this quarter, or what have you.
Sep 6, 2017, 6:52 am
#155
Join Date: May 2014
Location: CMH, or else LHR or ORD
Programs: BA Executive Club Gold, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 11
The AF posted to my account on 9/1. I called and they were unwilling/unable to rebate any part of the AF.
As I said, I wasn't surprised (or upset), but I figured it was worth a try.
Last edited by CMH Jay; Sep 6, 2017 at 6:57 am
Sep 6, 2017, 8:26 am
#156
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,395
For all sorts of reasons (not least that I have so many travel credit cards and am allergic to paying interest on them) I keep track of all my finances through Quicken. I just call up the credit card account, and can quickly organize the data to show me my spend the last 12 months, or ytd, or this quarter, or what have you.
Something else I find quicken great for as a frequent traveler is if I am in a city and go to a restaurant I really enjoy I put the city code and followed by an * in the memo field and when I return to the city run a search on that criteria if I forget the name of the place.
Sep 6, 2017, 8:54 am
#157
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,192
For those that got the CSR when it was first released: if your plan is to downgrade to avoid the impending annual fee, I recommend you wait. Pay the AF and keep the card until your 2018 travel credit becomes available. Monetize the credit, then downgrade. The $300 credit plus the pro-rated AF refund will exceed the $450 you lay out now.
I wrote up the full details here: http://pointsyak.com/credit-cards/do...e-reserve-yet/
I wrote up the full details here: http://pointsyak.com/credit-cards/do...e-reserve-yet/
"Spoke to CSR who said that they are giving only 30 days to credit back the AF on the CSR if you cancel the card, and 60 days to credit it back if you downgrade. The rep said they are not pro-rating the annual fee back if it is greater than 60 days from when you decide to downgrade."
If accurate, this appears to be a change in policy to partially combat the strategy outlined in your blog post. (Affects primarily the cardmembers with a 1 September anniversary date.)
Sep 6, 2017, 9:09 am
#158
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 52
Husbands CSR AF will come due this month. I have CSR but if we close his, he will only have Freedom Card. I have transferred all his URs to my account. If we close his CSR (which we would like to do), can we transfer any credits earned on his Freedom card to my account or will he only have the cash back option available if he has not card earning URs?
Sep 6, 2017, 10:47 am
#159
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Traveling some where hopefully
Programs: AS, AA Gold, and Hilton
Posts: 1,954
Husbands CSR AF will come due this month. I have CSR but if we close his, he will only have Freedom Card. I have transferred all his URs to my account. If we close his CSR (which we would like to do), can we transfer any credits earned on his Freedom card to my account or will he only have the cash back option available if he has not card earning URs?
t.
Sep 6, 2017, 11:23 am
#161
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: JZRO
Posts: 9,169
Husbands CSR AF will come due this month. I have CSR but if we close his, he will only have Freedom Card. I have transferred all his URs to my account. If we close his CSR (which we would like to do), can we transfer any credits earned on his Freedom card to my account or will he only have the cash back option available if he has not card earning URs?
Sep 6, 2017, 11:28 am
#162
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SNA/LAX... somewhere sunny and warm, but crowded.
Programs: AA/UA/UR/MRP/IHG Plat
Posts: 916
Hi Diplomatico, thanks for the reminder about the 24 month clock related to the bonus. I had forgotten that point. Thank you for your insight.
The "24 month clock" starts upon receipt of your last Sapphire card bonus...not when a Sapphire card is closed. You won't be approved for a Sapphire card until 24 months after the receipt of your last Sapphire bonus (according to the written guidance.)
You can have more than one Freedom card and that's what many people seem to do - in order to take advantage of the 5x categories with two different cards.
Keep in mind also that one is precluded from having more than one Sapphire card at a time. If you downgrade to the "regular" Sapphire, you still can't apply for another Sapphire card until you no longer have that card.
I'd suggest downgrading to another Freedom or close it outright.
You can have more than one Freedom card and that's what many people seem to do - in order to take advantage of the 5x categories with two different cards.
Keep in mind also that one is precluded from having more than one Sapphire card at a time. If you downgrade to the "regular" Sapphire, you still can't apply for another Sapphire card until you no longer have that card.
I'd suggest downgrading to another Freedom or close it outright.
Sep 6, 2017, 2:47 pm
#163
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 52
Thanks so much for the info. I will downgrade him to a Freedom Unlimited and transfer the points as they collect.
Sep 6, 2017, 4:26 pm
#164
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 50
Honestly, the only way I see Chase offering a reduction to the annual fee is if a customer has AT LEAST 100,000 of 1x (non-dining or travel) spend. Even if you spend a ton, if it's mostly on dining or travel, Chase knows that you're better off keeping the card than canceling it, so there's no reason for them to offer anything.
Sep 6, 2017, 5:25 pm
#165
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,435
When the AF is due, and assuming I want to keep the card another year, is there a new annual $300 travel credit too?
