We’ve gotten these questions dozens of times in the comments, so I figured we’d put out a dedicated post:
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When I product change my Chase Freedom/other card to the Freedom Flex, will I get a new card number?
- Yes, you’ll get a new card number. Downgrades/product changes don’t always result in a new card number, but in this case you’ll be changing a Visa Freedom/Sapphire/Slate/Unlimited card to become a Freedom Flex Mastercard, so the number will certainly change. The first digit of Visa cards is 4 and the first digit of Mastercards is 5.
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Will the product change count as a new account against my 5/24 total?
- It should not count as a new card account. When banks do product changes, they should be transferring over the old account history into the new one, and it’s thus considered a single account. This should be true even when a Visa card becomes a Mastercard.
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Will the product change cause me to lose the age of my credit card accounts which helps my ‘average age of accounts‘ and increases my credit score?
- Banks are supposed to transfer over the account history since it’s a continuation of the previous account. This is true even when the change is from Visa to Mastercard.
Remember, product changes happen all the time; this isn’t a unique situation, and banks know to maintain the account history when processing the change.
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When I product change to the Freedom Flex, is it considered a new card which would allow me to get the signup bonus offer?
- No, only if you apply for the Freedom Flex as a new card will you get the signup bonus offer ($200 + 5%). If you product change your existing card to become a Freedom Flex, you do not get the $200 offer, nor the 5% offer.
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If I am in middle of my 5% Freedom grocery store year-long bonus and I product change the old Freedom to become a Freedom Flex, will I continue my 5% grocery earnings or is it considered a separate account after the product change?
- You’ll continue to get the 5%, according to what the Chase media team informed us.
Original Posts:
- Major Chase Freedom Revamp: New ‘Freedom Flex’ Mastercard & Freedom Unlimited Will Earn 3% Dining & Drugstores, 5% Travel Bookings
- Chase Freedom Flex – Your Questions Answered
- Tip: Product Change Your Chase Cards To Become Freedom Cards Now (Update)
- Chase Freedom Flex Now Live For Product Changes (Working From Sapphire, Slate, CFU)
Just curious, but once your old VISA Freedom expires, and a new one is sent to you, they won’t automatically convert it to MC and sent you a MC, right? It’ll still be a old Chase freedom Visa?
I don’t find the bonuses on new Flex MC to be useful when I already have the CFU with the same benefits, so I’m curious how they deal with expiration/renewal of the credit card.
Thanks
IMPORTANT NOTE: Once you product change to the freedom flex, chase does not allow you to change that card to any other product (CSP, CSR, Freedom Unlimited). So, when you product change to the flex, it’s a permanent change (as of now). Chase is claiming that they can’t make this switch because they can’t change a mastercard to a visa (even though they are more than happy to change any other freedom/sapphire visa product to a mastercard…).
I imagine most people here pay off their card each month. And there is a very generous 15-month 0 interest rate on this card.
But I was considering my first Apple Macbook and it made me wonder whether Chase will change the interest rate on your card at their discretion, without warning.
Plus I’d love a good savings account but not at a 0.01 interest rate.
Is it possible to product change from a cobranded card like United or IHG to Freedom Flex?
It was not possible before with the old freedoms so I don’t think it s likely now
Data Point: I currently hold a CFU and two Freedom cards, along with a few other Chase cards. I applied for the Flex yesterday, and was approved with a laughable $500 credit limit, but my total credit with Chase is roughly 50% of my income, so I’m sure I can call or chat to get my credit lines reallocated. Point being, the Flex IS available as a new product even to holders of the Freedom. Thanks!
Edit: I wanted to sign up for a new card, rather than PC one of the regular Freedoms, to get the 5% Grocery bonus for the next year.
Thanks for the Data Point Dave. I’m thinking about doing the same. Which application method did you use? Incognito window or logged in to chase.com?
Wow. Pretty thorough Doc.
Does product changing to flex from regular freedom reset the $1500 5x category counter?
I’d guess it does
Any DP’s of converting a Freedom in the first 12 months to a Flex? I know usually its not allowed due to the CARD act, but the products are quite similar and have no AF.
I believe you can
You can change to another no AF card at any time; since the fees (none) are the same, it doens’t run afoul of the CARD act. I product-changed from CFU to CF after only 9 months
Someone pls answer me this. My wife and I have few regular freedoms, 2 FU and one no fee sapphire card. Which card or cards shot we convert to Flex card? I am not applying for new
Convert both regular Freedoms to Flex. Convert the no-fee Sapphire to the Freedom Unlimited.
I think there is no point to keep 2 FUs. So convert one of FU to Flex?
Convert all to regular Freedom (if that’s still possible) and only one to Flex.
People make things way more complicated than they need to be.