Last updated on April 16th, 2020
Certain cardholders can now automatically receive more time to earn their Chase welcome bonus rewards. Following suit with American Express, Chase Bank has decided to make these extensions automatic to combat the overwhelming rate of customer service calls caused by the coronavirus. This information didn’t come without a little confusion, however. Miscommunication led many to believe that extensions were only available to those who received new cards in late 2019. In reality, it’s those who applied for cards in early 2020 who qualify for an additional three months.
Clearing Up the Confusion
There was a bit of confusion initially over who exactly qualified for automatic extensions on Chase credit card signup bonus offers. At first, the bank suggested that this applied to cardholders who were unable to meet their minimum spending requirements between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31. That would mean these cardholders received their new Chase credit cards sometime from October to December of 2019. Since the coronavirus pandemic didn’t really start to hit the United States until early March, this left many consumers puzzled. Since then, Chase has clarified its statement with a policy that makes much more sense under the circumstances.
Who Qualifies for the Automatic Chase Welcome Bonus Extension?
Based on the bank’s correction, customers who applied for new cards between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31 qualify. These cardholders will get three additional months to meet the spending minimums for their Chase signup bonuses. Typically, issuers only give three months to fulfill this requirement. Instead of having until the end of March or June, these cardholders will now have between June and September depending on when they applied. This can apply to any offer from the Chase Freedom signup bonus to the Sapphire Preferred. The latter currently requires new cardholders to spend a minimum of $4,000. Over three months, this comes out to $1,334 per month, versus $667 over six months. Related article: Chase Bank Coronavirus Update: Delay Your Credit Card Payments Online The driving point behind this is to give those financially affected by COVID-19 more time to get the most out of their new cards. While the cutoff for this seems to be Mar. 31, it’s possible that Chase will continue issuing extensions to other affected cardholders upon request. Rather than calling into customer service, the bank recommends that you send a secure message through your account.
