'It's crazy': Chase Bank forgiving all debt owed by its Canadian credit card customers

CBC News ^ | 08/08/19 | Sophia Harris

[mkleesma]

Finally, a good news story about credit card debt.

U.S.-based Chase Bank is forgiving all outstanding debt owed by users of its two Canadian credit cards: the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa and the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa. The bank retired both cards last year and said it's wiping out cardholders' debt to complete its exit from the Canadian credit card market.

Affected customers can't believe their luck.

"I was sort of over the moon all last night, with a smile on my face," said Douglas Turner, of Coe Hill, Ont., after learning he's off the hook for the $6,157 still owing on his now-defunct Amazon Visa. "I couldn't believe it."

After 13 years in the Canadian market, Chase decided to fold its two Visa cards in March 2018.

The bank — which is part of global financial services firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. — wouldn't say how many Canadians had signed up for the cards or how much debt was outstanding.

[sparklite2]

Virtually everything I spend goes on my Discover card. I’ve been cashless for years. Once a month, Discover accesses my checking account to pay the monthly statement in full.

I get the bonus dollars, never worry about when to pay the bill, and keep my checking balance high enough to not worry about overdrafts.

Paranoia solved.

[x]

U.S.-based Chase Bank is forgiving all outstanding debt owed by users of its two Canadian credit cards: the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa and the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa. The bank retired both cards last year and said it's wiping out cardholders' debt to complete its exit from the Canadian credit card market.

Now what do we have to do to get them to exit the US market?

[proxy_user]

I prefer to check the bill before paying. Scammers like to try charging small items to random cards, hoping the cardholder won’t notice.