Yes, you can get a Chase annual fee waived, most notably if you are an active-duty military service member or spouse, which qualifies you under the Military Lending Act (MLA). For civilian customers, success is less common but possible by calling customer service to request a retention offer or by downgrading to a no-fee card.
To get Chase to waive an annual fee, call customer service (and ask for the retention department) after the fee posts, politely state you're considering canceling due to the fee, highlight your good history/low usage, and ask for a fee waiver or retention offer (points/credits). Military members and spouses get automatic waivers under the MLA for personal cards. If unsuccessful, you can downgrade to a no-annual-fee card within 30 days to avoid a prorated fee.
Yes, Chase does refund annual fees, as long as cardholders cancel their account within 30 days of when the fee is assessed. It's sometimes possible to get a Chase annual fee refunded or waived due to financial hardship or active military status, too.
Call your issuer
Call the customer service number on your statement or the back of your card, and provide identifying information such as your name and account number. Then, ask if you can get a waiver for your annual fee. If successful, you're done.
Chase Total Checking®: $0 Monthly Service Fee when you have any ONE of the following during each statement period: Option #1: $500+ in qualifying electronic deposits; OR, Option #2: $1,500+ balance at the beginning of each day; OR, Option #3: $5,000+ average beginning day balance in this account, or in combination with ...
Chase is likely charging you a $35 monthly fee because you have a Chase Private Client Checking account and haven't met the $150,000 minimum combined balance requirement across linked Chase accounts, though other account types have different fee structures and ways to waive them (like direct deposits or lower balances). To stop the fee, you must meet one of their conditions, such as linking qualifying accounts or maintaining the minimum balance.
In 2026, Chase won NerdWallet's annual award for best branch access. The bank offers mortgages, auto loans and one of the broadest selections of credit cards in the industry. Chase also ranked well in the 2025 J.D. Power U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. But its savings rates are low, and some fees are high.
Downgrading Your Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
Canceling a credit card can hurt your credit score. When you cancel a credit card, there are multiple credit score factors that can be impacted. By how much your credit health is impacted depends on your credit history and the credit scoring model used.
The 2/3/4 rule is a guideline, primarily used by Bank of America, that limits how many new credit cards you can get: no more than 2 in 30 days, 3 in 12 months, and 4 in 24 months, helping to prevent over-application and manage hard inquiries on your credit report. While not universal, it's a useful benchmark for responsible card application, though other banks have different rules (like Chase's 5/24 rule).
Chase's 5/24 rule is an unofficial policy preventing approval for most of their credit cards if you've opened five or more new personal credit card accounts from any bank in the last 24 months, including cards you're an authorized user on. It counts new cards from other issuers (like Amex, Citi, Capital One) and sometimes Chase itself, but often excludes business cards not reported to personal credit reports. You must be under 5/24 to get approved, meaning you can only have opened four cards in the prior 24 months.
Yes, canceling a Chase card can hurt your credit score, mainly by increasing your credit utilization ratio (using more of your available credit) and potentially shortening the average age of your credit history, especially if it's an old card, but you can minimize damage by keeping balances low and avoiding closing your oldest accounts. If you have an old, well-managed card with no annual fee, keeping it open is often best, but closing a card with a high fee or one you overspend on can be beneficial if done strategically.
Cards with annual fees may offer more lucrative rewards or premium benefits, such as travel credits, airport lounge access or higher rewards rates, which can necessitate a higher annual fee.
Chase annual fee refund policy
With Chase, you can typically cancel or downgrade a card within 30 days of the annual fee being billed, and get it refunded. It's that straightforward, and Chase doesn't generally offer prorated refunds beyond the 30-day window.
In case you see that the bank is still charging an annual fee despite you having met the criteria, you can call customer care and ask them to waive your annual fee. The bank will check whether you have spent the necessary amount, and if you have, your annual fee will be waived off.
Chase may waive your annual fee if you call and make a case for financial hardship. Chase may waive the annual fee if you contact customer service at (800) 945-2000 and request a fee waiver.
The 15/3 credit card payment method is a strategy to potentially boost your credit score by making two payments per billing cycle: one about 15 days before your statement closes (to lower reported utilization) and another around 3 days before the payment due date (to cover the rest and avoid late fees), though its actual impact on credit scoring is debated. It works by keeping your reported balance lower when the card issuer reports to bureaus, but experts note the specific timing isn't magical, and focusing on the reporting date is key.
Martin Lewis: 'This is bad news for Chase customers'
Chase customers... bad news. It's just announced it's slashing its cashback offering from the current 1% on most things worldwide.
People protest Chase Bank primarily over its massive financing of fossil fuel projects, leading to environmental concerns and demands for divestment, but recent protests also involve allegations of political "debanking" and discrimination, particularly from figures like Donald Trump suing the bank for allegedly blacklisting him and his associates. Activists want Chase to stop funding fossil fuels, while political figures claim unfair denial of services due to conservative viewpoints, highlighting tensions between finance, politics, and social issues.