Eighteen months in the making, Chase is launching a new Sapphire credit card aimed at the wealthy. Apparently, Chase has squeezed enough cash out of the 1,250,000 non-wealthy customers who are victims of the “no opt out, unilateral, 150% increase in payment requirement or double your interest rate for one year” change in terms to unveil this new campaign in style.
Chase wants to give BIG rewards to holders of this card unlike their egregious loan-shark-like actions implemented against the peons who were upholding their side of the agreement by diligently paying off their credit cards. Playing reverse Robin Hood, no doubt….squeezing the the little guy to make credit card life better for the affluent.
Excerpt: Quote from Joan Bassett, marketing director for Chase Sapphire “We’re giving cardmembers more value and positioning Chase well for the long term,” said Ms. Bassett. “What we’re seeing in our data is consumers are looking to get more out of their reward programs, looking to redeem them and expected to be rewarded more for their loyalty.”
Change-in-terms for the Wealthy
Chase – Targets high-income consumers in multimedia effort
“NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase is kicking off a national ad campaign in support of its new credit card, Chase Sapphire, a service for upscale consumers that rewards users for spending.
In a bid to reach shoppers with deep pockets, Chase Card Services is investing an estimated $30 million in measured media to introduce Chase Sapphire, ….. Sapphire is being marketed to consumers in the upper 15 percent of all U.S. households, with incomes of $120,000 or more.”
This effort is a little different than the change in terms we all experienced with Chase. Since Chase continues to empty our pockets, it stands to reason as our pockets get emptier, Chase would go hunting for deeper pockets. Recently I’ve been reading complaints posted by people whose Chase Reward cards have also had a sudden change in terms – regular folks who will no longer receive the rewards they signed up for and have been enjoying for years. When asked for an explanation, Chase continues to recite the “it’s the economy, it’s market forces, it’s because we can” mantra they used with us…ad infinitum, ad nauseum…
Apparently the “economy, market, and because we can” are motivation for this new breathtakingly expensive marketing gambit. Amazing, isn’t it? The exact same market conditions which cause one group of long-term, reliable customers to be cruelly punished is the reason a huge carrot is to be offered to another group of customers that does not yet exist.
Chase Long Term Positioning Plan : A bird in the hand is worth nothing, while hypothetical birds in the bush are worth, well….a speculativeTHIRTY MILLION DOLLAR AD CAMPAIGN!!!
Watch for the $30,000,000 Sapphire ad campaign – coming to a television channel near you! There must be a untold thousands of affluent customers who have had their heads buried in the sand this past year and either don’t know and/or don’t care that Chase has been treating millions of their customers like dirt. Rich, deep pocketed consumers, who are just dying to hop on Chase’s Sapphire Band Wagon.
Chase will treat wealthy Sapphire card holders right and will never change the terms on them, right?
If you believe that, I have a bridge I want to sell you…..
A Chase Promise made is a Promise you can count on (Chase breaking).
Loading ...
on Sep 1st, 2009 at 8:41 pm
I am not surprised. After all, in the words of Michael Hecht, an analyst at JMP Securities – “We are in an increasing world of haves and have-nots, and we know where JPMorgan and Goldman fall.”
Mr. Hecht made this sensitive statement, after announcing Chase’s huge second quarter profit, this year. At the same time, it was announced that Chase’s credit card division was experiencing massive defaults. No kidding.
Yes, folks. The middle-class in America has a target painted right on it. Any guesses, as to who is pointing the gun?
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 11:19 am
its the same crappy organization behind this card as is behind the other ones. service will be the same….garbage.
sapphire holders will end up getting the same treatment. Its our duty to spread the word about chase.
If you google chase, you will see the number of complaint sites growing.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 11:28 am
forgot to add that Chase is following in the exact steps General Motors followed to its rescue. GM’s main problem was that it forsaked its customers, and most of the dealers treated them like crap. GM really didnt care, as long as it was pumping out cars. Just like Chase…
Its second fatal flaw, was ignoring the masses and concentrating on the well to do. Instead of building small fuel efficient cars that people could afford, like Honda and Toyota, it decided to go for the upper end client.
It built Escalades, Tahoes, and concentrated on the low volume expensive automobile. Just like Chase…. GM needed the bailout; Honda and Toyota didn’t. The money is in the masses, not the few.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 11:49 pm
This my first official announcement. I have come up with a Chase Bank “slogan” that I want to put on T-shirts, sweatbands, wristbands and sashes. If any of you have supply contacts please let me know via Robert.
I am searching for clothing production facilities in the Los Angeles area but am open to other possibilities as well.
Of course, this will be done shoestring but it might be way to start using our buying power to spread messages about Chase Bank.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 pm
My headline would read, Alessandro Machi to spend 300 dollars to combat Chase Bank’s anti consumer tactics.
on Sep 5th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
My second official announcement, my first book, “The Cat Who Ate Chase Bank”, coming this holiday. http://daily-protest.blogspot.com/2009/09/cat-who-ate-chase-bank.html
on Sep 6th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
This article headline should send a shiver down your spine – JPMORGAN NOW NATION’S NO.1 PUBLISHER.
Here is the link:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/read_all_about_it_NH5DsGBw0i3GrPBzQDTuFJ
The big banks continue to devastate our country’s economy, funded by the American taxpayer, with next to no coverage by the mainstream media. Now, Chase is on its way to being able to control the information we receive. I personally have had my posts, regarding the minimum payment increase, removed from mainstream media sites, such as CNN and ABC News.
This is seriously scary.
on Sep 8th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Sorry Steve but the type of car Detroit builds would not affect thier ability to compete with off-shore producers.
US automakers paid over $73 per manhour for labor in 2008. On top of this they have over $2000 per vehicle in “legacy costs” related to contracts they approved in the 70’s.
The UAW has 4.61 retired benificiaries of Health care and retirement services for every active autoworker paying those benefits.
This is because in 1973 GM agreed to 30 and out. Work 30 years and retire with full benefits. GM employees can get full retirement as early as 47 years old. Pretty nice deal, right? How many Korean and Japanese workers do you suppose enjoy this?
This is what killed Detroit. If they want to keep thier jobs they just have to want them as hard as say the Japanese (44 years of 55+ hour workweeks)
It does not serve anyone to pretend that the pie is bigger than it is.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 5:05 am
Marv,
Europeans work 35/40 hours a week (+6 weeks of vacations + … + …) and they are doing fine. Yes, they work intelligently and yes, they are not terrorized and exhausted.
FYI, Europe is a continent which hasn’t been discovered yet by right leaning Americans.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 5:06 am
“This is seriously scary.”#7
M, I agree.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Sorry Marv, what killed GM was sales…and sales suffered because of GM’s attitude towards its customer. Some brands try to build customer loyalty. GM never did. Their dealers for the most part were out to make a quick buck. Their salesman training was geared toward the sell, not toward customer satisfaction. GM never made an effort to have salesmen trained directly to promote customer satisfaction.
I worked for awhile selling both european and american cars.
GM would not have been in the mess they were if they treated their customers right, and perhaps built cars that people wanted.
Like Chase, they were out for the quick buck.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 9:10 am
I have an 05 Sonata, Loaded, full leather V-6 I bought in October of 2005. I paid 15,800.
I also have a company car. 2005 Nova. Same size vehicle. Comparitively stripped. Employer Paid 22,200 in June 05 with his fleet discount.
It is a fraction of the car with a fraction of the warrenty.
I drive them both. I know.
This is why American cars don’t sell. Poor Value. Poor Quality.
Not too surprising.
By the way Steve, I did not buy a brand. I bought the best car for the money after 3 weeks of shopping every model. I think most buyers do the same.
I drove all the full size cars. Nothing came close in value. I offered more money to several dealers for american vehicles, but the gap was not a sliver, it was a ravine.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Company car is an impala
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
FYI,
Consumer Groups Call on Chase Bank to End Minimum Payment Hikes on Fixed Rate Credit Cards
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/09/09-9
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
for example, take your Hyundai. Right now they are offering a program that if you lose your job, they let you out of your lease. Of course its not that simple, but it is something directed for the consumer. What is GM offering.
Last year, discover doubled my payment due without notice. I called them, and said it would make it tough for me. After talking to her supervisor, the rep came back and said they would put my payment back to what it was. No argument, no discussion. My wife had problems with discover as well… they just fixed them. No argument or discussion.
Compare that with Chases attitude.
on Sep 10th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
M,#14
I was wondering …. Right now they can double or more every three months or so (announce a change, change … announce a change, change ….) and reach 100% very, very fast: 5%, 10%, 20%, 40% ….
Chase must be stopped.
on Sep 10th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Anna,
You are correct. There is a huge loophole in the legislation. I suspect it was deliberate. Any national bank will be able to exploit it, not just Chase.
Unfortunately, all complaints about national banks are forwarded to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC has been heavily lobbied by the American Bankers Association for years and does not represent consumer interests.
An interesting interview about this can be found at:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/interviews/mierzwinski.html
I suggest everybody does their best to get the word out. Write to your representatives in Congress and post comments on the web, everywhere you can. We must counter the intense disinformation campaign that the media is waging, funded by Chase advertising revenue. Otherwise, Chase will win, because it is counting on everyone who has not been immediately affected by this abuse to forget about it – until it happens to them.
Since Chase has a rapacious appetite that should not be long. Chase’s abuse of the derivatives market is bound to create yet another fiasco, before long. Chase has already gotten another 5 billion dollars of taxpayer money to fund the next round.
on Sep 10th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Unfortunately, there is no way to stop them. The government is the only one that can, and they are in Chases pocket.
There is only one way…to not use them for anything and spread the word. That will hurt them the most, but it will take awhile. They are actively pursuing new customers where I live: new branches, new credit cards, and new tv campaigns.
If the word spreads fast and far enough, Chase wil realize it is spinning its wheels.