Chase Upgrades My Card to Visa Signature!

I just got another letter from Chase. Once again, I feared that my credit lines would either be reduced or my interest rates increased (even if I use no where close to my credit limits and pay in full automatically every month!). But phew, instead the letter was telling me that I’ve upgraded my card. Here was what the letter said:

Dear Mr Credit Card

Congratulations
We are pleased to inform you that we will be upgrading your Chase Flexible Rewards^SM credit card to the Chase Visa Signature&#174 card at no cost to you. You’ll keep your current rewards program and all of your rewards – and your account number will remain the same so you can continue to use your current Chase card(s) for all of your purchases. Here are some of the new benefits you’ll enjoy:

No Overlimit Fees
Your Chase Visa Signature card comes with a credit access line instead of a credit limit and will have no pre-set spending limit, which means greater spending flexibility without having to worry about overlimit fees and gives you peace of mind when you need to make a large purchase.

Visa Signature Benefits
Your upgrade comes with several exclusive benefits from Visa Signature, including:

• Increased Purchases Security: Covers eligible items for damage or theft due to a covered event up to $500 for 90 days after purchase.
• Complimentary Concierge Service: 24/7 assistance on everything from making dinner reservations and travel arrangements to finding a dog walker, towing company or a plumber.
• Free online access to Zagat: Get the web’s most trusted restaurant reviews and ratings in your neighborhood, a nearby city or vacation spot.
• Reserved Preferred Seats: At concerts, theaters and sporting events.

Go to www.visa.com/signature for all the latest events and offerings

The upgrade to your card will occur automatically on May 29, 2009 as long as you continue to meet our credit criteria. You’ll receive your new card and benefits brochure shortly thereafter. If you have any questions or choose to opt out of this upgrade, please call the number listed on the back of your card by May 24, 2009.

Thank you for being a loyal customer and continuing to choose Chase. We truly appreciate your business.

Best Regards
Deb Walden
Executive Vice President, Customer Experience
Chase Card Services.

Nice – then on page two of the letter was the “change in the card holder agreement”!

Changes in terms notice/new cardmember agreement terms

• The Credit Line section of your agreement is replaced with the following Credit Access Line section:Credit Access Line: Your credit access line appears on your billing statements. We may also refer to the credit access line as revolving line. Amounts over your credit access line may be referred to as a non-revolving line. The credit access line is the maximum amount upon which you can defer your payment on your account, subject to the minimum payment due. There is no pre-set spending limit for your account. Instead each charge is based on the spending and payment pattern of the account, your other relationships with us, information from consumer credit reports obtained from credit bureaus including your experience with other creditors, and our understanding of your resources. We may decline an authorization request for any transaction at any time as described in this agreement. We may also request additional information from you at any time to evaluate a transaction request or the use of your account generally. Your billing statement may show that only a portion of your credit access line may be used for cash advances. Cash advances, including cash advance checks, are charged against the cash advance portion of your credit access line, and all other transactions are charged against your credit access line. You are responsible for keeping track of your account balance, including any fees and finance charges. This agreement applies to any balance of your account, including any balance over your credit access line.

  At our discretion, we may increase, reduce, or cancel your credit access line, or the cash advance portion of your credit access line, at any time. However, if you have asked us not to do so, we will not increase your credit access line. A change to your credit access line will not affect your obligation to pay us.

  There were a few other stuff but I choose to leave them out. So great, I have my card “upgraded”. I have access to concierge service now and I will certainly test them to see how they fair! From the looks of it, it seems that the difference is that in theory, I can spend more than my previous credit lines, but I cannot carry a balance that is more that the “new” credit access line. So let’s say I have a credit line of $10,000. In it’s present form, I can spend up to that amount and carry a balance up to that amount. But now, it seems like I can charge say $15,000 to the card (no pre-set spending limit) but have to pay off at least $5,000 since I can then only carry a balance of $10,000. But using this figure as an example, I hardly come close to utilizing my credit limit and I’m not sure in this example if I can even get away with say charging $15,000 on the card.

  I’ll look at the statement after May 29 and give you folks a report on this development.

  Has anyone else gotten a similar letter?