Internal Chase Memo: Freedom Card 5% is here to Stay

Rumors have been circulating that the Chase Freedom card will be phased out, based on the perception of multiple Chase bankers and based on the fact that the card is no longer available in branches. We reported that Chase reached out to us to clarify that there are no plans of scrapping the card. We weren’t sure what to make of it, and some people wondered if the 5% categories will be scratched.

There’s a new memo which was sent out to Chase bankers in the past couple of hours to clarify that there is no intention of phasing out the Freedom card or the 5% categories.

 

 

 

I saw a picture of the actual memo, but I can’t share that. I was, however, given the green light to share the text of the memo, so here it is:

What to know about those Chase Freedom rumors

June 10,2016

We want to clear up some rumors circulating on some blogs stating that our Chase Freedom credit card will be discontinued at the end of the year

Here are the facts

  • There are no plans to discontinue Chase Freedom or the 5% categories that come with it.
  • Chase Freedom is one of our most popular cards and will continue to be available online.
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited debuted in March to give customers more options for earning cash back – not to replace Chase Freedom.

As always, use your resources to help customers apply for the card that’s right for them. If customers want to apply for Chase Freedom in the branch, you can help them apply on chase.com. [Last few words are cut off in the picture I saw]

All States – All Branch Employees (A)

Thanks to my friend B. for sharing this information.

My take is that the decision to only have Freedom Unlimited in-branch is just to promote the new card, and it may well be a temporary thing, e.g. they may want to hit a certain number of signups in the first year.

It’s still possible that corporate is trying hard to cover up the news at the moment. However, at this point I’m thinking that the bankers were under the impression that Freedom is being discontinued since they weren’t offering it in-branch, but in fact that was just a sales-driven decision.

In any case, Chase is definitely telling their bankers that the card and 5% categories will continue indefinitely.

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NinjaX
NinjaX (@guest_266754)
June 10, 2016 15:05

wow. nail in the coffin. we already knew Chase people read these blogs which was already a HUGE risk, but this definitely the confirmation. an internal memo specifically addressing rumors contained within blogs? wow.

thats why so many people are upset with open blogs in general. we are literally giving all the banks instructions on how to program their algorithms and build out their manual account review procedures.

Kevin
Kevin (@guest_266764)
June 10, 2016 15:28

Bingo. Nothing is a secret. If people think the banks don’t read the blogs and react accordingly, they are wrong.

I would expect Chase is merely going to keep both Freedom cards for awhile and see which one is more profitable. I would say in a year or two one of them will probably get the axe.

jw
jw (@guest_266798)
June 10, 2016 16:53

This is hardly news in any way. DoC talks to representatives from companies all the time and mentions it on his blog. Of course companies are reading these blogs. Any halfway competent company will have tons of google alerts set up for keywords related to their company, which will flag all publicly indexed sites.

David
David (@guest_266828)
June 10, 2016 19:04
  jw

This is exactly what happens. I work for a large company and every employee with a work email gets a “Media Update” email every morning that basically pulls in all articles from the internet that has our company name and/or stock ticker.

IOException
IOException (@guest_267001)
June 11, 2016 17:14

Why is this a bad thing?

Companies want to listen to their customers and provide them with better products.

Does this mean those who cost the company too much business will be shut down? Maybe. Business is a balancing act. Anyone who has ever run a business knows that there is a certain percentage of loss you have to tolerate.

You have to realize that these blogs really are a small fraction of customers. Most customers have don’t have the time, patience, or capability to sweat these things.

Case and point: most Freedom cardholders never register for the 5% categories. And when they do, spending patterns don’t appear to change much.

Tory
Tory (@guest_266745)
June 10, 2016 14:05

Their plan is to see which card is more profitable. I doubt both will be around in 2 years.

Lantean
Lantean (@guest_266761)
June 10, 2016 15:19

i agree with this… only one will survive eventually.