[Update 9/5/20: FM reports being told by the Chase media team that it will only be possible to product change from the Chase Freedom to the Freedom Flex. It will not be possible to product change from the Freedom Unlimited or Chase Sapphire card.]
According to the FAQ about the new Chase Freedom Flex card, and according to what we’re hearing from the Chase media team, customers will not be able to hold more than one Freedom Flex card. Given that the old Freedom card will be discontinued for new applications on September 14th, it’s fair to guess that it won’t be possible to product change into the Freedom card after that date either.
Thus, after September 14th is won’t be possible to product change your no-fee cards to accrue multiple Freedom cards, and you’ll be limited to one Freedom Flex card + whatever Freedom cards you already have.
For that reason, if you have any cards (e.g. Slate or no-fee Sapphire) that you’ve been meaning to change into the Freedom 5% card for the rotating categories, I’d recommend doing so now while the card is still available.
(I say this all with the assumption that the information given is accurate, and it won’t be possible to hold multiple Freedom Flex cards. I still think it’s plausible the info is not being presented correctly (as I had speculated in our original post), and – in practice – the Flex card will work like it’s predecessor in that Flex cardholders will not be able to apply for the Flex card, but will be able to product change another card to become their second Flex card.)
Related 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
- Should You Sign Up For The Old Freedom Card Before It’s Discontinued?
- Will Chase Improve The Earning Rates Of The Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve? (Maybe)
Just called in and attempted to change a Slate to a Freedom. The representative referred to the old Freedom Visa as the “Freedom Ultimate”, but then checked and said it was not possible to PC to it any more. He said I could PC to the Freedom Unlimited or the Freedom Flex, so I chose the Flex.
Not sure if the fact that I already have three Visa Freedom cards was a factor in this.
In December, I was able to product change a Slate that was more than one year old into a old Freedom.
Today, I was unable to product change a three-month old Slate into the old Freedom, but I was able to change it into a Freedom Flex. I already have three old Freedom cards.
I was able to PC my CSR to CF (vanilla) or Ultimate Rewards today Sept 22
Just product changed my CFU to CF without a hitch. Rep did mention he knew some changes were in the works for the freedom so he had to check with a manager first. Call was a little confusing as rep kept referring to the CF as the chase freedom ultimate which I’m not sure I’ve heard before.
I have CF, CFU, and CSR. I called and PC’ed CSR to a second CF.
Called and PC’d my CFU I got last month to a CF. The indian guy at the other end let out a sigh like he’d done this 100 times today and read me like 5 minutes of disclosures before changing it.
PC’d CFU to CF yesterday. Will be under 5/24 in Oct, so plan on applying for CFU then. Never had sign up bonus for CFU since converted from another bank several years ago.
Attempted PC from no-fee Sapphire to Freedom but first inquired if I could PC to Freedom Flex. Agent said starting on the 09/13/2020 I would be able to product change from the no-fee Sapphire to Freedom Flex.
Is this correct? I thought I remembered you writing we couldn’t PC until 9.15.20.
Yes, check the notes at the top of https://www.doctorofcredit.com/major-chase-freedom-revamp-mastercard-freedom-flex-freedom-unlimited-will-earn-3-dining-drugstores-5-travel-bookings/ and also the “direct link.”
Called in today and successfully PC’ed from non-fee Sapphire to Freedom Flex!
I have a CSR and a CF. I was planning on dropping my CSR to avoid the annual fee; I hit 48 months next summer, at which point I’ll reapply.
I don’t MS and I rarely (essentially never) max out the bonus categories for my CF. No Costco near me for gas. Given that scenario, is there any reason not to just drop my CSR entirely instead of PCing to a second CF? I don’t see any value in my personal situation for PCing, but I’m afraid I might be missing something.
PCing would keep your credit history? That could be the main reason against canceling. You could drop down to CFU if you don’t like another CF since it’s no fee anyway also
Thanks for the reply!
Slight tweak to Kona’s language (below). Closing a card does not remove it from your credit history — closed accounts stay on your report for 10 years after you close them and continue to contribute to your average age of accounts and some other positive FICO scoring factors.
Kona is right, however, that in ten years you would lose that nice well-aged positive tradeline, so that’s the main reason many people choose to keep it. It also pads out your total line of credit, which makes it less work to keep your CC utilization ultralow.
IMO the relevant question is whether it will be aggravating to track an open card. You have to spend a little money on it every six months to protect it from being closed and you ought to look at the balance online to make sure it’s zero (protecting yourself against fraud). In your case you have multiple accounts with Chase so those two things are easy to do, since you already are logging onto Chase periodically. In contrast I have a card that I chose to keep open but I now see maybe it would have been easier to close, since it is my only account I’ll ever have with them.
A huge reason to PC (or close) is to avoid paying annual fees. Glad you are doing that. Curious to hear why you paid the AF for the first few years — did you see some huge benefit in doing that? Most AFs are (in my opinion) not worth the cost — much more lucrative to get rewards by bonus chasing, as far as I can see.
DP: called and downgraded my CSR to a 3rd active Freedom earlier today without any push-back.
Plan is to eventually get a sign up bonus for the new Freddom Flex as well as a new CSR (since it’s been close to 48months since last one).
But first gonna use up the new 5% benefit for Q3 on my downgraded card… 🙂
For folks thinking about potential CSR downgrades in the next few months and if you already have a CFU and regular Freedom, does it make sense to PC the CFU to a regular Freedom now? That way, you aren’t stuck with 2 CFUs that can’t be PC’d into the old Freedom or the new CFF? (This all assuming that you’re not getting much use out of the CFU now and would either apply or PC to the CFF down the road)
What would be your explanation to the Chase rep for why you want 2 Freedoms instead of a Freedom and a CFU?
P2 PC’d a Sapphire to CF (despite already having CF and CFU) – was asked why the switch from Sapphire, but nothing about the fact that we already had that card.
Good to have an answer ready, but I wouldn’t let it scare you away from PC’ing if that’s what you want.
I think the reply there would be around preferring the 5% back as opposed to 1.5% on everything and hope that doesn’t give red flags as a potential customer who is only interested in maxing out the 5%. Hopefully, as Fred mentioned below, they only ask about that and don’t flag having 2 Freedoms. But I’d ultimately rather have 2 CF down the road than 2 CFU, especially if I can’t PC to a CFF.
I see both sides to this. The very most a Freedom card can be worth over a CFU is 21k points per year ($1500 x 4 quarters x 3.5 points per dollar more than CFU), and doubtful that many max that out on a second Freedom. I think it’s easy to get caught up in trying to squeeze every last UR point out of Chase, but at the risk of getting cut off completely at some point. I do think the risk here is quite low, but the reward is also pretty low if you do the math.
Thanks, that’s a helpful analysis!
I’ve successfully done two conversions to CF’s in the past week. Both times, the rep asked why, and I just said for the 5% cash back every quarter, and that seemed to satisfy their curiosity.