Temptress

This past week Chase introduced the World of Hyatt credit card.  It’s a revised card to the previously released Chase Hyatt Visa that has a vastly different set of benefits and rewards possibilities.  The main draws for me with this new card is the ability to spend your way to top tier (Globalist) status with Hyatt.  Obtaining that level of status would require comfortably over $100,000 in spend, but that is a non-factor, especially given an entire year to do so.  Besides the status, spending that much on the card would earn a ton of extra points along with many free nights.

The only airline or hotel status that I have via benefits linked with rewards credit cards.  Sometimes that status is automatically included with a card, and other times it must be earned through spend.  Outside of status linked with rewards cards, I don’t pay to play (or shell out money to earn status through paid stays or flights).

Spooked

Over the past couple of years I’ve read about, and heard first hand accounts of, account shutdowns with (JP Morgan) Chase for various reasons.  As a result, I have purposely not applied for any Chase rewards credit cards for over a year.  The shutdown stories are linked with my situation and/or are concerning for me because:

• I’m well over 5/24 (close to 20/24)
• I manufacture spend as often and fluidly as most people watch television
• Already have a strong and stablel set of Chase rewards cards, most of which earn Ultimate Rewards
• I am approaching 2 million Ultimate Rewards in my account (not including spent or transferred points)
• Some people have been shutdown and given “too many recent inquires” as a reason for the closure
• I’ve applied, and been approved for, two new rewards cards in the past 30 days.  I’ve temporarily abandoned my app-o-rama application strategy, but having other recent applications on my credit bureau report before a new one with Chase could be dangerous

I currently have 6 Chase cards, which are a mix of personal and business cards along with both a savings and checking account with Chase.  During my last pending approval follow up appeal call, the banking phone representative that I spoke with said that I “had all of the credit that with Chase that I was allowed”.  As a result and for my last 2 cards with Chase, I’ve had to transfer credit from existing accounts in order to be able to open new cards.  With that said, I think I’m on the edge of what’s possible with Chase.

Change

Even with all of the arrows pointing to me being the next shutdown example from Chase, I have strongly considered applying for the new World of Hyatt card.  Just a few days ago, I was making plans to drive to the nearest Chase branch in a neighboring state, making a small deposit, sitting down with a personal banker, and applying there.  I thought that having a personal banker there to make a call or lobby for an approval on my behalf could be a value add.  Plus there could still be an advantage towards an approval from applying in branch.  In speaking with a Chase banker a few days ago, it’s possible to see what Chase branded cards a customer is pre-approved for on their system, but not co-branded cards.  Looking at pre-approved offers must be done in branch, and cannot be done over the phone.  So driving hours to sit down and apply without knowing in advance that I’m approved is risky.  I’m not sure if the approved offers on the Chase website are the same as offers in branch.

Over the past couple of days, my interest in the new World of Hyatt card has increased to a pretty fevered pitch.  My emotions have been caught up in a dreamy scenario where I slipped past a shutdown, maxed out the spend, and accrued a nice chunk of free nights and extra points.  But after reading through a variety shutdown stories this past weekend, I’ve decided to not apply for this or any Chase card in the near future.

Pressing Pause and Moving On

I don’t stay at Hyatts often (only 2 in my points life during the past 5 years), and use hotel stays (outside of Radisson) sparingly as well.  Therefore having status with Hyatt of any kind, much less top tier Globalist, isn’t necessary.  The free nights and extra points that I would attain through spend on the way to Globalist are actually more of a draw for me than actually getting top level status.  Even though the emotional draw is there for the card, the logical side of a very probably shutdown has won.

There are a couple of rewards cards that I am hoping to get from now until the fall.  After that, I plan to stop applying for new cards (with the possible exception of business cards) for the next 1.5 to 2 years years until I feel more comfortable with where things are at.  Hopefully the World of Hyatt card will still be available at that time and the benefits will still be as generous as they are now.  In choosing to not apply for the new Chase card and wait it out, I think I may have saved myself from a shutdown.

If you’ve applied for this or any other Chase card recently are are well above 5/24 let me know how things turned out –