It’s easy to justify paying steep credit card annual fees when you use benefits like travel credits, airport lounge access, dining or shopping credits. But if you have multiple cards with overlapping perks or need to cut costs, keeping a high-fee card may no longer make sense. Rather than canceling — which can hurt your credit — consider downgrading or product-changing the card to one with a lower or no annual fee.
Contact customer service
To request a downgrade, call the phone number on the back of your Chase card and speak with an agent. Chase also offers secure messages online, but product-change requests are generally handled faster and more reliably by phone. If you act soon after the annual fee posts (often within about 30 days), you may be eligible for a prorated refund when you switch to a lower-fee card.
Because a product change keeps the same account, Chase will not perform a hard credit pull. Your account number, balance and payment due date typically remain the same, and you’ll receive a new card with the new product name in a few days. The old card number usually continues to work under the new card’s terms until the replacement arrives.
Protect your rewards
Downgrading does not close the account, so you won’t automatically forfeit points. However, downgrading a transferable Ultimate Rewards-earning card (for example, Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred) to a Freedom Flex or Freedom Unlimited will remove the ability to transfer points to airline and hotel partners unless you already have another card that earns fully transferable Ultimate Rewards (such as Ink Business Preferred). If you don’t have another transferable Chase card, consider transferring your points to an airline or hotel partner before downgrading — transfers are final, so choose a partner you use often.
You can also transfer Ultimate Rewards to another household member who has an eligible Chase card, but this must be done by calling Chase; it’s not possible online.
What Chase cards can I downgrade to?
Product changes are usually limited to cards within the same family. That means you can often move between tiers of the same Chase family (for example, Sapphire Reserve to Sapphire Preferred, Freedom Flex, or Freedom Unlimited), but you generally cannot move from a Chase cobranded card (like a United or Southwest card) to a Sapphire card or vice versa.
Sometimes Chase allows switches to older or discontinued products, depending on availability and your account history. There are a few common restrictions:
– You must usually have had the card for at least 12 months before downgrading.
– You cannot switch between personal and business cards, even within the same family (for example, personal Sapphire to Ink Business Preferred is not allowed).
– Offers and availability can vary; what one cardholder is offered may differ from another.
Should I downgrade my credit card?
Downgrading preserves your credit line and average account age, so it avoids the negative credit impact that can come with canceling a card. Maintaining long-standing accounts is generally better for your credit profile than opening and closing cards frequently.
A notable downside: you typically won’t receive a welcome bonus for the card you downgrade into, and having that card on your account may prevent you from getting a new welcome offer for the same product until the issuer’s rules allow. Also remember Chase’s 5/24 rule: if you’ve opened five or more personal credit cards from any bank in the past 24 months, you’ll likely be ineligible for new Chase approvals. If you can’t or don’t want to apply for a new card, a product change can let you keep the account while switching to more suitable benefits.
Other considerations include restrictions on holding multiple cobranded cards (some Chase airline cards can’t be held together) and the fact that downgrades and available target products can vary by account and rep.
Bottom line
Downgrading a Chase card is an effective alternative to canceling: it keeps the account open, maintains your credit history and can lower or eliminate annual fees. It’s usually done by phone, doesn’t require a hard pull, and may qualify you for a prorated annual fee refund if done shortly after the fee posts. Before you downgrade, check how the change will affect your rewards — especially transferable Ultimate Rewards — and transfer points to partners or to another household-eligible account if needed. You also typically won’t earn a welcome bonus when downgrading.
