Consumer complaint received 2025-12-02 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Problem with rewards from credit card
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: IA

Complaint narrative:
I am reporting on a persistent and unresolved technical issue I have encountered with Chase Bank. This issue directly impacts my ability to redeem credit card rewards points to an external third-party checking account, which I was able to successfully transfer reward funds to for over a year until a recent mobile app update which mysteriously removed my linked third-party account.

Before this update, I could routinely transfer my Chase credit card rewards points to my external checking account without any issues. However, following an update in the Chase mobile app, my linked external account mysteriously disappeared from the list of redemption options. I did not remove it, and it was removed without warning. At first, I suspected this was an unintentional technical glitch, but after working with Chase support, this change feels very intentional to make it more difficult to redeem reward points to an external account.

When I attempted to re-link my checking account, the app initiated a verification process by debiting {$0.00} from by external bank account, broken up into two smaller amounts. I received an email stating I needed to verify these two amounts, however, the hyperlink in the email lead to a broken, blank page. When I accessed my account through the mobile application, there was no option or interface available to complete the necessary verification step. Essential, Chase left me with no way to finalize the re-linking process and no way to redeem my rewards to a preferred account. This felt like a push to move my checking account to Chase, or as if Chase was forcing me to keep my reward points internal with them instead of transferring them out of Chase.

I reached out via phone to Chase support on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX. During that call I learned that Chase does not appear to have a process for documenting customer complaints, and their phone support representatives dont seem to have the ability to log technical issues unless the issue is actively occurring. This is problematic when representatives manually fix issues with workarounds before higher tier technicians have a chance to review/resolve issues for all impacted customers.

Ultimately, a representative manually transferred my existing points balance to my external account as a one-time courtesy. However, the next representative informed me that because I no longer had available points in my account to redeem, they could no longer open a tech issue or resolve the underlying problem until the issue occurs again. They advised I would need to call back whenever I have points to redeem in the future to troubleshoot the issue again. I do not believe this was the fault of the last rep I spoke with, as he specifically said the system would not allow him to enter a ticket, pointing to a larger issue with Chases internal systems and business practices.

I also learned Chase forces customers to complete end-user testing in their live app environment to resolve technical issues. I spent approximately XXXX hour and XXXX minutes on the phone speaking to three different human representatives after an initial interaction with an AI representative. During these calls, I was repeatedly transferred and was provided with inconsistent information. One representative claimed a tech issue would be opened on my behalf, but another later confirmed that no such ticket was ever created. I was asked to complete several troubleshooting steps, further wasting my time. Chase isnt paying me to troubleshoot their issues, so I feel they owe me compensation for my time. 

I logged into Chase.com today, Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX, and I spent over an hour trying to find the section where I could finally verify my third-party checking account. I had to do it from my work computer, as the website on my phone automatically routes me back into the mobile application, where there is no functionality to verify a third-party checking account. It is unreasonable to expect customers to have a separate computer they can access to verify these amounts to link a third-party checking account. This functionality needs to be available on mobile devices, but Chase refuses to do anything, and it has been almost a month since I first complained.

Currently, the only method that Chase offers for submitting technical issues is through a singular phone number that routes to multiple departments. This makes it difficult for customers to report technical issues that double as escalated customer service complaints, as it results in customers being passed around through multiple departments with cold transfers, forcing customers to repeat their issues multiple times. 
This situation is highly inconvenient and unreasonable. It effectively forces me to rely on customer service each time I need to use by rewards in the capacity I previously could, rather than fixing the apps functionality. I believe this is an unfair and deceptive practice, as it pressures me to use my rewards in a way that benefits Chase rather than allowing me the flexibility I had before.

I have also found that other customers have reported similar issues, and that there is an ongoing class action lawsuit related to Chases handling of reward point redemptions and account linking. This indicates a broader pattern of technical and procedural failures that Chase has not adequately addressed.

I am requesting that the CFPB investigate this matter and ensure that Chase restores a functional and reliable method for linking external accounts and redeeming rewards as intended.

Additionally, I would like Chase to provide an online or in-app option for submitting technical issues to alleviate the extra hurdles of working with lower-tier customer representatives. An online or in-app submission form would allow customers to report issues more efficiently and avoid the need to navigate phone support for what should be a straightforward technical report. 

In addition to online support, the customer support phone line should offer options to speak with human representatives. No part of the current phone support menu allows users to choose to speak with a representative, but a human representative can be reached by dialing XXXX. This is a common phone support trick only some people know about, but its not straightforward when its not an available option in the phone support menu for customers to select. Instead, they are sent through endless support loops.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation