Chase ends 1% interest on debit card balances

Gerry1

It was fun while it lasted but it turned out to be Bait & Switch.  From 5 August they won't pay any interest.

I'll keep the card for overseas use as a backup to Barclaycard Reward (which pays 0.25% on purchases and doesn't charge fees or interest on cash withdrawals) but apart from the odd purchase to stop it being closed I won't be using Chase any more.

steven141

From their email

To keep offering you the best banking experience we can, we regularly review the products, features and rates we offer you. As part of this review, we've decided to stop offering 1% interest on your current account as of 5 August 2024. This allows us to keep offering you great rates on Chase saver accounts and to keep investing in your banking experience. We'll keep an eye on this and all the rates and rewards we can offer you in the future.  We’re also making some other changes to our General Account Terms and Conditions that you should be aware of. We’ve outlined a summary of all the changes below: • We are decreasing the interest rate we pay on current accounts from 1% AER/1% Gross variable per annum to 0% AER/0% Gross variable per annum. • We’ve clarified what we do if we suspect a payment made into your account is linked to fraud or other criminal activity. We have explained that we will either block access to your account completely or block access to funds that are of an equal or lesser value to the payment. We’ll do this while we investigate the issue and we won’t ask for your permission before doing this. Depending on the outcome of our investigation, we may either return the funds to the paying bank or remove the block. • We’ve clarified what happens to rewards balances (such as cashback) when you end your relationship with us. You must redeem any rewards balance you have before you initiate the closure of your last current account with us. If you don’t, you won’t be able to redeem the rewards balance later. • We’ve deleted the references to the fee information document for the current account because we are removing that document. You will not incur any fees or charges for holding a current account. • We’ve explained that there may be limits to the number of accounts you can open or hold with us. • We’ve explained that you can find details of any applicable spending (e.g. a daily limit on the amount you can withdraw in cash with your card) and transaction limits in our app or by contacting us. On your phone? You can see a full summary of these changes here or download a copy for your records. On your computer? You can see a full summary of these changes by opening the Chase app, tapping the profile icon and then tapping 'Legal documents'. You'll also have the option to download and print this summary for your own records.  What's next? These changes will apply from 5 August 2024. If you’re happy with them, you don’t need to do anything as they’ll happen automatically. You can also download the new General Account Terms and Conditions in full from 5 August 2024. If for any reason you’re unhappy with these changes, pleasebefore 5 August 2024. You have the right to close your account at any time before this date, free of charge. If you prefer, we can also help you switch to another provider – just give us a call through the app. If we don't hear anything from you, we'll assume you're happy with these changes. Yours sincerely, The Chase Team

MeteredOut

I love the wording companies use

"We are decreasing the interest rate we pay on current accounts from 1% AER/1% Gross variable per annum to 0% AER/0% Gross variable per annum."

They're not stopping paying interest, they're just decreasing it to zero

la531983

Gerry1 said:

It was fun while it lasted but it turned out to be Bait & Switch.  From 5 August they won't pay any interest.

I'll keep the card for overseas use as a backup to Barclaycard Reward (which pays 0.25% on purchases and doesn't charge fees or interest on cash withdrawals) but apart from the odd purchase to stop it being closed I won't be using Chase any more.

So you aren't using it for the 1% cashback then? Seems a bit cut your nose off to spite your face 

steven141

The part about limiting the number of accounts you can have sounds like they are on to the people who are using them as “burner” accounts. 

TadleyBaggie

la531983 said:

Gerry1 said:

It was fun while it lasted but it turned out to be Bait & Switch.  From 5 August they won't pay any interest.

I'll keep the card for overseas use as a backup to Barclaycard Reward (which pays 0.25% on purchases and doesn't charge fees or interest on cash withdrawals) but apart from the odd purchase to stop it being closed I won't be using Chase any more.

So you aren't using it for the 1% cashback then? Seems a bit cut your nose off to spite your face 

I thought the cashback was only for the first year?

steven141

TadleyBaggie said:

la531983 said:

Gerry1 said:

It was fun while it lasted but it turned out to be Bait & Switch.  From 5 August they won't pay any interest.

I'll keep the card for overseas use as a backup to Barclaycard Reward (which pays 0.25% on purchases and doesn't charge fees or interest on cash withdrawals) but apart from the odd purchase to stop it being closed I won't be using Chase any more.

So you aren't using it for the 1% cashback then? Seems a bit cut your nose off to spite your face 

I thought the cashback was only for the first year?

It was then they extended it and made it so that you have to pay in £500 per month to get it and limited how much you can receive.  Now they have upped the amount to £1,500 per month minimum pay in I think (I’m still on the £500 offer). It’s not clear if this will renew after that or not. 

I’m not sure it’s worth me having it anymore as I now use Santander Edge Credit Card 2% cashback for the first year then 1% after that and I also have savings accounts 5.2% and above APR.

Gerry1

la531983 said:

Gerry1 said:

It was fun while it lasted but it turned out to be Bait & Switch.  From 5 August they won't pay any interest.

I'll keep the card for overseas use as a backup to Barclaycard Reward (which pays 0.25% on purchases and doesn't charge fees or interest on cash withdrawals) but apart from the odd purchase to stop it being closed I won't be using Chase any more.

So you aren't using it for the 1% cashback then? Seems a bit cut your nose off to spite your face 

I've become less enthusiastic as the months went by.  Several relatively big ticket things don't qualify for cashback, e.g. car servicing, insurance premiums.

I found that getting fee-free cash in the USA was difficult because there are very few Chase ATMs, and cashback (as in dollar bills) is seldom available at store checkouts.

I'll probably just use Amex in the UK and collect Avios.

hugheskevi

Gerry1 said:

It was fun while it lasted but it turned out to be Bait & Switch.  From 5 August they won't pay any interest.

I'll keep the card for overseas use as a backup to Barclaycard Reward (which pays 0.25% on purchases and doesn't charge fees or interest on cash withdrawals) 

I'm not unhappy about the interest change - it is more annoying to keep track of pennies of interest for tax purposes, and just not worth it.

I prefer Chase to Barclaycard Rewards for overseas spending due to the higher cashback.

steven141 said:

The part about limiting the number of accounts you can have sounds like they are on to the people who are using them as “burner” accounts. 

It was a nice feature to make it super-easy to create an account to transfer for switching bonuses. Hopefully they are talking about limits on significant numbers of accounts, not the odd few extra.

steven141 said:

TadleyBaggie said:

la531983 said:

Gerry1 said:

It was fun while it lasted but it turned out to be Bait & Switch.  From 5 August they won't pay any interest.

I'll keep the card for overseas use as a backup to Barclaycard Reward (which pays 0.25% on purchases and doesn't charge fees or interest on cash withdrawals) but apart from the odd purchase to stop it being closed I won't be using Chase any more.

So you aren't using it for the 1% cashback then? Seems a bit cut your nose off to spite your face 

I thought the cashback was only for the first year?

It was then they extended it and made it so that you have to pay in £500 per month to get it and limited how much you can receive.  Now they have upped the amount to £1,500 per month minimum pay in I think (I’m still on the £500 offer). It’s not clear if this will renew after that or not. 

I’m not sure it’s worth me having it anymore as I now use Santander Edge Credit Card 2% cashback for the first year then 1% after that and I also have savings accounts 5.2% and above APR.

I don't think the £500 renews - my wife and I are now on £500 and £1,500 despite previously both being £500.

I don't think Chase is worth it for UK spending, as it is significantly better to use a 0% purchases card and benefit from the interest for 12+ months+ than it is compared to any cashback.

Gerry1 said:

I found that getting fee-free cash in the USA was difficult because there are very few Chase ATMs, and cashback (as in dollar bills) is seldom available at store checkouts.

I found Chase ATMs very easy to find everywhere in western USA - every major location had drive-though ATMs, although if you didn't have a car that wouldn't be so easy.

Gerry1

hugheskevi said:

Gerry1 said:

I found that getting fee-free cash in the USA was difficult because there are very few Chase ATMs, and cashback (as in dollar bills) is seldom available at store checkouts.

I found Chase ATMs very easy to find everywhere in western USA - every major location had drive-though ATMs, although if you didn't have a car that wouldn't be so easy.

They're very rare in New England; I landed in Boston and drove a bit north of Jackman to see the eclipse.

Just as well that I dithered: I'd planned to go to Dallas and drive west because that promised the longest totality and the best weather, but it completely changed at the last minute and Maine had wall to wall blue skies that day.🌞

I may still use Chase overseas, but the 1% cashback will probably have been reduced or ended...

400ixl

Over 18,500 chase ATM's in the US, more than Bank of America's 16,000 . Never had any issue finding one in any of the states I have been to.

Have never used it a a go to current account, app has always been too flaky so its been on of the savings account and mainly the US ATM account.