In 2008 I was a freshman in college and I had just gotten my second credit card. It was a Chase Slate. It came with no benefits but had a pretty high credit limit for someone who was making $7.50 an hour at the time. Shortly after college, I upgraded to the Capital One Quicksilver Card earning me 1.5% cash back on all purchases. I had no reason to use my Chase Slate card anymore but I kept it just incase and tied it to my EZ Pass Toll bill. If I had cancelled my Chase Card, it would have decreased my credit history and increased my credit utilization. Both of those factors would have decreased my credit score and I didn’t want to do that.
Ask Sebby
Ask Sebby is another personal finance blog. While it is uncommon for a personal finance blog to promote another, Ask Sebby is worth promoting. It is the perfect blog for credit card fanatics as that is all he blogs about. I regularly watch Sebastian’s YouTube videos and read his blogs from time to time. It is through Ask Sebby where I found out I could do a “Product Change” on my Chase credit card without affecting my credit history or my credit score. You can do a product change from a personal credit card to another personal credit card, but you cannot upgrade to a business card without a new application. There are other limitations but that probably won’t affect you.
My Upgraded Card
As I mentioned, I had a Chase Slate card with no benefits. This legacy card was not even offered anymore. Instead, Chase replaced it with the Chase Slate Edge, a card that reduces its interest by 2% each year as long as you make on-time payments and spend a certain amount of money each year. I evaluated all of the Chase credit cards and settled on the Chase Freedom Flex Card. The Chase Freedom Flex has no annual fee and offers the following cash back categories.
- Earn 5% on up to $1,500 on combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1% on all other purchases
The Chase Freedom Flex also offered 5% cash back on groceries for the first year and an account opening bonus, but that is for new customer’s only. You are not eligible for new customer offers when doing a product change on your card.
That is not all you get with the Chase Freedom Flex. You also get the MasterCard World Elite Benefits that include 3 months of Dash Pass, 5% cash back on Lyft Rides, Free cell phone insurance up to $800 per year, 1 year extended manufacturers warranty, up to 15% cash back on select online stores, and more.
The Product Change Process
Once I selected the card I wanted to upgrade to, I simply went to my online account and sent a secure message requesting a product change from Chase Slate to Chase Freedom Flex. They replied within 24 hours requesting that I call them to process the request. I called them the next day and made the same request over the phone. They told me “Sure no problem” before proceeding to verify my identify and mailing address. Next, the Chase agent discussed the terms of the new card before verifying I wanted to make the switch. The entire phone call took about 8 minutes including the hold time. Within 5 business days, I received my new Chase Freedom Flex with the same billing due date and same credit history as my old Chase Slate card. I started using it immediately to get 5% cash back on groceries for this quarter and 5% cash back on travel.
It is best to do a product change when you have your old credit card completely paid off. You should also unlink your old card from all automatic bill pay services whether its your utility bill, phone bill, subscription service, gym membership, or EZ pass.
Takeaways
- If you have any old underutilized credit cards, a Product Change is a great way to upgrade and gain new benefits.
- Product Changes do not affect your credit score or credit history unless you ask for a credit limit increase.
- There are limitations. For example, you cannot change from a personal card to a business card, and vice versa.
- What if you find a card you like without any new customer sign up bonuses? You can sign up with another card that offers a sign up bonus and then product change to the card you originally wanted.
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