Chase banker told me referral could only be added after approval, but customer service says it had to be used before applying. Any advice?
Hi everyone,
I recently applied for a Chase credit card at a branch with the help of a banker. Before applying, I had a referral link from a friend, but the banker told me that the referral should be added after approval, not before submitting the application. Based on that guidance, I did not apply through the referral link myself and instead completed the application with the banker’s assistance.
After approval, I called Chase customer service to ask about adding the referral. The representative told me that the referral link generally needs to be used before the credit card application is submitted. They opened a review case to see whether the referral bonus can still be honored for my friend, but they said it is not guaranteed.
What makes this more frustrating is that this is actually the second time I have run into an issue like this. When I applied for my first Chase credit card, I also had a referral link, but the banker told me I could not use the referral link for that application. Now, with this second card, I was told the referral should be added after approval, but customer service is saying it should have been used before applying.
I also emailed the banker and asked whether the branch side can help escalate the issue, since I relied on the information provided during the branch appointment.
Has anyone dealt with a similar situation with Chase referrals? Is there any realistic chance Chase will manually honor the referral bonus? If customer service denies it, would it make sense to file a complaint through Chase or CFPB, or is this usually not worth pursuing?
I’m not trying to overreact, but I feel frustrated because I would have used the referral link before applying if I had been given the correct information.
Thanks for any advice.