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If you’ve recently applied for a Chase credit card and weren’t instantly approved, one of the reasons may simply be verification. Whether that be verification of address, proof of business incorporation, etc you’ll need to provide proof. This proof can be faxed or taken into a Chase branch, but here’s a quick tip dealing specifically with proof of address that will avoid a delay in your application being processed properly.
I went through this entire process last year, and just recently went through it again with my father who has had a freeze on his credit do to fraud in the past. After unfreezing his account they still emailed my dad requesting document be sent in. We faxed in cable bill and his driver’s license using TinyFax. Super easy. A few days later he received a notice alerting him that his new Freedom Flex was en route. This whole experience was identical to mine, which I detail below, aside from the hiccup I experienced with a bill that was unpaid. I thought this could be useful seeing as though a lot of people are very keen on Chase cards at the moment, and could avoid a headache.
My big tip – Provide a bill that is paid or doesn’t show anything past due.
This is the situation I found myself in, and it was quite the headache. I was asked to provide proof of address with a bill and then fax it to:
- 201-328-3289
I provided Chase with a gas bill and faxed it using an app on my phone called Tinyfax. Super easy and took all of 5 minutes. However the bill that I provided didn’t reflect the payment that had been made in the interim between my January and February statements. I didn’t think this was a big deal, and the new balance was due March 15th, but after a week of waiting to see if the application had been processed, I phoned in to make sure the bill had been received.
It had been, but was rejected as a valid proof of address, even though it plainly showed my address on it, for the reason that I explained above. It had a balance/past due balance. The odd thing is nothing on the bill says past due, it just says I owe the total of the two months utility, or roughly $50.
After speaking with the rep I discovered that everything about the bill was completely valid apart from it having a balance owed, or past due as she called it.
I paid the bill, waited a couple of days for it populate in my account, printed out the new statement which reflected the payment and resubmitted the form.
I then called back in to make sure the documents had been received and sure enough, I was approved.
If you need to speak directly with verification you can reach them directly at:
- 1-800-278-8830
- Monday to Friday 8-8 EST
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.