Chase recently offered an attractive promotion for 100,000 British Airways miles when signing up for one of their credit cards, so I did. Whereupon Chase decided to knock down my credit limit on my existing Chase credit card, and they didn't try particularly hard to reach me to ask what I thought.
Fortunately I have excellent credit, so I was not thrilled, but perhaps I can understand why banks are a little skittish these days in not extending more credit, even to their best customers. However, I rang up Chase to ask them to cancel the previous card and to set a single, more reasonable credit limit on the new card. What a surprise: Chase can't (won't) do that. (The agent muttered something about how a new card cannot get the previous limit. Which makes no sense of course, since I'm still the same person who pays his bills.) I was also told that if I cancel my first credit card then that would reduce my credit score. I think I'll take that risk, Chase.
In contrast, I am very happy with my Charles Schwab Visa Card which is administered through FIA Card Services, formerly part of MBNA and now part of Bank of America. I think Chase is going to lose this customer.
