How To Upgrade a Chase Card: A Complete Guide [2024]

Updated: March 5, 2024, 12:07pm CST

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How To Upgrade a Chase Card: A Complete Guide [2024]

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Chase has a number of different credit cards available, and Chase even allows you to change from 1 credit card to another within the same family, as long as you meet certain (easy) criteria.

That way, you can easily stay with Chase and enjoy the benefits of different Chase credit cards without having to open an entirely new account.

In this guide, we’ll be walking you through all of the different ways you can upgrade your Chase cards to a more premium card option. By doing so, you’ll be able to access superior benefits and rewards.

How To Upgrade Your Chase Card

Upgrading your Chase credit card is super easy. First, it’s recommended that your card has been open for at least 1 year before you’re able to upgrade (or downgrade) any credit card.

To get started, all you need to do is call the number on the back of your card and explain to the agent that you’d like to upgrade your credit card.

From there, the agent should inform you of what upgrade options are available. Simply select the upgrade option you’d prefer, and the agent may read a few quick disclosures and process your upgrade. You may be assessed a prorated annual fee based on your original card’s anniversary date, which will carry over to your new card.

You’ll then receive your new card in the mail and you’ll be good to go! As long as your card type (Visa versus Mastercard) does not change, your credit card number should stay the same.

Hot Tip:

You can’t change your personal card to a business card and vice-versa. So you’ll need to upgrade any personal cards to other personal cards, and you’ll need to upgrade any business cards to other business card products.

Reasons To Upgrade Your Chase Card

There are generally 2 major reasons why you may want to upgrade your Chase card.

There’s a Specific Benefit You Want

When you upgrade your Chase card, you’ll typically get access to improved benefits. After all, that’s why it’s called an upgrade instead of a downgrade.

For example, if you currently have a United℠ Explorer Card that you’ve been using for purchases but you want a United Club membership, you may want to consider an upgrade to the United Club℠ Infinite Card, which offers a complimentary United Club membership for you as the primary cardholder.

Let’s illustrate with another example — if you already have the Chase Freedom Unlimited^®, you might want to upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card so you have the ability to transfer your points to partners like United Airlines and World of Hyatt.

Consider another scenario: if you’re currently holding the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card but don’t want to be stung with a 3% foreign transaction fee while using the card when traveling abroad, you might want to upgrade to the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Priority Credit Card or Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card, both of which don’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Your Spending Habits Change

Another great reason to consider upgrading your Chase credit card is to capture additional rewards if your spending habits change.

For example, if you have the Chase Freedom Flex℠ but see yourself spending a lot more money on travel, you might want to consider upgrading to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, since those cards earn bonus points on travel purchases.

As another example, if you tend to make a lot of general travel purchases using your existing Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you might want to upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card so you can earn 3x points on travel instead of 2x points. Say you spend $10,000 per year on travel — by upgrading to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you could increase your earnings by 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points. You’d go from earning 20,000 points to 30,000 points per year just by upgrading your credit card!

Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Chase Freedom Flex Upgraded Points LLC — Image Credit: Upgraded Points

In general, 3 of these cards can theoretically be upgraded to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, but it’s recommended to have a minimum credit limit of $10,000 for that card specifically as it’s a Visa Infinite card.

Also, if you have the Chase Slate Edge℠, you may be able to upgrade that card to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Benefits Comparison

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Benefit	Chase Sapphire Reserve^®	Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card	Chase Freedom Unlimited^®	Chase Freedom Flex℠
Rewards	10x points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel 10x points on Chase Dining 10x points on Lyft through March 31, 2025 5x points on flights booked through Chase Travel 3x points on all other travel 3x points on all other dining 1x points on other purchases	5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel 5x points on Lyft through March 31, 2025 3x points on all other dining 2x points on all other travel 1x points on other purchases 10% annual bonus points	5% cash-back on Lyft through March 31, 2025 5% cash-back on travel purchased through Chase Travel 3% cash-back on dining 3% cash-back on drugstore purchases 1.5% cash-back on all other purchases	5% cash-back on Lyft through March 31, 2025 5% cash-back on travel purchased through Chase Travel 5% cash-back in quarterly bonus categories 3% cash-back on dining 3% cash-back on drugstore purchases 1% cash-back on all other purchases
Travel Benefits	Points can be transferred to travel partners 50% redemption bonus on travel booked through Chase Travel Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership Access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection Complimentary 2-year Lyft Pink All Access membership when you activate by December 31, 2024 Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary rental car insurance, and more No foreign transaction fees	Points can be transferred to travel partners 25% redemption bonus on travel booked through Chase Travel Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary rental car insurance, and more No foreign transaction fees	Trip cancellation and interruption insurance and more
Shopping Benefits	Complimentary DoorDash DashPass for a minimum of 1 year when you activate by December 31, 2024 Purchase protection		Complimentary DoorDash DashPass for 3 months when you activate by December 31, 2024 Purchase protection
Statement Credits	$300 annual travel credit Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit Complimentary Instacart+ for 1 year and up to $15 per month in statement credits through July 31, 2024 $5 per month in DoorDash credits when you activate your DashPass membership by December 31, 2024	$50 annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit Complimentary Instacart+ for 6 months and up to $15 per quarter in statement credits through July 31, 2024	Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months if you enroll by July 31, 2024, and up to $10 per quarter in statement credits through July 31, 2024	Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months if you enroll by July 31, 2024, and up to $10 per quarter in statement credits through July 31, 2024 Earn a $5 Lyft credit when you take 3 rides in 1 calendar month Get a $5 Fandango Reward when you spend $20 at Fandango or on Fandango’s service Complimentary 1-year ShopRunner membership
Annual Fee	$550	$95	$0	$0
Authorized Users	$75 annual fee for each authorized user	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users

Hot Tip:

In addition to these Chase personal credit cards, you can also earn Ultimate Rewards points from Chase’s family of Ink business credit cards. You can upgrade your Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card or Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card to the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card.

Chase United Cards

Another popular series of Chase credit cards are the United co-branded credit cards. There are 4 options for personal United credit cards:

United Club Infinite card
United Quest℠ Card
United Explorer card
United Gateway℠ Card

You can generally upgrade to any card within the same family, but you’ll want to keep in mind that the United Club Infinite card comes with a minimum credit limit of $10,000 as it’s a Visa Infinite card, while the United Quest card and United Explorer card require a minimum credit limit of $5,000 as they’re Visa Signature cards.

Benefits Comparison

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Benefit	United Club℠ Infinite Card	United Quest℠ Card	United℠ Explorer Card	United Gateway℠ Card
Rewards	4x miles on United purchases 2x miles on other travel purchases 2x miles on dining 1x miles on other purchases	3x miles on United purchases 2x miles on other travel purchases 2x miles on dining 2x miles on select streaming services 1x miles on other purchases	2x miles on United purchases 2x miles on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel 2x miles on dining 1x miles on other purchases	2x miles on United purchases 2x miles at gas stations 2x miles on local transit and commuting 1x miles on other purchases
Travel Benefits	Complimentary United Club membership United Premier Access travel services where available Earn up to 10,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) per year (25 PQPs for every $500 in purchases per calendar year) 10% discount on United Economy Saver Awards within the continental U.S. and Canada Complimentary first and second checked bags for yourself and 1 companion traveling on the same reservation (terms apply) Premier upgrades on award tickets Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status Complimentary Avis Preferred President’s Club status Access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary rental car insurance, and more No foreign transaction fees	2 5,000-mile anniversary award flight credits after you take a United or United Express-operated award flight booked with miles (up to 2 times per anniversary year) Earn up to 6,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) per year (25 PQPs for every $500 in purchases per calendar year) Complimentary first and second checked bags for yourself and 1 companion traveling on the same reservation (terms apply) Priority boarding Access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection Premier upgrades on United-operated award tickets (when available) Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary rental car insurance, and more No foreign transaction fees	2 United Club one-time passes each anniversary Complimentary first checked bags for yourself and 1 companion traveling on the same reservation (terms apply) Priority boarding Premier upgrades on United-operated award tickets Access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary rental car insurance, and more No foreign transaction fees	Access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, secondary rental car insurance, and more No foreign transaction fees
Statement Credits	$75 in annual statement credits as reimbursement for IHG Hotels and Resorts purchases from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit 25% statement credit on United inflight purchases	$125 annual United purchase credit Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit 25% statement credit on United inflight purchases and Club premium drink purchases	Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit 25% statement credit on United inflight purchases and Club premium drink purchases	25% statement credit on United inflight purchases and Club premium drink purchases
Annual Fee	$525	$250	$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95	$0
Authorized Users	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users

On the business side of cards, you have 2 choices for United cards: United℠ Business Card and United Club℠ Business Card. In order to upgrade from the United Business card to the United Club Business card, it’s recommended that your card has been open for at least 12 months and has a credit limit of $10,000 or more.

Chase Southwest Cards

Chase is also well-known for its Southwest credit card offerings. On the personal side, there are 3 options:

Southwest Priority card
Southwest Premier card
Southwest Plus card

You can upgrade from the Southwest Plus card to the Southwest Premier card or Southwest Priority card, and you can also upgrade from the Southwest Premier card to the Southwest Priority card.

Benefits Comparison

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Benefit	Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Priority Credit Card	Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card	Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Plus Credit Card
Rewards	3x points on Southwest purchases 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners 2x points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming services 2x points on local transit and commuting purchases 1x points on other purchases 7,500-anniversary points after your cardmember anniversary upon renewal	3x points on Southwest purchases 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners 2x points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming services 2x points on local transit and commuting purchases 1x points on other purchases 6,000-anniversary points after your cardmember anniversary upon renewal	2x points on Southwest purchases 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners 2x points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming services 2x points on local transit and commuting purchases 1x points on other purchases 3,000-anniversary points after your cardmember anniversary upon renewal
Travel Benefits	4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available The ability to earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually with no limit Boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points every year Baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, and more No foreign transaction fees	2 EarlyBird Check-In per year The ability to earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually with no limit Boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points every year Baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, and more No foreign transaction fees	2 EarlyBird Check-In per year The ability to earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually with no limit Boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points every year Baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, and more No foreign transaction fees
Statement Credits	$75 annual Southwest travel credit 25% back on Southwest inflight purchases	25% back on Southwest inflight purchases	25% back on Southwest inflight purchases
Annual Fee	$149	$99	$69
Authorized Users	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users

There are 2 Southwest business cards: the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card. You should be able to upgrade from the Southwest Premier Business card to the Southwest Performance Business card as long as your card has been open for at least 12 months and has a $5,000 minimum credit limit.

Chase IHG Cards

Chase’s IHG credit cards have undergone quite a few changes, and the result is 2 different card possibilities on the personal side and 1 card on the business side:

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card
IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

Unfortunately, the IHG Premier Business card does not have an upgrade option due to the fact that it’s the sole business credit card in the IHG One Rewards family.

However, you should be able to upgrade from the IHG Traveler card to the IHG Premier card.

Benefits Comparison

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Benefit	IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card	IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card
Rewards	Up to 26x total points at IHG Hotels and Resorts (10x from this card, 10x from being an IHG Rewards member, and 6x from Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of this card) 5x points on travel, dining, and gas stations 3x points on all other purchases	Up to 17x total points at IHG Hotels and Resorts (5x from this card, 10x from being an IHG Rewards member, and 2x from Silver Elite Status, a benefit of this card) 3x points on utilities, dining, select streaming services, and gas stations 2x points on all other purchases
Travel Benefits	20% discount on points purchases Automatic IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status Anniversary free night after each account anniversary year Redeem 3 nights, get the fourth night free Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, and more No foreign transaction fees	20% discount on points purchases Automatic IHG One Rewards Silver Elite status (and the ability to earn Gold Elite status after you spend $20,000 on purchases per year) Redeem 3 nights, get the fourth night free Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, and more No foreign transaction fees
Statement Credits	Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit	None
Annual Fees	$99	$0
Authorized Users	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users

Chase Disney Cards

The last series of credit cards we’ll be discussing in this upgrade guide is the Disney co-branded credit cards, which include:

Disney^® Premier Visa^® card
Disney^® Visa^® Card

If you’re interested, you should be able to upgrade from the Disney card to the Disney Premier card.

Benefits Comparison

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Benefit	Disney^® Premier Visa^® Card	Disney^® Visa^® Card
Rewards	5% in Disney Rewards Dollars on purchases made directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com, or ESPNPlus.com 2% in Disney Rewards Dollars at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and most Disney U.S. locations 1% in Disney Rewards Dollars on all other purchases 10% off select purchases at shopDisney.com 10% off select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts	1% in Disney Rewards Dollars on all purchases 10% off select purchases at shopDisney.com 10% off select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts
Disney Vacation Benefits	0% promo APR for 6 months on select Disney vacation packages from the date of purchase, after that a variable APR of 19.24% - 28.24% 15% off the non-discounted price for select guided tours at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts Special photos at private Cardmember locations at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, plus complimentary downloads of your photos	0% promo APR for 6 months on select Disney vacation packages from the date of purchase, after that a variable APR of 19.24% - 28.24% 15% off the non-discounted price for select guided tours at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts Special photos at private Cardmember locations at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, plus complimentary downloads of your photos
Statement Credits	Up to $13.99 per month for 3 consecutive months in statement credits on a qualifying Disney Bundle Trio subscription or other qualifying subscriptions or add-ons purchased directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com, or ESPNPlus.com that total $12.99 or more when paying with the card	None
Annual Fees	$49	$0
Authorized Users	No additional annual fee for authorized users	No additional annual fee for authorized users

Final Thoughts

Broadly speaking, Chase has 5 different families of credit cards that have upgrade possibilities:

Chase Ultimate Rewards cards
Chase United cards
Chase Southwest cards
Chase IHG cards
Chase Disney cards

Remember that this doesn’t necessarily represent all of Chase’s card families. For example, there are the World of Hyatt credit cards, but only 1 personal card and 1 business card are available which eliminates any upgrade possibilities.

If you find yourself needing a specific Chase card benefit and see yourself upgrading to a new Chase card, you should generally be allowed to do so, so long as you meet a few criteria. For example, your card must have been open for at least 12 months, have the minimum credit limit for the card you want to upgrade to, be within the same card family, and be from personal card to personal card or business card to business card.

If you meet these requirements, call the number on the back of your card and simply let the agent know that you’d like to upgrade your credit card!

The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Chase Slate Edge℠ Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the United Club℠ Business Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom^® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Featured Image Credit: Upgraded Points

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it possible to upgrade a credit card at Chase?

Absolutely! Generally, Chase allows you to upgrade your credit card as long as you meet the following criteria:

Your card has been open for a minimum of 12 months
Your card has at least the minimum credit limit for the new card
Your card is in the same family as the new card
Your card is the same type as the new card (personal vs. business)

Can I upgrade my Chase Freedom® card to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card?

Absolutely! You can call the number on the back of your card to check to see if your Freedom card is eligible to upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Can I upgrade my Freedom card to Freedom Unlimited card?

Yes, but this is known more as a product change instead of an upgrade, as they are similar card products.

Can you change from one Chase card to another?

You might, as long as you verify when calling the number on the back of your card. The agent should be able to tell you if you’re eligible for a card upgrade as well as the different upgrade options available.

How do I upgrade from Chase Sapphire Preferred card to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card?

You can call the number on the back of your card to upgrade your Chase Sapphire Preferred card to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It’s recommended to have a minimum credit line of $10,000 to be eligible to upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

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