Author Topic: Chase Saphire Closed My Account  (Read 9365 times)

Wesmon

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Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« on: February 11, 2015, 07:27:31 AM »
About a year ago, thanks to Mr. MM, I opened a Chase Sapphire because the reward was terrific.  I proceeded to charge up the card, I got the points, and got $400 cash back.  I kept using the card for a few months but then stopped because I got a better one.

On Feb 1st of this year I got dinged the annual $95 fee. Doh! My bad, I forgot to close the account shame on me, face punch.

On Feb 3rd I receive a letter from Chase stating that they are closing my account.  The reason given:

"...because continuing the relationship creates possible reputational risk to our company."

Seriously???  I'm going to damage the sterling reputation of Chase????  How nice of them to close the account the day after charging me the annual fee.


Anyway, spent 30 minutes on the phone with them questioning their business practices and how they are likely damaging their own reputation by being dumb.



JLee

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2015, 07:34:55 AM »
If they charged you the annual fee and then closed the account, are they going to refund it?

NotJen

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2015, 07:38:00 AM »
I think you usually have a month or so to cancel a card and get the annual fee refunded. So in the future, if you forget to cancel beforehand, just do it as soon as the fee pops up.

TexasStash

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2015, 08:42:02 AM »
Sorry Wesmon. That sucks. Sounds pretty underhanded. I have been planning to close my Sapphire before the annual fee comes up and this just validates that its a wise decision to do so.

Brian Fellows

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2015, 08:47:58 AM »
As NotJen said above, when they charge you your annual fee is when you want to cancel a credit card, not before.  They'll refund it (you have up to a month), and that's when they'll give you some kind of retention bonus or waive the fee (or both).  Usually they won't do that if you cancel out of the blue before the fee shows up.

I've found Chase to be an exception to the fee waiving or retention offer, though.  They're always happy to close my card and refund the fee, no questions asked.  Never an offer one way or the other.

Neustache

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2015, 08:52:57 AM »
What a strange reason to give.  I can't believe that phrase would even be in a letter that passed through an attorney's eyes.  Not that you could sue them for anything...it's just a weird reason to give!

Wesmon

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2015, 09:01:55 AM »
Thanks.... I'm just shocked at the wording of the letter.  I'm offended that they think I could ruin the reputation of a Fortune 500 company.  I've got some power, eh?

Gone Fishing

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2015, 09:06:25 AM »
The Saphire is a business card, right? What line of business did you enter when you opened the card?

Wesmon

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2015, 09:10:52 AM »
No not a business.  Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa.

I closed the account and they refunded the money.  I also had a crap load of points on there so they are also sending me a check.

johnny847

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #9 on: February 11, 2015, 09:11:08 AM »
Thanks.... I'm just shocked at the wording of the letter.  I'm offended that they think I could ruin the reputation of a Fortune 500 company.  I've got some power, eh?
Or, from another point of view, you should be flattered XD. You somehow have the clout to ruin the reputation of a Fortune 500 company!


More practically, I think it's a ridiculous reason to give. And they have the audacity to do this two days after they charge you the annual fee? They couldn't have done this before they assessed the fee?

sheepstache

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #10 on: February 11, 2015, 09:31:16 AM »
You probably would have mentioned this, but do you have a blog? Where you, like, review cards?

My experience was that I downgraded mine to the free version the month before I would have gotten the fee and they were very straightforward about it.

Phil_Moore

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #11 on: February 11, 2015, 10:04:16 AM »
I vaguely remember seeing something on the news about Chase shutting down porn stars accounts with a similar justification...

But in case that isn't the reason, they can likely categorise almost any kind of activity as being 'suspicious' from a money laundering point of view.

Wesmon

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #12 on: February 11, 2015, 10:21:21 AM »
LOL... nothing of the sort.   It's not even a business account.  I'm not a blogger or anything like that.  I used it for everyday purchases for a while and then just stopped because I switched to another card with better cash back.

I read somewhere that they changed their TOS to combat people who get a card just for the initial offer and then stop using it, which is fine with me.  I'm just amused at the wording and the timing of the letter.

Sid Hoffman

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #13 on: February 11, 2015, 03:49:01 PM »
I've found Chase to be an exception to the fee waiving or retention offer, though.  They're always happy to close my card and refund the fee, no questions asked.  Never an offer one way or the other.

I too recently canceled my Chase Sapphire card, although in my case I canceled it a week or two before they would have charged the annual fee.  I used very passive language when canceling and even something along the lines of "I like this card, I just can't really afford the annual fee right now" and the agent used a couple lines to see if I'd keep the card anyway but at no time offered to waive the fee.  After maybe 60 seconds he'd closed the account and that was the end of that.

Separately, last year I had a bad customer service experience with Chase and their Priority Club card.  I was angry and said something along the lines of "Well if that's how it is, then I don't want to do business with you."  They then closed the account with no further discussion, however they did refund me the annual fee.  I didn't even actually ask them to close the account, I was just angry with how they were treating me and they closed the account anyway.

So bottom line, I've actually closed 3 credit card accounts with Chase in the last 3 years (before the last two I also had a Slate card) and not once did they put a meaningful effort into keeping me as a customer.  That's really not a bad thing, IMHO because their customer service really is pretty terrible.  Once I'm done using up my Southwest Airlines points I'll close my Chase SWA card and that will be the end of my relationship with Chase Bank.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2015, 06:30:58 AM »
Weird. I've always found chase to have excellent service (for a giant monster mega bank). I've carried an Amazon cash back card basically since they were created and any time I've needed something or filed disputes, I was happy.

Gone Fishing

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Re: Chase Saphire Closed My Account
« Reply #15 on: February 13, 2015, 02:13:03 PM »
What type of things did you buy to hit your required charge amount?  Gas, groceries, and other regular stuff?  Or did you have to resort to some of the "manufactured spending" techniques?