A few weeks ago, I mentioned that my husband applied and got approved for an increased 55,000 miles bonus on United Mileage Plus Visa (may still be available). There was a better non-affiliate offer with an extra $50, but I couldn’t get it to work for me. I’ve heard of many people who tried and were unsuccessful in getting it to come up for them as well.
Not to worry, Chase will match it. They have always done it in the past, so why should this time be any different? Out of all the banks, Chase is extremely eager to work with their customers. As long as you contact them within 60 days, you should be good to go. Or so I thought…
I finally got around to sending a secure message to Chase and requested the extra $50. For my cousin-in-law: Here is where you go to in your Chase profile:
And here is the message I’ve sent:
Basically, I tried to be truthful and non-demanding. I fully expected to get the $50, so wasn’t all that concerned. It took Chase two days to respond, and here is what the email said:
In other words, the answer was No. I wasn’t really upset, because as I said earlier, I couldn’t get the better offer to come up for me anyway. It doesn’t mean that you won’t have better luck than me, so I absolutely recommend you contact Chase if you’ve applied for an affiliate offer without the $50 credit.
What does it mean to you as a consumer?
Well, I hope it’s just an isolated incident, but it’s possible that Chase isn’t quite as eager to please customers as it was in the past. Additonally, their “T and C” now contains very strong wording directed toward churners. I doubt that contacting them through their Message Center would draw unwanted attention, but it is something to think about.
This may sound obvious, but make sure you apply for the very best offer each and every time. Don’t just rely on blogs, including this one. I do my best to keep it up-to-date, but I’m not perfect. I’ve always said that readers need to look out for themselves.
Additionally, there are so many variables: Targeted, in-branch, rogue offers, you name it. I can’t possibly keep track of each and every flavor of any given bonus. I’ve mentioned before that one of the best sources for this is Flyertalk credit card thread.
In this blog, I make a point of not playing games with my readers. If I think an offer is good, I say so, whether it pays me or not. If I don’t think it’s worthwhile, I say so as well. I respect you and do my best not to ever insult your intelligence. In other words, if you asked me if I would buy what I’m selling, I would absolutely say Yes. In fact, I have personally gotten every single bonus on my list.
That being said, I respond to incentives just like everyone else and wouldn’t delude myself into thinking that my advice is always a 100% unbiased. That goes for every single affiliate blogger out there. Every. Single. One.
Readers, did anyone have success with Chase matching the better offer?
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
I got the exact same answer as you did, but no biggie. Sure, a $50 credit would have been nice, but I still got the airline miles. I’m not worried about it.
Holly, sorry to hear that. It’s very odd that Chase has changed its policy. Of course, like you said, 55,000 miles is a great offer, so I’m happy about it as well.
I used your direct link for the 55k miles knowing full well that I might not get the $50 statement credit.
I felt it was more important to give back to you, for the advice you willingly share, in the form of an affliate referral, rather than going for the $50 credit and you getting nothing for your services.
Yes, my wife and I lost out on a potential $100 but I also am at point in my life where principal and loyalty are much more valuable….at least more than $100!! Now, if we were talking about $500 in credit, I’d probably take that bonus and catch you on the next app o’ rama!!
Anyway, I got the same BS answer you did as a response from Chase. No dice – Just 55k miles x 2!!!!
BB, I feel really bad about that. I don’t know if you checked and saw the better offer, hopefully not. Maybe it wouldn’t have come up for you, at least I prefer to think so…
Regardless, please, don’t ever do that again, I’m serious! Information is free, don’t feel like you need to pay me somehow. I want my readers to use my affiliate links if it doesn’t cost them anything, not to lose out on what’s rightfully theirs. I would never expect someone to shortchange themselves, so I could make commission. It just doesn’t feel right.
Of course, I do appreciate your support. It’s humbling to think that a reader would do that for my crazy little blog. However, let this be the last time. OK? 🙂
I got the offer with the $50 statement credit (I think?) It actualyl took 2-3 weeks for them to approve my account, so I haven’t gotten my card yet.
Points with a crew, good for you! I hope you get it, $50 is nothing to sneeze at.