Update: Several people (including this exchange on Twitter) have mentioned you don’t actually need a $5k credit limit on the card and have been successful in a product change with a CL of less than $5k. I’m guessing my agent was confusing Visa Signature limits with the minimum credit limits of this card in general (i.e this card does not have to be a Visa Signature)
Last week, I wrote about the new Chase Freedom Unlimited being available starting 3/13 (though only available in branch or over the phone) and I promised to come back & write about my experience trying to product change my wife’s Sapphire into the Chase Freedom Unlimited. It was ultimately successful but I did hit a temporary roadblock and I learned a few things in the process. I’ll share a few pointers below to help those considering a switch to this new card.
Success!
1) You Can Request a Product Change via Secure Message
While the card is advertised as being available in branch or over the phone only, you can actually request a product change online via secure message. In fact, this might be easier as I’ve read several reports that phone reps had trouble dealing with product conversions. This was especially helpful for me as this was a conversion from my wife’s Sapphire card and I could log into her account & handle this without having her get on the phone.
2) The Chase Freedom Unlimited Has a $5k Minimum Credit Line
My wife’s Sapphire (not Preferred) had only a $4k credit line as I’ve had to take credit from it in the past to get other applications approved. When I first requested the product change, it was denied as the card required a $5k credit line which I believe is a result of it being a Visa Signature card.
They offered to perform a credit line increase which I denied because Chase would need to pull my wife’s credit report and I did not want an additional inquiry on her report when it wasn’t warranted. This leads to point three…
3) You Can Reallocate Credit Lines via Secure Message
Instead of a credit line increase, I asked if I could transfer $2k from another card and then perform the product change. This was approved without issue and I’m glad I offered this instead of wasting a credit inquiry to perform a credit line increase. After that fact, I came across this post from Doctor of Credit which summarizes rules and tips for credit reallocation for all the major banks.
4) You Can Have the Card Overnighted to You
Probably not a big deal for most but Chase was willing to overnight the card to make sure we had it for an upcoming trip.
I think for most people that product changing into this card will make sense as this card is subject to the 5/24 rule and many of us will not be able to apply for it outright. It is, in my opinion, the best no annual fee card when paired with a premium Chase product as I consider the 1.5 Chase UR per dollar spent worth more than the 2% earned on the best no annual fee cashback cards.
One solid piece of advice I saw was that if you are considering product changing a normal Freedom card to this card, you might want to hold off until you maximize or use a large portion of the Freedom’s Q2 5% categories which are grocery stores and wholesale clubs (like Sam’s Club and BJ’s). If you have a normal Sapphire (not Preferred), than I see no reason not to convert to this card as it is much stronger for everyday spending.
PointsCentric 
I know that it is conventional wisdom that it is subject to 5/24, but how do we really know for sure? I could conceive of the possibility that as a new card, not all rules and procedures are completely in place on Chase’s end.
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Several other sources have mentioned it is subject to 5/24 including Dr of Credit who I trust with his info. You could be right though there may be a small window you could get the card before all rules are in place
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what happened to your old credit card statements? did they carry over to the freedom unlimited?
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Yes they do
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[…] A Successful Product Change to the Chase Freedom Unlimited + A Few Things I Learned Doing It […]
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Is there any reason in ditching a Freedom (5%/1%) card over this one? Or is it possible/worthwhile to keep both? Prior to this card coming out I was about to pull the trigger on an INK+, since I already have CSP & Freedom 5/1 cards.
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Really depends on spending habits. I would like one of each personally so I can maximize the 5% with one card and earn 1.5% with other. In your case, I’d probably get the Ink and downgrade CSP
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Just applied and got approved for $7000!! 6 inquiries in the past 2 months alone with one beig Chase sapphire preferred for $10600!! So I don’t think the 5/24 rule applies
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Several people have said the same thing – looks like Chase hasn’t updated for it but I do think it will eventually be subject to it
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I just saw a link to apply online when I was logging into my Credit Karma account. Should I apply? I’m above the 5/24 limit but saw reports of success when people were applying by phone
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I can’t guarantee one outcome or another but it does appear most people have been ok applying for this card if over 5/24. There are also reports of denials too but could be for other factors. In short, YMMV
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I just called Chase to ask about having my Slate account changed to Freedom Unlimited. My Slate has a $3200 limit with the balance sitting around $1000. The agent didn’t bat an eye and processed my request right away, no problem. It took longer to verbally confirm my contact info. and agree to the fine print than it did to have my request approved. The agent also confirmed the change would not result in a hard pull on my credit report.
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Nice. It looks the $5,000 credit line I mentioned was if you wanted a Visa Signature card. The agent didn’t give me a choice or other option but was probably just misinformed
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