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It’s Possible to Survive a Chase Shutdown. I Did, and I Learned a Lot.

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Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Links in this post may provide us with a commission.

survive a Chase shutdown

How to Survive a Chase Shutdown From Someone Who Survived His

“Chase Shutdown” is one of the most panic-inducing phrases in this habit, but you CAN survive a Chase shutdown. By “survive”, I mean that all of my accounts were reinstated. 2 years later, I have all of the accounts that were closed and have opened even more. Here’s how I survived a Chase shutdown early on in my points & miles game, and here’s what I learned in the process.

What is a Shutdown?

When you hear people saying “Chase shutdown”, they mean that all of their credit accounts have been closed immediately. The cards no longer work. Unless there are extenuating factors, deposit accounts (checking, savings, etc.) usually aren’t immediately affected. This basically affects accounts where you could use credit and not pay the bill, like credit cards. The ultimate goal, if this happens, is obviously to get the accounts reinstated. If you win/overcome/survive a Chase shutdown, your accounts go back to the way they were.

How do you know it happened?

For most people, there’s no warning sign. One day, you go to use the card, and it doesn’t work. You try another card, and you realize none of your Chase cards work. Other cards are working. Check your Chase accounts online, and you find that all of them say “account suspended” or “account closed”. Available credit is $0.

Why does this happen?

There are various reasons for a Chase shutdown. They all revolve round “risk”, though. Risk for Chase that you’re up to something. It’s a risk that they’ll get stuck with the bill when you don’t pay. Are you a new customer and running up a huge bill really fast? In their eyes, that looks risky. They’re going to turn off your card before your bill gets so big that you can’t pay it.

Have you opened a ton of cards with them really fast, and they’re all maxed out? They’re worried you won’t be able to pay. They want to close the accounts and prevent the bill from getting any bigger.

Busting out fraud

Busting Out

Are your payments bouncing/being canceled? If payments aren’t going through, this is a sign of the main threat Chase is watching out for: bust out fraud. Bust out fraud is when someone intentionally opens accounts planning to not pay them. Criminals can spend years developing good credit to open many cards, get a ton of credit across cards & banks, then quickly max them all out. The goal is being fast in maxing them out, so the cards are all maxed out before the banks catch on. There’s now a huge pile of debt, and the person declares bankruptcy.

Not paying the bill has been the goal all along. Why make payments, though? These fake payments when it’s time to implement the bust out help the crooks continue making charges for a little while longer. It looks like you just paid the bill, so the account stays open a few more days. Maybe the fake payment brings down your balance, so you can make more charges.

The goal is always to get as much available credit as possible, look safe until the bank’s guard is down, and then max it all out super fast. Unfortunately, a lot of the software and triggers that banks use to watch for this sees similarities in the points & miles/travel hacking hobby. Lots of credit cards — much more than the average person. Lots of new cards recently. Many inquiries on your credit report showing that you’re seeking credit. This is where the Chase shutdown comes into play.

survive a Chase shutdown

My Chase Shutdown Experience

Some background on what happened and the relevant details will make things clearer. In hindsight, it’s not surprising I had a Chase shutdown.

Opening the first Chase accounts

In late October 2017, I applied for the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the United MileagePlus Explorer card on the same day. I quickly met the minimum spend on both of these. A month later, I opened the Chase Ink Preferred. During this time, I also opened the old SPG business card (now the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business). Chase couldn’t see this card, but they could see the inquiry on my credit report. In September 2017, before all of this, I had also opened a Chase checking account to start my relationship with them.

Christmas rolled around, and my wife and I went up to Florida to visit my parents. A few days prior, I applied for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card. If you’re keeping track, that’s 3 personal and 1 business card from Chase in 2 months, plus another inquiry from Amex on my credit report. We quickly worked through the Marriott spend on my card with holiday shopping and other various expenses for the trip. We also went to Wal-Mart and made a $2,000 purchase on my Chase Ink Preferred.

Red flags

Prior to all of this, my first payment on the Sapphire Reserve got rejected. On Chase’s website, I’d added my USAA checking account as a payment source. Unfortunately, I’d typed the numbers wrong. My first payment to Chase came back as a non-existent account — rejected. I’d noticed it in 24 hours, fixed the issue, and made a new payment.

However, all of these things raised red flags. Many new accounts in a short time? Check. Bounced payment? Check. Large purchase? All of my accounts were at $0 or very low balances, but I got the axe.

Shutdown starts

The day after that $2,000 purchase, I went to buy a coffee. My Ink Preferred card was rejected. So was my Marriott card. I paid with my American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business and went outside. I opened the Chase app, logged in, and there it was. “Account closed” on all of my credit cards. Personal and business credit cards were all closed. Anything that involved them issuing me credit was closed. The checking account and debit card remained unaffected, because there’s much less risk there.

This was also the day we flew home. Going to the Chase branch wasn’t an option, because we were headed to the airport. After check-in, I called the number on the back of one of my cards to start sorting this out.

Chase responds

As soon as I called, they routed me to the fraud department. The rep who answered the phone could not discuss reasons for closing all of my accounts. “Risk factors” were all she could reference. She said I’d get a letter in the mail telling me my accounts were closed. I asked to speak to a manager after outlining my case (ex: most of my accounts are paid off at $0, and there were no charges older than 3 days not paid).

The rep said several times that appealing wasn’t possible. She said I couldn’t talk to a manager. After pressing and saying there must be someone who is empowered to take a 2nd look, she said a manager would call me back later.

Fraud manager takes a 2nd look

The manager outlined that Chase saw me as a risky customer. Many new accounts, a rejected payment, and a big charge. From what she saw, this decision was marked as “final”. However, there were things she didn’t know. The red flags were automated, but no one had checked my account balances. She was surprised to see that 3 of my 4 cards had a $0 balance. She was surprised to see that those payments had gone through with enough time that they would’ve been rejected by now.

The manager also was surprised to see that I had a checking account, and there was money in it. She said that she would take a 2nd look at the information I’d provided. Additionally, I received some tips to suck up during this phone call. I said that Chase had amazing customer reviews online, and that’s why I want to have them as my bank. I mentioned that we were looking for a “forever bank”. We had opened these new checking and credit card accounts to build a relationship with them. I highlighted WHY I had multiple cards: this one is good for flights, this one is good for hotels, etc.

Honestly, the smartest part of my phone call was promising to make an immediate payment to bring all of my accounts to $0. Also, I suggested that they could reduce my credit limits to lower their risk, if this was a way to meet in the middle for reinstating my accounts. Maybe let me have only $500 or $1000 to lower the risk but show I can be responsible. She promised to call me back in 24 hours.

Goal Accomplished: Accounts Reinstated

True to her word, the manager called me in just under 24 hours. She mentioned that she saw my payment and thanked me for honoring my commitments. She’d also called to verify that my name is the one on the USAA account used for payments. She told me that she was reinstating all of my accounts. There was no mention of reducing the credit limits. Within an hour, my cards showed as active on the website. I made a purchase of $1 later on to test one of the cards. I waited 5 days before using them as normal, just to avoid raising red flags with immediate purchases. I’d met my goal: survive a Chase shutdown and accounts reinstated.

survive a Chase shutdown

What I Learned

I learned multiple things and definitely know more now than I did back then. Here’s what I’ve learned for avoiding shutdowns, red flags, and financial reviews from banks (or how to survive a Chase shutdown, if that occurs):

Don’t go at warp speed

This hobby is super exciting, especially when you’re new. But slow down. There is such a thing as “too fast” in this hobby. It can affect your ability to get other cards (banks deny you for too many recent accounts) and also raises red flags. Space out your applications, especially when you’re a new client of that bank.

Don’t make a big first purchase as a new client

This isn’t etched in stone, but it can be a red flag if mixed with other issues. If the bank doesn’t know you well, don’t make huge purchases immediately. They might regret giving you that credit card. If it’s a legitimate business purchase or you have a big medical bill, call to advise them you’re making a big purchase. This can help.

Don’t rack up a huge bill right away

$50 + $125 + $235 + $149 + $83 + $192…none of those are huge purchases, but if that’s your first day or 2 with the card, it can look bad. I’m not saying you’re doing something wrong, but banks have software designed to look for risk. This looks risky to them. If you’re new, they don’t know your spending habits. As a new customer, ease into your banking relationship.

DO NOT have problems with payments on new accounts

Double-check or triple-check that you entered the account info correctly when adding a bank account to pay your bill. Some banks don’t let you copy/paste your info, which is how typos occur, so check everything again. Don’t miss payments, don’t mess up the account numbers, and don’t overdraft your checking account to make the payment bounce.

Don’t cycle your credit limits

What’s cycling? Here’s an example: you have a new credit card with a limit of $5,000. On November 1, you charge $5,000. November 3, you pay your bill and have a balance of $0. Then, November 5, you charge $5,000. You never went over your credit limit, but you cycled it. That $5,000 is a limit per month, not “right now”. Don’t exceed this limit in a month on a credit card.

Pay your bill

Pay all of it. That’s not just for this scenario, it also saves you on interest and improves your credit score. However, it’s especially pertinent here. Bust out scammers don’t pay the bill. You do. It helped me argue my case in a huge way.

Thinking big picture

I know that people will disagree with some of these. I’ve talked to plenty of people who had a Chase shutdown in the time since I had mine. For every one of them I’ve talked to, there’s been someone saying, “I made a $10,000 first purchase on my card with no problems!” Sure, I believe it. None of these things in isolation is a problem. It’s the whole picture that’s triggering the bank software that looks for bust out risks. 1 thing won’t kill you. Checking multiple boxes is when the shutdown occurs. Knowing the factors that lead to the shutdown can help you avoid it. It also can help you survive a Chase shutdown, if that unfortunately happens.

Final thoughts

I was able to survive a Chase shutdown when I was new to this hobby. It’s made me pause a few times since then. “Could this cause problems?” Going through a financial review or a shutdown is stressful, to say the least. I overcame it, and my accounts were reinstated. I’ve even opened new accounts with Chase in the time since then. Others haven’t been so lucky. How risky you look, what things you can bring to support your reinstatement request, and the conversation with the rep on the phone are going to have a big impact. Have good facts to support the 2nd, and play nice in the 3rd. Those will help, since you can’t get much info about the 1st. Here’s to a long road ahead without ever having to go through this again.

 

Hat tip to Julie at 10x Travel for her insights about things to say to the manager during that phone call.

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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Ryan Smith
Ryan Smith
Travel hacker in 2-player mode, intent on visiting every country in the world, and can say "hello" or "how much does this cost?" in a bunch of different languages.

Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

31 COMMENTS

  1. This was a super helpful for me to read. I logged into my Chase account about a week ago to be shocked to see all 3 of my accounts closed. I had no idea why – this article helped. I had just opened the 3rd account but forgot to set up autopay on it and ended up missing my first payment… ouch. I also had an much-over-minimum autopayment bounce on the 2nd account AND I had recently made what probably looked like a suspicious large payment to paydown the 1st account. I’m guessing that weird combination of events flagged me. Good news is that Chase now does have an appeals process and this article helped me prepare for it. I was able to understand why I probably got flagged and was able to prepare my super valid explanations for all of them. Along with a re-pull of my credit score, they asked me several questions about the things of concern and submitted the re-eval of the decision. I logged in today to see they’re no longer closed! Thanks so much and good luck to all! Note: I actually did mean to throw the “I’ll pay them all down if that’s what will fix this” card but honestly forgot and was worried it wouldn’t end favorably but, here we are!

    • Lea – glad you find this useful! That’s awesome that they’ve updated their process to be more intuitive (hey, there ACTUALLY IS a way to appeal and clarify!), and I’m glad it worked for you. I definitely think you got eyes on your accounts after missed payments–especially a brand new account. I’d walk the straight & narrow with Chase for a bit to keep them happy 🙂

  2. what number do you guys call to get the account reinstated? I tried the back number of the card and I was told that noone can reopen my account period and the decision is final 🙁

    • Kwali-that’s the number I called. You need to ask for a supervisor who can review your account. It was NOT easy to get connected to a supervisor. Be polite and state your case. Ask for a supervisor who is authorized to review the situation and is authorized to make decisions.

      • Just called again was connected straight to a supervisor again same answer the account cant be reinstated 🙁 no reason was given other than” because our affiliate is ending relationship with you we close all of your accounts.

      • This makes me worrisome about applying for another Chase card. I’m 4/24. Recently got the CSP back in June this year. But also have the CF CFU Dis Visa IHG and all 3 business cards. Should I go for the CFF…

        • How long have you had the others?
          If you’re worried about number of cards, you could close one. If it’s about “speed”, that’s something different to work out.

          • Is your concern that they might pull your credit and see a bunch of other recent cards from other banks? If not, what are you thinking Chase would freak out about? That’s the thing to address.

  3. Ryan,

    Any DP for too many cards? I have a business now and wanna get an Ink, but would push me to 7 cards with Chase. Plus thinking of closing CSR after changes and $550 fee hits next year, but wanna leave room to sign up for CSP sometime in future. Have 10+ years as account hold, never missed payment. Kinda concerned as I’m real estate investor now and will have multiple cards passed personal, checking along with inquiries when we refi to cash out and let renters pay stuff so lots of inquiries. Mostly worried about 6+ cards with chase at the moment so any DP is great.

    • Chris – I have had more than 7 cards at the same time with Chase. A few things to consider: 1-you can’t get a Sapphire bonus if you’ve had one in 48 months. Meaning you can’t get a CSP bonus less than 48mo from your last CSR welcome offer bonus. 2-Chase doesn’t typically approve business cards for the same business less than 3-4 months apart. More time is obviously better between applications to increase approval odds. Lots of inquiries never helps, but I feel like that’s something you could get past during a phone call with an agent, explaining the nature of your business and restructuring=inquiries.

  4. This is great write-up. Thank you for your time! Since the shutdown, have you applied new Chase cards? How long did you wait?

    • Yes, as I said I have gotten new cards with them since this happened. I think I waited about 4mo before applying for another card, and it was a business card. The next personal card was probably 7mo after the shutdown experience.

  5. Yep, went through Chase shutdown. I assume it’s from opening too many credit accounts and too many credit inquiries. Met spend requirements for bonuses, kept my balances $0 from all banks and no missed payments, but after I got the British Airways, my 4th with Chase, it was over with. I don’t know why I didn’t call for reinstatement immediately, but when I did, I was told the appeal period has lapsed (not sure if it was 15 or 30 days) and I let it go. Understandably, after 4 personal & business from AMEX, 2 CITI cards, and other banks, my RISK FLAG lit up everywhere.

    No go with Chase and didn’t try anymore, but I did survive AMEX Financial Review with full reinstatement before Chase shutdown AND survived Synchrony (my starter bank) weeks after Chase shutdown. All these happened around Feb-May 2017. No new accounts since those reviews and shutdowns happened until my Apple Card a few months ago.

    Yeah. Wish I had applied all I learned when I started out. But, I know most, including myself, believe ”it could never happen to me” attitude. Not pushing any buttons anymore though. Got my hands full with what I have now, but I would’ve liked to maintain a financial relationship with Chase.

    • Thanks for the comment. That’s a good data point about having a short period to ask for a 2nd look.
      Synchrony – they only have store / brand credit cards, right? Not very familiar with them. What was the financial review about with them?

  6. My complete shutdown came after $5000 in GC purchases, about $400/day. I was able to explain that the GC’s were for personal use only and they agreed to reinstate me. 800+ score, no late payments or cycling. I rarely use my Chase cards now since I’m usually working on different spend.

    • Yeah, you could pay part of the bill and still not have interest, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to make ANY payment. Make sure you’re still making a payment, even if it’s not the whole thing. And make sure the payment goes through successfully.

  7. @ryan s may I ask how long you’ve been into this hobby? I see you’ve been posting since June. Just curious.

  8. With Chase you definitely do not want to cycle credit ever. You could make a million a year and cycle and get closed accounts. Its the weird way they look at risk. If you cycle a card for any reason they consider it a risk. They look at this far differently than AMEX for example. And when I mention cycling credit the assumption is MS or something similar. I am taking about cycling for any and every reason. it could be to get enought points for a trip or something by a billing cycle.

    • Yes, they take a very strong stance against cycling. I’ve talked to several people who were shut down for cycling, and none of them got reinstated.

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