As some of you know, I applied for and got the Chase Sapphire card with the 50,000 bonus if you spend $3000 in 3 months. AS also applied for and got one.
When I heard there was an even better offer for 100,000 points that you could get upgraded to by emailing customer service, we both did that. AS immediately got her extra 50,000 points (which we redeemed for $500!), but I got the following email:
"As per the offer on your account, you will receive 50,000 Chase Sapphire bonus points after spending $3,000.00 in purchases within 93 days of account open date. These points will post to your account within one to two billing cycles.
"I feel that every relationship is based on mutual trust and support, including one between a bank and a customer. I would like to inform you that, once you have spend $3000.00 within the first 93 days, you will need to re-sumbit your request for the additional 50,000 points, however, make sure that it is within the first 93 days and we will be happy to have the additional 50,000 points added to your account."
I thought, great, no problem! I wrote a very nice thank-you note.
A couple weeks later I had gotten up to $3000 of spending, so as this email had instructed, I resubmitted my request:
"I'm happy to report that I've spent my first $3000 on my new credit card. Per the attached message, I would like to request an additional 50,000 as well as the 50,000 that were part of my original account offer. The customer service representative promised that I could have the additional points but only if I resubmitted my request after spending $3000.
"Thank you very much for your generosity and understanding in granting this request."
To my disappointment I got the following note:
"I am glad to know that yo have fulfilled the first use requirement of using the card for $3000.00 within 93 days of opening the account. The first use 50,000 points will post within one to two billing cycles.
"In order to view and redeem your rewards information online, please click on "Rewards Details" located in the bottom left corner of the Account Details page. After viewing current reward information, you may also click on "See Rewards History" for more information or "Redeem Rewards" to complete a redemption request.
"The offer for 100,000 points was an acquisition test offer only and was sent to a select customers through direct mail. Regretfully, this is a non transferable offer. I apologize for any miscommunication in this regard."
Naturally, since this seemed like a direct contradiction of their earlier communication, I fired back another message to make sure they understood what I'd been promised:
"I'm very disappointed at this unexpected change of heart. As a long-term and loyal Chase customer with several active accounts, I would be very disillusioned if what I was told isn't followed through on. I quote the previous customer service representative's email:
"'I feel that every relationship is based on mutual trust and support, including one between a bank and a customer. I would like to inform you that, once you have spend $3000.00 within the first 93 days, you will need to re-sumbit your request for the additional 50,000 points, however, make sure that it is within the first 93 days and we will be happy to have the additional 50,000 points added to your account.'
"In light of this explicit promise and of the long relationship I have with Chase, I hope you will reconsider and grant me the additional points after all."
I soon got another email:
"I sincerely apologize about any miscommunication caused due to the bonus offer points on your Chase Sapphire account.
"The 100,000 point enrollment bonus offer was sent to a select group that have no previous Chase Sapphire
accounts. We do not transfer promotional offers that a customer may have seen or heard about to their account. We only honor promotional offers that customers actually apply for.
"We are sympathetic with your position, however we must be consistent in applying the terms of our contract. To make exceptions would not be equitable to our other Cardmembers. We hope, therefore, that you can understand our position."
Now this just annoyed me more, since I knew very well they'd been handing out points to people who hadn't applied for that specific offer. So I wrote another message:
"Thanks for your quick response. However, I actually have a friend who is a cardmember and had the same agreement as me, and she was given the extra 50,000. So to say it wouldn't be equitable to not give me the extra points doesn't make sense.
"I'm afraid if you go back on your word, I'm going to have to reconsider being a Chase customer and will have to look around at other credit card companies. Knowing someone else who got the points, and having that past promise in writing from another customer service representative, it seems unconscionable that you would now tell me I don't get the extra points."
I got a quick response that I found slightly promising:
"I have forwarded your message to the appropriate department for review and you should receive a response within one business day.
"If you require immediate assistance, please contact the number listed below and either myself, or one of my colleagues will be able to assist you. For your
convenience, we are available to assist you 24 hours a
day."
So I waited a day and then got one more message from them:
"Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on actions taken on other cardmember accounts.
"As indicated in our previous e-mail response, the 100,000 enrollment bonus offer was sent to a select number of people who had no previous Chase Sapphire account. The offer is by invitation only and can not be applied to anyone who was not solicited for this promotional offer.
"Unless you can provide an invitation and offer code that sent specifically to you, we are considering this issue closed. I regret any inconvenience this may cause you.
"If you have any further questions, please reply using the Secure Message Center."
Sigh. So now, they've ticked me off enough that I'm not only going to cancel the rewards card (after I get my 50,000, heh heh), but I'm also going to cancel all our other Chase cards (AS's reward card after she gets her second 50,000, plus the one NT and I use all the time, and another one AS and I hold jointly that we hardly ever use).
I wouldn't have minded if they'd said "no" at the outset. But to say one thing and then not honor it, whether or not the original representative made a bad decision promising that ... I can't really do business with a company that would do that, and that would stick to that in light of my threatening to take my business elsewhere.
So ... I've been looking around, and I think I know what cards I'm going to apply for. (I'll talk about that in more detail in a later post.) But first I'm going to look through our records and cancel some other extraneous non-Chase cards I've been too lazy to handle, just to do some housecleaning. Then I'll apply for new cards and, once we get approved and Chase finishes sending us the rewards checks, I'll cancel all our Chase accounts.
Maybe they won't care; after all, I'm a "deadbeat" in credit-card-company parliance. I don't pay annual fees or late fees, and I no longer pay interest since I paid off our credit cards about 8 months ago. And I'm just one customer (albeit with 4 accounts total). But I'll be glad to see them go; I know credit card companies are just heartless corporations, but lying to a customer to their face when they have something in writing is just bad form.
How Chase lost a customer (long and mostly verbatim)
July 7th, 2011 at 12:14 am
July 7th, 2011 at 12:36 am 1309998961
They must have lost a TON of money on that 100,000 points deal. I really did not expect them to renig on a written promise. & honestly, I saw a lot of people saying they would stay with Chase simply because they were so pleased with the large bonus. But, that is some pretty bad customer service! Especially for a promotion to bring in new customers!
Petunia had just mentioned that they replied to her that they were going to reverse points in some cases. That was precisely why I redeemed mine IMMEDIATELY! I didn't really actually think they would take away points they already granted though. But I suppose the possibility was in the back of my mind.
The final test will be when you cancel the card and remind them why. If they don't honor the deal then - their loss! Hard to believe they would choose to lose customers over it.
Anyway, bah humbug to Chase.
July 7th, 2011 at 12:45 am 1309999546
July 7th, 2011 at 01:04 am 1310000669
July 7th, 2011 at 01:20 am 1310001659
I'm going to wait until we get all the cash we've got coming to us before I tell them I'm cancelling, and I'll make sure I've been approved for replacement cards. But yeah, Thriftorama, I'll email them one more time to let them know. Just to see what they say.
July 7th, 2011 at 01:23 am 1310001836
I was already going to close all my Chase cards anyway, since the ongoing rewards have been so crappy (& they keep trying to charge an annual fee on my Chase Freedom. I keep refusing their terms, and they apparently want to keep me anyway, but without the big ongoing rewards I no longer see the point of dealing with the vigilance of making sure I don't get charged any fees. If they hadn't tried to change the terms, I might have kept the card.).
July 7th, 2011 at 01:28 am 1310002134
July 7th, 2011 at 01:50 am 1310003445
July 7th, 2011 at 02:21 am 1310005275
July 7th, 2011 at 02:36 am 1310006218
I don't blame you at all for being disgruntled. They told you that you could have them, therefore they should give them to you.
For myself, I am not disgruntled as I was never told I could have the bonus points.
Monkey Mama referenced the reply I received today. The rep said they would be reversing the extra points awarded to those who had not received the offer but had asked for it instead. I cut and pasted the email into my blog post today. I don't know how Chase plans to reverse points from people who have already cashed them in, that seems like a terrible policy. Maybe the rep just told me that to appease me, who knows?
July 7th, 2011 at 05:05 am 1310015137
All recurring payments currently on Chase can transfer to another card with a few keystrokes and follow-up phone call to confirm it's all done, all correct. Good luck, hope you keep us UTD as this information can be helpful to other Chase card holders.
July 7th, 2011 at 02:58 pm 1310050706
I've never come across a credit rewards offer with any terms of length of time to keep open card. Beyond the time it takes to pocket the reward. {Then it's kind of hard to take back}. Fact is, few people ever close their credit cards, so probably why they don't apply these type rules to credit cards, generally.
I am sure Chase has this rule for their checking account rewards and other type accounts.
July 7th, 2011 at 05:12 pm 1310058749
July 7th, 2011 at 07:31 pm 1310067112
July 7th, 2011 at 08:47 pm 1310071634