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I just wanted to let everyone know what I have experienced having this card a grand total of 3 1/2 months so those considering getting one will go into it with their eyes wide open. This is the card that Continental is pushing very hard right now - those people trying to flag you down in the concourses as you rush for your plane are trying to lure you in.
In Dec. of 2005, I called in to sign up for this card. Of course, I get someone on a crackly line located in Bombay that speaks middling to fair English. In any event, after listening to her read me the whole t&C spiel, I asked what the annual fee was. She said it was $85 but that it would be waived for the 1st year. So, I agreed to get the card and received it 2 weeks later. Much to my surprise, on my January statement was a charge for the $85 annual fee! When I called to ask if it could be removed per my agreement when signing up, I got all sorts of excuses such as we never agree to waive fees, did you get it in writing, etc... I responded with a suggestion that they listen to the taped call between me and their agent to hear what she promised me. In any event, it took me 4 solid weeks of emailing and calling Chase until they relented and agreed to honor their promise to waive the fee.
Next issue occurred 2 weeks ago when all of the sudden my card was declined. I have a very sizeable limit and had spent maybe 5% of that so I was astonished that my purchase of $200 was declined. I called Chase and they said that my recent purchase of an international business class ticket made them suspicious of "fraud" and so they suspended the account several days ago. They NEVER ONCE tried to contact me to let me know or even ask if the charges were valid. The agent I spoke with admitted that they had all of my correct contact info but she could not explain why no one bothered to contact me before suspending my account.
I have called and emailed Chase repeatedly for an explanation as to why no one contacted me prior to the suspension and of course, I keep getting the runaround. I even have the name of a guy in Chase's Card Member "Advocate Dept" (he called me after the 1st incident to apologize) and despite promising to look into it and promising to call me "that afternoon", he has not called and won't return my calls.
I have had it with Chase. I am going to use this card just for the 12 month period and then cancel it before they charge me the annual fee.
If you want to read about even more hair-raising stories about Chase, just look at Complaints.com under Chase.
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aloha, if you got miles with the card, just sockdrawer the card for 6 months and then cancel it. i did when i got the new t&c's.
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aloha, if you got miles with the card, just sockdrawer the card for 6 months and then cancel it. i did when i got the new t&c's.
I am going to use it only to buy tickets on Continental.com since I get 5% off on all tix booked thru Continental.com, plus double miles. I am planning to cancel it in Nov. before it renews again. I am in the process of getting a Starwood Amex to use as my main credit card.
The only negative consideration about keeping the Master Card and not really using it is that it has very sizeable credit line and that might count against me for credit scoring purposes since the more "credit" that is extended to me (taking into account this card and my forthcoming Amex), the higher the likelihood (in the credit agencies' minds) of me running up large bills that I can't pay....).
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If you read through Flyertalk threads you will also find numerous complaints about this card. Seems to me that Chase really does not want the relationship with Continental. Or vice versa.
I will say I get nice friendly people on the other end of the line at Chase; I get the familiar line "you're right! Not sure why that happened to you". Then I am promised corrections but never seem to get to the right people; Chase, Continental, and OnePass all on the same page, making my lowly inquiries/requests a low priority.
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I had this card for about 2 days then canceled it. When I called to cancel the card they offered me no annual fee for life, I thought for a moment and still canceled.
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I still have not received 15K Continental miles that were supposed to be credited to my account after first purchase with the card THREE MONTHS AGO. I call and they say they'll make sure the miles get credited but so far they've 1) sent them to the wrong account 2) created a new account with a new number for me without telling me and 3) have even failed to get the miles into the newly created account. I've given them my actual account number three times but they just seem to ignore it. Amazing. I will be cancelling as soon (if?) I get the miles in my CO account.
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Yes, service is horribe on this card. I got the card in August of '05 and charged over $250k on it through December. I disputed a charge of $450 and was told to fill out some paperwork. I mailed it in and thought they would follow-up with the merchant to handle the problem. I was told I had to try to settle the dispute with the merchant. I proceeded to explain that I was never told of this and that I already spent some time filling out all of their paperwork. I then said that my paperwork was very thorough and they should be able to take the next step. I received the "It's not our policy, sir..." line and was told this was the only way for me to solve this problem. I also explained that I have had two disputes over the years on my AMEX cards and they deal directly with the merchant to solve the problem. "We are not American Express sir...." blah, blah, blah.
Haven't cancelled yet but I have gotten a different primary Master Card. Their loss, I've charged over $200k since on my US Airways Dividend Miles MC :)
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I had a similar experience with a visa. Never again. I only use Amex now. No more hassles with merchants. No more "guilty until proven innocent." :td:
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I am going to use it only to buy tickets on Continental.com since I get 5% off on all tix booked thru Continental.com, plus double miles.
just FYI, some of the lower fare class tickets dont get the 5% discounts.
I'm not very impressed with the customer service either.
I am also planning to keep it for the first year and then cancel it.