Do Banks Match Welcome Offers?
Every time a new elevated offer comes out on one of our ToP credit cards, we hear the same question immediately. Do banks match welcome offers? And will the bank match me to the newest offer on a particular card? It's an understandable question—especially when all-time high offers recently landed on four of our ToP cards. The answer comes with some caveats. Let's look at which banks will match offers and when, as well as how to ask for one.
First, A Reminder About The Offer You Signed Up For
You signed up for an offer on a card that hopefully made sense for you (and hopefully excited you!) at the time. In doing so, you committed to that offer's amount of points (and/or benefits) earned by the required spend. Let's compare this to a real-life scenario: You can't take clothes back to a store after trying them out for a month just to get the new sale price. So while we can continue to shop around for trips and maybe rebook as award fares change, that does not necessarily apply to credit cards we sign up for. Do banks match welcome offers, though? Occasionally, there are exceptions. We'll discuss more below.
What Is Offer Matching?
Offer matching is when a bank agrees to grant you a new offer for a card you were recently approved for. Generally, if a bank is willing to match an offer, it will come with some conditions. Usually, you will have had to sign up for the card within a certain time frame. If a bank does match offers, it will typically have a cutoff date.
Which Banks Will Match Offers?
For the most part, none of them. Chase is the one exception, and only in some cases. The bank used to be excellent about matching higher welcome offers for recent card applicants. The chances were typically better on transferable currency cards, while matches on co-branded airline cards have previously been denied. When the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card's now-expired 150,000-point welcome offer debuted this spring, applicants who requested matches were given a cutoff date of 10 days prior. On other recent offers for transferable currency cards, though, they've told applicants “no.” Our best advice: Never expect an offer to be matched. But you can always ask. We'll explain how next.
How To Ask For An Offer Match
Do banks match welcome offers? Success is more likely if you are still working on your minimum spend requirement. But even if you did recently earn the welcome offer, it could still be worth asking. The worst the bank can say is “no.” The best way to ask if they are matching an elevated offer is to send the bank a secure message when logged into your account. Select your new card, and send a message for that specific card. You can say something along the lines of:
- “I recently signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and noticed that the offer has just been increased. The offer went from 75,000 Ultimate Rewards to 100,000 Ultimate Rewards. Is there any way I could be matched to that higher offer, since it has only been a few weeks since I was approved?”
If the bank approves you for the match, the secure message will allow you to keep a written record of it. Screenshot that message and save it. Meet the minimum spend required by the new offer. Once you've done so, follow up in that same message thread to remind the bank about your matched offer.
Do Banks Match Welcome Offers?: ToP Thoughts
So, do banks match welcome offers? Not likely, but it never hurts to ask. Personally, I try not get upset about an offer changing in this hobby. I still talk about getting an American Express Blue Business Plus without a welcome offer. Some in this hobby took offers between 60K-80K on the Chase Sapphire products. I could go down the list of many cards just like that. Remember, if you are in this hobby long enough, offers always change. Have you gotten a match? Share your DPs in the Facebook Group.
