There is a lot of misinformation on the internet and even with customer service representatives! Because some of that misinformation affects people who are trying to get the truth on certain situations direct from the company, it can helpful to know what is truth and what is error. In that spirit, I will be running a new series of posts from time to time called According to the Rep: and give examples of what reps say and why it is wrong.
Most readers know that these things are not true but it is still amazing to me that so many reps of companies can get things wrong and that they have to be corrected by the customer. If you are told any of these things by reps, you can either try to gently correct them or just hang up and call again (HUCA) to get a new rep that will, hopefully, know the rules.
According to the Rep: Chase Points Don’t Transfer to United
Chase points DO transfer to United!
The Back Story
About a month ago, I had called United because a charge came over my phone that notified me that United had put two charges through on an award ticket – one for the taxes and fees and another one that was for hundreds of dollars.
I thought I knew what might have happened as I was short of the miles needed for the award so had gone ahead and transferred my Ultimate Reward points over to United to make up the difference. When I clicked through to the checkout page, it showed the new total and no longer showed an inflated cash price that it would have charged me if I not transferred (to buy miles from United).
Mistaken Charge
The charge on my card (which was pending) was about the same amount that it would have cost had I bought the miles. I thought that maybe the system messed up and actually charged me instead of realizing that I had enough miles for the award (thanks to transferring them over from Chase’s Ultimate Rewards).
According to the Rep…
When I called in, I explained that I just saw an amount on my credit card and wanted to make sure there was not some issue since it was not an accurate amount. After checking the reservation, the rep said it might have been because I “transferred miles” and there is a charge for that. I explained that I did not transfer miles from another United account (which would have cost) but instead transferred my Chase Ultimate Reward points over to book the ticket. This is when she said:
Chase points don’t transfer to United. That is not possible.
Except that is absolutely wrong! Of course, we know that Chase Ultimate Reward points transfer to United and that they transfer instantly and for free. I explained this in a very nice tone to the United rep but she insisted it was not possible and that I either bought the miles or transferred the miles from a different account.
So, I asked her to check my account again as I had just transferred another 1,000 points over from Ultimate Rewards to United. She saw the points in the new total on my account and then had this to say:
Ok, that is what the charge is for then. There is a charge to transfer points from Chase.
Again, I tried to correct her and explain that there was no charge but she would not budge on this latest theory. I quickly wrapped up the call, thanked her, and hung up.
The Truth
The truth is that Chase Ultimate Reward points do transfer to United (as well as many other travel partners) and that they do transfer for free. Not only that, but they transfer instantly (though you may need to log out of United and back in to see them) and that they transfer at a 1:1 ration in 1,000 point increments.
If you ever hear from a rep that Chase points do not transfer to United or that there is a charge to do so, try to explain that is not true. But, at the very least, now you know that Chase points do transfer to United and that you can do that for free!
Again, most of you know this but it is good for those who may find it as new information to realize this in case they ever get a similar rep on a call.
What have you heard from reps that was not incorrect?
I recently spoke with a rep that swore up and down I couldn’t merge my Chase Freedom points with my Ink points. I tried writing about it, but it didn’t give me the vindication it deserved.
Any reason why you could not do this online?
I did the transfer online, but the topic just happened come up during a call for another issue.
I added my wife as an owner (which she was) and authorized card holder to my Ink card. She received her Ink card in the mail and it was activated. I then tried to transfer my points to her Hyatt account and the site required me to call in. I was told that I may only transfer my ultimate rewards points to a hotel/airline account that had my name on it. This was after he put me on hold to reconfirm with a supervisor. It was absolutely a waste of time to try an explain Chase’s own rules. I pray for a day when AMEX’s customer service meets Chase’s generous points program.
I was told by a Citi Prestige rep that there was no such thing as a 60% redemption bonus on AA. I told him to pull up their own site with the huge banner ad.
Well, what was the denouement? What happened to the charge on the your United account? Are you incarcerated at an undisclosed location overseas, picking oakum for 6 cents a ton until your airline debt is paid off?
Sorry about that! 🙂 they said it would come off and that it was a mistake. 8 days later, it fell off.