Chase Product Changes & Closures: Maximizing My Earnings
As I was thinking about some changes I needed to make with Chase I couldn’t help but shake the famous Eminem song, Cleanin’ Out My Closet. Because, that is exactly what I am doing with my Chase cards in a sense. By way of Chase product changes, and a closure, I am cleaning up my Chase closet. There were a few pieces that fell into place that forced my hand here, or at least opened up the door to some of these options.
How To Make A Chase Product Change
Before we get into my future plans I should briefly talk about how to do Chase product changes. Chase will let you product change cards in the same family if you want. That means you can move between two Southwest cards or two Ultimate Rewards earning cards etc. They have to be in the same earning family tow work though. So you cannot downgrade a Southwest card to an Ultimate Rewards earning card of vice versa etc. You can go up or down the ladder in the same family though. You cannot product change from personal to business and vice versa as well.
If you decide that you want to perform a product change for one of your Chase cards you need to call the number on the back of that card. I tried to do it via Chase secure message for a personal card, as well as a business card, and was told that it was not possible to do online. Once you get to a representative just inform them of the product change you want to go through with. If you are upgrading to a Sapphire Reserve just be sure it is from a card that has a $10,000+ limit to make things easier on yourself.
Chase Product Changes
There are two Chase product changes I need to do across our accounts.
Chase Ink Cash Product Change
The first one is to product change a Chase Ink Unlimited I have to a Chase Ink Cash. If you remember a few weeks ago I talked about how I missed out on 28,000 Ultimate Rewards points by making a stupid mistake. That mistake was hitting my Chase Ink Plus cap for 5X earning without realizing it. I had also thought my card reset / anniversary date was in September but it isn’t really until late October. Good thing I reached out by secure message just to be sure, fool me once and all of that. I figure I need more 5X earning space than I have and it was time for the change anyway. I used to use the Ink Unlimited for non bonus spend but I’ll just put that on my newer Blue Business Plus instead. Well, as long as I don’t get hit with a random Amex shutdown that is.
By making this product change I will add another $25,000 in 5X earning space, to go along side the $50,000 I have with the Ink Plus. The fact that the Ink Cash has no annual fee is icing on the cake! If I was under Chase 5/24 I would try to just sign up for it instead, and grab a welcome offer for my trouble, but that isn’t an option.
Chase Freedom Flex Product Change
The next card I need to do a product change for is the Chase Freedom Flex. I am not going to lie, I love this card. When Chase launched the card it was like the OG Freedom card on steroids. I love that it earns 3X on dining and at the pharmacy on top of earning 5X on rotating quarterly categories.
I had my wife sign up for the Freedom card before it went away a few months back. The plan was to leave her open to be able to grab a Freedom Flex‘s welcome offer in the future. Well, when she downgraded her Chase Sapphire Reserve I had her do it to the Freedom Flex. That was because I would still be able to hit the easy to use 3rd quarter Grocery category and we didn’t need another Freedom Unlimited. She already had a Chase Sapphire Preferred as well, so that wasn’t an option.
Now that she already has a Freedom Flex I might as well try to move her Freedom card over to the Flex. It still gives me the 5X earning opportunities plus it adds in restaurants and pharmacies. This way we can spread those purchases across two accounts instead of just one and keep our debt usage ratio lower. I am not sure if they will allow it within the first year of membership. If it was adding an annual fee they for sure wouldn’t since it is against the law but I am not sure if it is a no annual fee to no annual fee conversion.
How To Perform A Chase Account Closure
In this section I will talk about one of the cards we need to close that we currently carry from Chase. You are able to perform a card closure a few different ways. You can do it via secure message online, or in app, or you can call the number on the back of your card and speak with a representative. If you find some value in the card it is worth asking about a retention offer first before closing. Chase may offer something that helps, or completely, offsets the annual fee. It never hurts to ask, all they can do is say no!
Account Closure – IHG Premier
It is time to say goodbye to the IHG Premier card as well. With IHG awards going to dynamic pricing it just is no longer as valuable as it once was. I expect this to get even worse in the future. The hotel that I usually use these certs at consistently prices at 41,000 points, 1,000 points above the certificate’s 40,000 point value, which I think is a direct kick in the teeth by IHG. With all of that put together I don’t think I can justify paying $89 for it.
We will continue to hold both of our OG IHG cards though. They come with a very reasonable $49 annual fee for the same 40,000 point certificate. There is still enough value there to make it worth the hassle. But paying $89 just isn’t worth it to me any more.
Chase Product Changes & Closures – Final Thoughts
We always talk about grabbing new cards or maximizing the spending on our current cards to rack up points. Those are both great but don’t overlook product changing your cards within the same bank to give you the best bang for your buck. One of the things Citi does really well is they allow you to product change a personal card to any other personal card, regardless of card family. While Chase doesn’t allow that they have enough options that you can usually improve your points earning game by taking advantage of it.
Also remember to reevaluate your current card memberships on a regular basis. What made sense last year will not always make sense this year. Don’t fall into the trap of free night certificates “perceived” value either. If you struggle to use them then it probably isn’t worth the annual fee to you.
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Hi,
I’m thinking of downgrading my Reserve to Preferred. The only difference now that matters is the Priority Pass & Global Entry and of course the huge annual fee. I always reach the travel credit early & have used the pay yourself back feature and door dash.
1. Can I do that?
2. This wouldn’t be eligible for the new in branch 100k points bonus would it?
Thanks!
Jen
Yes you can downgrade to the Preferred. Only new sign ups can get the welcome offer. If it has been more than 4 years since you got the CSR, and you are under 5/24, then you may wanna downgrade to a Flex and try to sign up for a new CSP to get the offer.
Is it possible to have two Ink Business Cash cards at the same time?
Yes
“ Chase Freedom Flex Product Change
The next card I need to do a product change for is the Chase Freedom Flex. I am not going to lie, I love this card. When Chase launched the card it was like the OG Freedom card on steroids. I love that it earns 3X on grocery and at the pharmacy on top of earning 5X on rotating quarterly categories.”
Does the freedom flex earn 3x on groceries or is that a mistake?
Yeah that meant to be dining – sorry. I’ll update it now.
While I’m not ready to clean out my closet yet, your IHG issues resonate with me and I may follow suit cancelling my card. I don’t suppose you know how long it might be advisable to wait after closing a card before applying for another one from Chase? I have a lot of cards and the freed up credit may make a difference on whether I get approved.
I don’t think you would need to wait very long at all. Maybe a few days / a week. Could always have them reduce the credit line to $1K before closing to speed things up 😉
Why wouldn’t downgrade your IHG Premier to the no annual fee IHG Traveller’s card for the 4th night free benefit?
I don’t ever stay in IHG hotels for 4 nights so it doesn’t mean much to me.
Any reason you’re closing instead of downgrading the IHG?
She already has one IHG, we rarely use the program outside of the free nights, and it frees up a slot for her on Chase (currently has 7 personal cards).