recieved fancy invitation today for a $375 a year-"Presidental Plus" Co/Chase
 

I recieved a fancy invitation for a $375 a year-"Presidential Plus Co/Chase co branded world mastercard.
It just shows how out of touch Chase/Continental are.

Main benefit seems to be a CO Presidents Club Pass.
Those current CO P.C. members who sign up will recieve an 'automatic' refund.
Does not state if a full refund or prorated.

Card has these benefits.

Priority Elite Access on date of flight only.
(NO CO or Sky Team elite status).
So basicly below bottom tier status as no priority reservation phone number, no preflight premium seat selection and no elite bonus.

And in the ultimate display of non competitve relative to market conditions for every $25,000 that you spend you will earn a paltry 2000 EQM's, or "Flex elite
qualifying miles" (upto 28,000 a year) , so if you spend $400,000 in a year you cap out at 28,000 EQM's. No EQM's above four hundred grand a year.

Aw shucks, Why would I want Starpoints or Merrill Plus points when I can earn One Pass miles.

By way of comparison, U.S. Air has TWO related credit cards, with BofA and Jupiter. For spending $25,000 in a calander year , you will get 10,000 EGM's.

So $50,000 spend on U.S. Air products earns 20,000 EGM's
But $50,000 Spend on CO product earns 4000 EQM's

It is a WORLD MASTERCARD.

I think that I'll pass. Although the $75 off of the $375- annual fee made me think about it for a minute :rolleyes:

A really lame entry into the 'premium' card market by Chase.

But the packaging was so fancy, I thought it was 2007 Elite Card!

It IS a nice looking card. A big CO trademark globe on the front and he words center front, PRESIDENTIAL PLUS (sm)
"Presidential Plus"

This is interesting news. I didn't think it was being rolled out until the start of 2007. Would you please tell us, what exactly are "Flex elite" qualifying miles? Are they the same as EQM?

I'm sorry to hear you don't like their latest offering.

They are EQMs, but you can choose the year in which you apply them to your EQM balance. For example, if you earn 2000 flex EQMs in 2007 and you earn 78k EQMs from flying, you can opt not to apply the miles to your EQM total for 2007. Then, assume you earn another 2000 flex EQMs in 2008 and in December 2008, you find yourself with only 71k EQMs earned through flying. You can then apply your flex EQMs from 2007 and 2008 to bump you to Plat for the 2009 membership year.

I was excited when I received the fancy invitation in the mail - I was hoping for a new mileage promo, but to no avail. As the OP described, it's basically a World Mastercard with a PClub membership for which you pay almost regular price through the hefty annual fee. Not worth it, IMO. It is a really nice looking card, however.

why are YOU sorry? :confused:

Definitely better off staying with the $300/yr amex business plat card...

Definitely - AMEX Plat offers many more benefits than the new CO Chase card.

But you're missing the technological magic here...
 

But everyone is missing the huge technological advancement made behind the scenes here at OnePass: the ability to track, acrue, and carry-over EQM's from one program year to another. :D With that system upgrade made for this card, I am hopeful to see other promotions (or perhaps elite perks) that'll allow some EQM's from some passengers to role into subsequent years. ^

Isn't Amex Plat. $395.00 per year
 

Last time I checked they had raised the price of the Amex Platinum annual fee from $300. to $395. This actually happened 2 years ago, I believe. Still a better deal then the OP's offer from CO.

Amex Fee is Negotiable
 

The Platinum fee varies ...and can be had as low as $150. (Same is true for Gold, which can be had for as low as $35.) If you're a good customer, call them and they'll play with the fee for you.

I actually think this is a plus. It won't dilute the value of status as it may with the other carriers you mentioned. It is also geared more for small business owners. However, anyone charging enough to max out at $400 would stupid not to get an Amex Cent card (Black) and get gold status on their pick of airlines.

The terms of the Flex EQM were ackward and hard to understand.
(I guess that the CO marketing dept. and not the Chase marketing dept wrote this piece :D )

I threw it out.
But my quick read was only good for current calander year or the immediate next calander year.

No multi year build up or saving for a rainy day.

When I threatened to cancel my Amex Plat due to low usage, they were very aggressive in trying to keep my business. They were not willing to waive or lower the fee but did offer MR points. After a little haggling I agreed to keep the card for a substantial(more than the requirement for a free ticket) amount of ponts. I have the card mainly for President's Club access but do occasionally use some other card features.

Hi Everyone, here are some quick facts about the new Chase Presidential Plus World MasterCard, including some clarifications on the new Flexible Elite Qualification Miles (Flex EQMs). Hope this helps.

1. What's the annual fee? The annual fee is $375 for existing Chase OnePass World MasterCard holders. New cardholders will be offered a one-time discount of $75 off the annual membership fee for the first year. To get this offer, call 1-877-847-8299 or apply online at www.copresplus.com/AF.
   
   
2. How does the Presidents Club membership work? Presidential Plus card members will receive a new Presidents Club card 2-3 weeks after they receive the credit card. If you wish to enter a lounge prior to receiving your Presidents Club membership card, simply provide your OnePass account number and photo ID.
   
   
3. What if I already have a Presidents Club membership? Once you're approved for the Presidential Plus credit card, your current Presidents Club membership will be cancelled and a refund for the unused portion of the membership will be mailed to the OnePass account address on file within 4-6 weeks. A new membership will be established and a new card will be mailed.
   
   
4. Will my spouse get a membership as well? No, only the primary cardholder will receive a Presidents Club membership. A spouse membership may be added for $150 per year by contacting the OnePass Service Center.
   
   
5. What if my current membership includes my spouse? Spouse memberships will be cancelled and refunded along with the primary membership. A spouse membership can be added to a Presidential Plus Presidents Club membership for $150 by calling the OnePass Service Center.
   
   
6. What if I'm a lifetime member of the Presidents Club? Lifetime Presidents Club members are not yet included in this offer, but we're working on it. In 2007, we'll introduce a special low rate for lifetime Presidents Club members.
   
   
7. How do I earn the Flexible Elite Qualification Miles (Flex EQMs) work? You'll earn 2,000 Flex EQMs for every $25,000 in annual charge volume - including charges made by any additional cardholders on your account. Annual charge volume is based on the enrollment date of the Presidential Plus card, not the calendar year. And yes, Flex EQMs can be stored for however long you want to hold on to them.
   
   
8. How do I redeem my Flex EQMs? Your Flex EQMs will be reflected on your OnePass statement and on continental.com. To redeem your Flex EQMs, just call the OnePass Service Center at 713-952-1630. Redemption capability will be added to continental.com later in 2007. You can add Flex EQMs to your elite qualification year up to March 31st of the following year. So for example, if you're short EQMs for the 2006 Elite qualitifcation period (Jan-Dec 2006), you'll have up to March 31st 2007 to add however many Flex EQMs to your 2006 EQM total.
   
   
9. What benefits will additional cardholders on my account get? Additional cardholders will not be eligible for the EliteAccess priority services or Presidents Club membership. Their spending, however, will earn OnePass miles and will also count toward your Flex EQM bank.
   
   
10. How do the EliteAccess benefits work? Cardholders that aren’t already an Elite member will receive EliteAccess benefits at the airport - which include access to the EliteAccess lanes at check-in, security and boarding. These benefits will apply to the cardholder and anyone else traveling in the same confirmation.
    
    
11. Will I get 5% off Continental airfares purchased at continental.com? The 5% discount is for the first 12 months a cardholder carries any Continental Airlines MasterCard credit card. So, if this is your first Continental Airlines MasterCard credit card, you'll get 5% off your Continental airfares purchased at continental.com. If you upgraded to the Presidential Plus credit card from another Continental Airlines MasterCard credit card or have an additional Continental Airlines MasterCard credit card, your 12 months of the 5% discount will be based on the date of enrollment from your previous Continental Airlines MasterCard credit card.
    
    
12. What are some of the other benefits of having the Presidential Plus card? In addition to double miles for your Continental ticket purchases, you'll also get double miles for all car and hotel purchases as well. All other purchases, of course, will still earn one mile per dollar spent. This card also comes with a concierge service, and an exclusive customer service line (the same high-end service used for JP Morgan Chase Private Banking).

After all the complaints about not getting luggage tags in elite packets the last few years I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this part of the card offer:I also just noticed that the fine print allows existing Chase Visa card holders to apply for this card and participate in the 5% discount offer. Until now they were specifically excluded from Continental Chase Mastercard offers.

International Transaction Fees
 

Thanks Scott for all the info. Sounds like a great deal except for the 3% international transaction fee. I called and this can't be waived, which I find a bit humorous for a "World" credit card. When I look back at my international travel transactions for 2006, I saved over $450 by not having international fees on my AmEx Plat versus if I had used my ChaseWorld MC. If there is any way in the future to reduce or get rid of this fee, then count me in!

A couple of other questions:

1. If paying the extra $150 for a spouse PC membership, would the spouse get elite access benefits?
2. Can the $150 be applied to other additional cardholders for PC membership (like children, ... assuming they meet age requirements)?

Hi familyflier, thanks for your feedback - it's well-received. I've passed this suggestion on to my colleague that manages our Chase relationship.

Not at this time, mbreuer, but this is a good suggestion and we'll definitely look into this.

Sorry, this isn't currently permitted.

If they added elite status plus a chance to gain higher status buy spending more it would be a good idea. Otherwise compared to other card products its simply not worth it.

Just noticed that when I go to Scott's previously posted link (www.copresplus.com/AF) , the page that comes up is for the Continental Airlines Presidential Plus Card. But, when I click on "Apply Now" I'm sent to a application page for the Continental Airlines Platinum Master Card from Chase with a $85 annual fee. Trying again brought up the $375 fee (thanks xyzzy). So, double check before applying.

Also, some additional thoughts: For an average traveler with no status and no master card (MC), the $300 MCPres+ with the waived annual fee is a much better deal than the standard $375 PC membership fee. As a gold elite, the PC membership will cost me $300, so with the new card I'm essentially paying $75 as an annual fee (For a plat that fee comes out to $100). For me, I can justify the extra $75 for some flex miles, the ability to access the PC when not traveling (vs the AmEx Plat) and the luggage tags, but I would like to see some more incentives for current CO Visa, CO MC, or CO PC members. Of course, it's always possible that people with these cards are not the target audience....

The card is essentially the same, but with the PC benefit added. If, on the application, you see the fee displayed as $375 you can be sure you've got this offer.

Now if you add Infinite Elite along with Lifetime PC - I can not imagine getting this offer. Right now I am paying $85 for the Chase World card - do not need the PC passes - so I am likely overpaying. Maybe they can offer a better deal for me to keep the card.

The only real benefit I have received - was an offer that if I spent $xK in a two month period - I got a free companion ticket - only restriction was no Sunday travel and V or higher. Not bad for a free companion ticket with no blackout dates.

The 2x on tickets/hotels is not that good. American Express is giving me 5X on everything right now - and frequently 3X on everything.

Tell me why I should not cancel the Chase World card?

Did your 5% offer expire? If so, listen to the silence!

Hmmmm.
for an infrequent traveler, and big spender, it may be decent
it seems that its not a great deal for me...
you'll need to spend 350k a year to get the full Flex EQM benefits, which is good to protect the integrity of the elite program.

Already have PClub, and there's no mileage bonus for signing up :/

Yea -- how 'bout that...

This is an interesting offer for me, as I've just downgraded from Amex Platinum and was planning on purchasing a President's Club membership before my next trip.

I currently have the CO World Mastercard, so in a sense it's a better deal to go with this offer.

Question:

Is there any easy way to "upgrade" to this card since I currently have the regular Chase CO Mastercard?

From my brochure: "These miles [i.e., flex EQM] do not expire, so you can redeem them toward Elite status at any time in future years."

Is this going to be offerd for business card customers as well? I have the Chase CO biz card, but this one looks interesting.

Which part about this card looks interesting? The Business amex plat is $75 cheaper than it and offers far better benefits, unless you really like the flex-eqm's there's not much reason to choose this card.

Huh? :confused: AFAIK, there is a fee on all overseas purchases on the Amex -- it's 2%, built into the currency conversion (and not to mention that they usually try and charge you more -- check the math!). I believe most other cards charge fees of 1-3%, depending on the issuer bank, so clearly this "World" product is at the upper end and not particularly competitive.

Sticking with AMEX Plat. Much better benefits including discounts with Hertz, Marriott, FedX. The flex mile offer is not enough to make me jump ship.

Somewhat Off Topic
 

There's some good threads on currency conversions as per this thread on FT:

Fee Listing for Foreign Exchanges - Very Useful! ^^

Foreign exchange: A refresher course

Awesome. Hilarious. ^

As I understand it, this new card only offers the opportunity to earn a limited number of EQMs, and it does not offer the usual 1-for-1, dollar-for-bonus mile industry standard, correct? Frankly, I charge c. $50K/year on my AMEX and would prefer 50k bonus miles rather than 4,000 EQM.

I would think that the Elite Access perks are not much of a benefit to most who would hold this card as I suspect that the vast majority are probably CO elites. Furthermore, the most valuable Elite Access benefit--being able to get priority coach seating when buying your ticket--is not applicable with this credit card deal.

Finally, the card does not offer SPG (or Hilton) Gold benefits like AMEX Plat. Most other AMEX Plat benefits are generally over-hyped, but the hotel status is nice. Unfortunately, this card doesn't seem to offer anything in that area.

You earn 1 bonus mile per dollar spent and 2 bonus miles per dollar spent with Continental. Your 50k example nets you both 50k bonus miles and 4kEQM.

Be wary of Chase credit cards. They are revising the Terms of Agreement to essentially do away with the Grace period. Now, you will begin incurring finance charges from the transaction date. :td:

hiburi, unless you have received a different revision to the terms than I did, then I think that this is a misreading. They changed a sentence saying how they calculate the finance charge. They did not (I believe) change the sentence in the original terms that follows, saying that they waived the finance charge if you paid your balance in full at the end of the previous month. If you do that (and you should think twice about having any credit card if you don't) then I don't think this is a reason for getting mad at Chase - after all, plenty of other credit card providers do that too (Amex, for one, at least on my card).

Thank you for the correction! I neglected to mention that from an ages old promotion I still get 2% back on this card for international travel charges regarding car hire and hotel reservations. This negates the 2% fee (or at least that's what I tell myself to keep from getting aggravated). :)

I was just reading the website for this card and noticed the part

"Apply for the Continental Airlines Presidential PlusSM Card and enjoy a suite of exclusive privileges available only to a select group of travelers."

Who is the select group of travelers? Is this a by invitation only card?