Sep 6, 19, 9:04 am

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Chase Shut Down thread: (Archived version found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase-ultimate-rewards/1526572-chase-closed-my-credit-card-account-s-consolidated.html]
There is a general Shut Down thread in the Manufactured Spend forum, found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1948543-2019-shutdown-thread.html

If you feel your account has been unfairly closed, consider filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau:
CFPB's complaint form: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
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What happened?
When someone reports an account closure here, people are curious as to both the background on the Chase relationship and any/all potential shut down triggers. Please answer any relevant questions to give details. This could help figure out what happened or how you could proceed:

Background: Do you have both Credit Cards and Banking accounts with Chase? Tell us your history at Chase. What do you feel the trigger could have been? Does anything unusual (from the bankers perspective) go on in your accounts? How long have you had a banking relationship with Chase? Please explain.
Ultimate Rewards: Did you transfer UR points to someone with a different address? Different last names? Did you sell UR points to someone?
Potentially suspicious activities: Do you use multiple sources to pay your credit card bills, such as Walmart Bill Pay? Do you ACH using multiple accounts? Did you recently wire transfer large amounts into or out of your Chase accounts?
Bonus Earnings: Approximately what percentage of your charges earned less than 5x points in the past 12 months?
Other possible Triggers:
Did a Chase or non-Chase bank recently close one of your credit cards?
Are you using up a large percentage of your credit line or cycling the credit lines on all Chase and non-Chase credit cards?
Is your total credit line with Chase much higher than with other banks?
Did you apply for many credit cards or other forms of credit recently? Has your credit score or credit profile changed recently? As in: significantly more debt, more open credit lines, or a large drop in your credit score? Do you mimic a "bust out" profile? (Someone maxing out credit prior to filing bankruptcy)
If you have a Chase checking account how much did you typically deposit in money orders per month, if any?
Did you recently start spending a lot more with Chase than in typical months?
Is your monthly balance frequently close to your credit limit?
Did you abuse the Chase Refer a Friend system?
Did you use/abuse Chase's new checking/savings sign up bonus incentives?
Did you bounce a check for a credit card payment?
DId someone at your address get shut down also?
Do you have a Chase mortgage or other accounts at Chase? Are they in good standing?
Did you dispute or return items on your credit cards? How many times?
Have you recently needed back office help on your accounts, which may have triggered a review or called attention to something?

Chase Shut Downs & Credit-Card Account Closures: Data, Tales & Speculation 2019-on

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Sep 22, 23, 9:54 pm

#646

notquiteaff

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Dec 2006

Location: Pacific Northwest

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Quote:

Originally Posted by incarbon

Personal and business cards were shutdown. My banker tipped me off that it might be due to referral links I had posted publicly. Has anyone successful appealed in this situation?

How many referral bonuses did you receive?

I keep getting emails nearly every week for many of my Chase cards encouraging me to earn 100k or so miles or points by referring other people.

IndyHoosier likes this.

Sep 23, 23, 6:34 am

#647

incarbon

Join Date: Apr 2022

Posts: 70

Literally zero

Xyzzy likes this.

Sep 24, 23, 1:13 pm

#648

RNE

Join Date: Sep 2005

Location: JZRO

Posts: 9,156

Quote:

Originally Posted by incarbon

Personal and business cards were shutdown. My banker tipped me off that it might be due to referral links I had posted publicly. Has anyone successful appealed in this situation?

Sorry to hear that. Please answer the What Happened? questions in this thread's wiki. Thanks.

Oct 16, 23, 11:29 am

#649

usersherlocked

Join Date: Oct 2023

Posts: 16

Question out of curiosity. If * Chase shut down your accounts AFTER you moved your UR to say Hyatt. Could they then claw back those pints already in Hyatt? I'm wondering if applying for the ink ult biz too soon would trigger something to affect my status with Chase (Currently 5/24 but go to 4/24 in January However got the Ink Biz last month)

Note: Legit biz account with no MS but we do close cards/ downgrade them at the 12-month mark (if they have fees- we leave them open if there are no fee cards and continue to use them every few months for minor things to keep them current by utilizing 1-2k every few months or so on spend) We always wait till the 12-month mark to close or downgrade any card, and we always have 50k in biz & 50-75k personal expenses per year, we pay to 0 either at statement cycle close or shortly before, and we also never pay card to 0 more than once per month (although once or twice we have but it's rare).

Should we just wait till Jan for the ink ult biz? We have a Tax bill due next month that we could easily spend 22k (House, we don't escrow)

Oct 16, 23, 12:59 pm

#650

Dr Jabadski

Join Date: Feb 2011

Location: NYC suburbs

Programs: UA LT Gold (BIS), AA LT Plat (CC SUBs & BD), Hilton Dia (CC), Hyatt Glob (BIB), et. al.

Posts: 3,019

Quote:

Originally Posted by usersherlocked

... If * Chase shut down your accounts AFTER you moved your UR to say Hyatt. Could they then claw back those pints already in Hyatt? …

There’s near universal consensus that the answer to the question is “no”. Once transferred/moved, points should be safe from a Chase shutdown although those points will then be at the same risk as all other Hyatt points. (There are few, if any, reports of Hyatt shutdowns.)

SPN Lifer, Boraxo, RNE and 1 others like this.

Oct 16, 23, 2:12 pm

#651

notquiteaff

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Quote:

Originally Posted by usersherlocked

Could they then claw back those pints already in Hyatt?

Could they - technically and legally? I suspect they would have the option to do that. But I am not aware of any reported cases.

That said, the punishment of losing the Chase account and access to the UR program and any Chase card SUBs for the foreseeable future would be sufficient reason for me to not do anything that has a non-negligible chance of causing a shutdown. I didn’t read your post (just skimmed), so I can’t offer an assessment of the risk of doing what you are proposing. Besides, I am certainly not an expert.

Boraxo likes this.

Oct 17, 23, 10:04 pm

#652

gregorygrady

Join Date: May 2003

Posts: 6,244

I've been shutdown plenty of times by Chase when they realized they shut me down 11 years ago and I'm not supposed to have CCs with them anymore. And each time I have 30 days to transfer my URs out AFTER my Chase CC has been closed. So I wouldn't worry in the slightest about them clawing back pts that have ALREADY been transferred to Hyatt.

SPN Lifer and CodeAdam10 like this.

Oct 18, 23, 11:25 am

#653

RNE

Join Date: Sep 2005

Location: JZRO

Posts: 9,156

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregorygrady

I've been shutdown plenty of times by Chase...

"Plenty"? Umm, you can't drop that dope here among us Chase junkies and say nothing more. Pray tell.

SPN Lifer, SteveT, Xyzzy and 2 others like this.

Oct 20, 23, 5:04 pm

#654

gregorygrady

Join Date: May 2003

Posts: 6,244

Quote:

Originally Posted by RNE

"Plenty"? Umm, you can't drop that dope here among us Chase junkies and say nothing more. Pray tell.

Pretty sure I've probably posted it somewhere on FT, but I got shutdown by Chase back in 2012 (too many Vanilla Reloads loaded to MyVanillaDebit and then cash advanced at Chase branches is my guess for the reason why). Since then whenever I apply for new cards I normally get rejected but once every couple years I've able to get an application or two approved for some weird reason, and then after somewhere between 1-6 months that acct gets shutdown as well (even with no shenanigans on that card as I actually wanted a Chase Hyatt card so decided I wouldn't do any shenanigans with it). But they always seem to give me 30 days after acct shutdown to transfer my URs out. This last time I was wise and after spending $25k on office on my Chase Ink Cash, I kept the balance maxed cuz it had a 12 month 0% interest rate. I think I was shutdown on that one maybe 6 months ago and still have a couple months left of 0%. It's actually a pretty arrangement, I apply and crush the signup bonus, then get shutdown. Rinse and repeat every couple years. Not like Citi who will NEVER approve me for another CC after they shut me down roughly the same time. Citi is much smarter it seems.......

RNE, ChrisFlyer66 and cuthroat like this.

Oct 23, 23, 3:56 pm

#655

Boraxo

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Join Date: Dec 2002

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Posts: 15,374

Never say never. I was on the Amex blacklist for a number of years, but now I have no trouble getting Amex personal or biz cards - even easier than Chase. Was told "lifetime" ban is actually only 7 years but of course YMMV.

So was it worth getting lifetime credit bans in exchange for all those SUBs and points? I don't think I would be happy being shut out of the Chase and Citi ecosystems, particularly some of the card perks.

SPN Lifer and RNE like this.

Nov 5, 23, 7:47 pm

#656

mia

A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures

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NY Times article published today: Why Banks Are Suddenly Closing Down Customer Accounts (paywall)

The article is largely anecdotal, but emphasizes that banks typically do not explain the closures. There is one block of hard data:

Quote:

By law, banks must file a “suspicious activity report” when they see transactions or behavior that might violate the law, like unexpectedly large cash transactions or wire transfers with banks in high-risk countries. According to Thomson Reuters, banks filed over 1.8 million SARs in 2022, a 50 percent increase in just two years. This year, the figure is on track to hit nearly two million.

Federal data on the types of SARs that banks file show what they worry about most. Last year, banks filing SARs tagged categories like suspicious checks, concern over the source of the funds and “transaction with no apparent economic, business or lawful purpose” most often, according to Thomson Reuters.

As usual, a Chase spokesperson is quoted in the article:

Quote:

We want to build long-term relationships with our clients, which is why accounts are closed only after appropriate review and consideration of the facts, “

We act in accordance with our compliance program, consistent with our regulatory obligations,” Mr. Dubrowski continued. “We know that can be frustrating to clients, but we must follow those obligations.”

He added that “the vast majority of closures are correct, consistent with the regulatory obligations we are required to follow,” and that the number of closed accounts was a fraction of the bank’s overall business.

dw, SPN Lifer, SteveT and 5 others like this.