Travel plans canceled because of COVID-19? That’s likely a rhetorical question in 2020.  Trips all year are being postponed and ultimately canceled.  Wanted to share a tip that if you’re sitting on a negative credit card balance, try to call customer service and request a transfer of that balance to your bank account.  

Unfortunately, I finally caved in and canceled my Lufthansa flight. I used my Chase Sapphire Reserve to pay for it back in December.  After patiently waiting a couple months, I received a refund back to my credit card.  The amount offset any outstanding balance on my credit card, but left me with a sizeable negative balance.  I use my Marriott Bonvoy card a lot more, so I didn’t want to switch over to the Chase Sapphire Reserve in order to get rid of the negative balance.  Within a matter of minutes, I was able to connect to customer service and request a transfer of that balance to my checking account.

Chase offered me two choices.

(1) use my card for everyday purchases until the negative balance goes away, but I would not be able to apply my negative balance to any minimum payment

(2) receive a refund via a check through snail mail within 7-10 business days.  

Obviously, I decided on Option 2. The agent next informed me that Chase may send me an email within 48 hours to receive the payment electronically.  However, it was not a guarantee, and some people were receiving those emails, and some people were not.  Lo and behold, I received the email and confirmed my checking account information to receive a credit to my account.  

If your 2020 travel plans were canceled, then may your 2021 be full of travels…