File this under “that was bound to happen sooner or later.”
Chase Adds Terms to End Self-Referrals
Doctor of Credit reports that Chase has added new terms to referral links that say “You are not eligible for a referral bonus if you use your own referral URL to apply for a different card.”
Self-referring yourself in this day and age is just asking for trouble if you ask me. When Amex first put up links that allowed for this, most of us thought it was a brilliant way to accrue additional points. But then late last year Amex began shutting down some cardmember accounts and a common theme among the shutdowns seemed to be self-referrals (among other things). I certainly didn’t agree with those actions as it wasn’t in their terms and conditions, but others seemed to think it should have been obvious.
Chase continued to *technically* allow you to self refer, and this language doesn’t yet appear to be on all cards, but I have been advising against self-referring ever since the Amex shutdowns last year.
My advice remains to avoid this. You can refer among friends and even a spouse, but I don’t think getting on Chase’s bad side (remember, they can choose to fire you as a customer at any time) is worth the points.
Related: Credit Cards That Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Thoughts?
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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
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