There’s no question that the current COVID-19 pandemic has upended just about every facet of life. Most if not all of us have canceled trips, not to mention all of the physical, emotional and financial stress that everyone is going through. Banks, airlines and hotels are also responding – Southwest has extended the time you have to get your companion pass, several card issuers are extending the timeline to earn welcome bonuses and some mileage redeposit fees are getting waived. JetBlue thought it would be a great time to increase baggage fees.
With all that going on, I’m taking a look through my card portfolio to see if there were any cards I had that I could or should cancel. Regular culling of your credit cards is a good idea ALL the time, but I think it’s doubly important in uncertain economic times. No reason to pay annual fees if you’re not getting the benefits!
My current Chase Ink cards
First up was my Chase Ink Plus card. Between my wife and I, we currently have the following Chase Ink cards:
- Me – Chase Ink Plus (opened in 2016)
- Me – Chase Ink Preferred (opened in 2019)
- Wife – Chase Ink Preferred (opened in 2020)
As you can see, after a long stretch being over Chase 5/24, we both got under 5/24 in late 2019 and our first order of business was signing up for Chase business cards. Chase Business cards, like the Ink Preferred are nice cards to get once you get under 5/24. That’s because you have to be under 5/24 to get them but they don’t count as additional cards TOWARDS 5/24.
The $95 annual fee on my Chase Ink Plus came due this month, so I thought that I would call Chase to see if there were any retention offers. I figured that many banks would be and have been giving out retention offers in an attempt to not lose customers. Plus, this is a card that I actually do a fair amount of spending on, so it’s not like this is a card that has been in my sock drawer for 12 months! Even though Chase is not known to be as retention-friendly as some of the other banks, I was cautiously optimistic.
Trying to call Chase (take 1)
I first called Chase a few days ago to try and see if there were any retention offers. Like many banks, I first had to go through rounds of automated messaging talking about how they were experiencing high call volume and that I should try to get my question answered on chase.com or through the app. Normally I just ignore those messages but the way that they worded it made it seem that you could ONLY use the automated system online. So I hung up
After asking in the Points With a Crew miles and points Facebook group, I was told that was, in fact, a lie and that several people had gotten a hold of Chase through the phone call center.
Calling Chase (take 2)
Back on the phone, I called Chase again. This time I ignored the automated messaging and just hit 0 to talk to someone. I got a person on the phone within a very reasonable amount of time. The gentleman I spoke to was very polite, and when I told him about how my annual fee had just hit and I was thinking about canceling, immediately said that he would look to see if there were any retention offers available on my account. After a quick pause, he reported that there were not any offers. We talked for a little bit, while he talked to me about my different options and sold me on the amazing benefits of the different Chase cards (like a 12 month 0% introductory APR as if that was at all important…)
We talked around and around as I tried to see what options there might be, but after a few minutes with no success, I decided to just hang up and consider my options
Now what?
So now I have to decide what to do. I see a few different options:
- Keep the card and pay the $95 annual fee
- Try HUCA (hang up / call again) to see if there are any other retention offers
- Cancel the card. I definitely see value in keeping at least one premium Chase card but I already have an Ink Preferred and a Sapphire Reserve (though I’m probably canceling the CSR when the annual fee is due in a few months)
If I do cancel the card, I would probably pair that with signing up for an Ink Business Cash card and/or an Ink Business Unlimited card. I like the Ink Cash because it still has the 5x at office supply stores and Internet and phone services. It only has a $25,000 annual limit but I have rarely if ever hit that limit.
Have you gotten any retention offers on a Chase Ink or other business card? What would you do in this situation? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
convert 2 cards to fee free Ink cash and Ink unlimited Keep the Plus as it i sno longer offered
Cancel all cards with annual fees
Preserve cash
Let the banks make you new offers later
Never get rid of the Ink Plus (a card no longer offered). It has the fantastic ability at 5 times at Office Supply stores for a ton of charging.
True. But so does the Ink Cash (though at a lesser maximum)
I am a charter member of the Chase Travel Card (whatever it was called before it became Sapphire Reserve, I can’t remember)… but yes, I got it in the early 2000’s because we were able to use the miles to take our family of 6 on a big trip. Back then it was used for flying only and for a 24,000 mile redemption, you got $400 of flight credit. If your flight was over $400, you only had to pay the difference. It was incredible! At any rate, I called recently and told them I was missing out on BIG new card bonuses and I’d like a retention bonus. They said “we don’t do that,” but gave me 5,000 points to thank me for my loyalty. Big deal. On my credit report, it looks pretty good to have had an excellent payment history on a credit card for almost 20 years, but even so, I probably should cancel it & get a big new card bonus offer. I know it makes no sense but I’m kind of proud to be a “charter member” of the Chase Travel Club, so from that perspective I kind of hate to cancel it! What would you do?!
Go and cancel and they may reduce the fee in order to keep you.
I’m having the same argument with myself. I’m finally under 5/24 and got the Chase business preferred card. I already had the Chase Ink plus. I regularly charge about $50k a year in the 5x categories. I’ll probably move my cellular bill to the preferred card for the replacement coverage. Likely I’ll keep the Ink plus for now. I’ll have to see if Chase will let me apply for the other two business cards…
I’ll be interested in seeing what you decide.