New Chase Blueprint credit card program: would it benefit you?
Filed under: Debt, Credit Cards
JP Morgan Chase has launched another salvo in the credit card wars, this time across the bow of American Express in the battle for high-value customers. When the smoke clears, its Blueprint program offers a couple of interesting features that the un-savvy cardholder might find useful, but probably not.
The new card program has four elements:
Full pay: Normally, when you buy a 12-pack of Coke at Sam's Club on the fifth of the month via your credit card and you don't pay off that purchase at the end of the month, the bank will charge interest on that Coke from the date of purchase. With Full Pay, the cardholder can choose one or more of 14 categories of purchases for which the bank will waive the interest on the interval between the date of purchase and the billing due date, even if you don't pay it off at the end of the month. Interest does resume on it at the start of the next billing cycle, though.
The categories are:
- Health clubs
- Laundry/dry cleaning
- Office/schools supplies
- Salon/beauty
- Transit
- Utilities
- Wholesale/discount stores
- Blink purchases
- Dept stores/catalogs
- Dining
- Drugstores
- Entertainment
- Gas/Convenience stores
- Grocery stores
How much would this translate to in potential savings? Nothing, for the wise credit card holder who pays off his balance monthly. Those who don't pay off their balance can get a sense of the potential by studying their credit card bill. How much interest do you pay in a month? How much is based on new purchases?
Split It: If the cardholder wants to put a larger purchase on his/her credit card (why, oh why, oh why?) he can set up a payment schedule much like an installment loan, based either on how long he wishes to take to pay it off or how much he wishes to pay per month.
Finish it: As a way of addressing criticism for encouraging debt through the Split It program, the bank offers to create a plan for the cardholder to pay off this debt as expeditiously as possible.
Track It: Allows the cardholder to track expenditures and payments; little new here.
Blueprint is targeted toward the more affluent customer who currently holds a Freedom, Sapphire, Slate or Ink card.
The most notable aspect of this new program is the ability to create an on-the-fly installment loan. Many people already use their credit cards for such a purpose (DON'T DO IT!), and for those, the Split It program will at least provide them a time line for digging out of that hole.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-23-2009 @ 5:56PM
Linda said...
"Blueprint" is a joke. Just use another credit card to buy your groceries or whatever and you get that same "grace period" and no interest if paid in full. They just want people who carry large balances at low rates to start using their cards for other junk instead of just paying on the balance. This is the same "deal" you have always had on all your revolving credit cards. Most people don't want to mess up their special offers so they don't make any charges to their card that could carry a higher interest rate. So in the meantime Chase isn't getting the merchant fees every time they make a purchase. After the crap they pulled with the 2% to 5% they have nothing coming but bad karma.
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9-27-2009 @ 11:08AM
tholaday3 said...
I think Linda has identified the issue. Under the usual terms for a special offer, any payments a cardholder makes go first to pay down the special offer (the lowest interest rate). Since this means new purchases will be charged at penalty rates, the prudent course for the cardholder is to stop using the card altogether for the duration of the special offer.
Why train your customers to remove your card from their wallets?
This plan strikes me as a defensible compromise between the bankers and the cardholders. The monthly payment will be applied first to the minimum on the previous outstanding balance, then to new purchases. The penalty rate applies to purchases that exceed what the cardholder pays.
The advantage to the cardholder is that purchases will contribute to the card's rewards program. Using a different card dilutes the rewards program benefit.
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10-03-2009 @ 1:50PM
willis jefferson said...
Blueprint is payment allocation. You can payoff your higher interest rate balances first before your promo balances. This is a move people have been begging for for years. Of course anyone with half a brain reads an agreement before they enter into one and dont ask the government to help them manage their finances and lives later. Well their called poor people.
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10-11-2009 @ 11:59PM
Pete Cogan said...
I have a nice Chase Platinum Mastercard and was recently informed that my card will automatically be converted to a Chase Slate card, which is sort of a cheesy looking credit card that I might cary if I lived in a trailer and smoked Virginia Slim cigrattes and called out in a raspy voice, "hey sweeatheart, come over here and give us a kiss!"
Why would Chase dilute the solid Chase Platinum brand with some pansy designy poser sub brand card?
Honestly, I would be embarrassed to pull out a "SLATE" card to make a purchase in any context.
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11-13-2009 @ 11:56AM
Jean C. said...
Chase is sooooo crooked. So I just called and asked the rep "Is there a way for me to pay my higher interest purchases first?" and he flat out says No. Then I say, "what about the Blueprint program that you guys have?" Then he says, "Oh...in that case YES." I was like, WHAT!? He proceeds to explain that he's not allowed to talk about blueprint or bring it up unless the caller brings it up first!! I said are u serious?? Then he tells me he's going to connect me to a blueprint specialist. I get connected and the "specialist" tells me that I don't have blueprint on my card. I said I know, I'm calling because I'd like to enroll. He tells me I can't, that's only available for selected customers. I tried finding out what I would have to do in order to enroll but apparently it's completely random and only selected few are being offered the privilege. What a load of crap!! F-in CROOKS!!!! I swear, once i'm done paying them off.......i'm DONE
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