Awhile ago we broke the news that Chase was denying applicants for their Chase branded cards if the applicant had applied for more than five credit cards in the past two years (and this includes all cards, not just Chase issued cards). Out & Out noticed that this targeting of churners seems to be reflected in the terms & conditions of Chase branded cards. Here is the new language (emphasis mine):
Chase cardmembers who currently have or have had a Chase credit card in any Rewards Program associated with this offer, may not be eligible for a second Chase credit card in the same Rewards Program. Chase cardmembers currently receiving promotional pricing, or Chase cardmembers with a history of only using their current or prior Chase card for promotional pricing offers, are not eligible for a second Chase credit card with promotional pricing
This new wording is found on the following cards:
- Chase Ink Plus
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Chase Freedom
It’s not found on credit cards that Chase has a co-brand with (e.g United, Southwest, Hyatt etc etc.) those still contain the old terms that read as follows:
This new cardmember bonus offer is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of this consumer credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of this consumer credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this consumer credit card within the last 24 months
Update: Southwest card also shows the new terms & conditions as well & United.
Update: Now appears on all Chase cards
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Our Verdict
It sucks that Chase are being more restrictive when it comes to churning, but not surprising. As long as they aren’t as restrictive with their co-branded cards, I’m not too worried as they still have plenty of cards worth cycling through. It probably depends on whether they are restricted via contracts with those partners if they are able to do this or not, although they recently renegotiated both the Southwest & United deals so that might have been part of the process – we’ll have to wait and see.
