Chase Sapphire Brand Expanding Into Checking Accounts

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is expanding the Sapphire credit card brand into new areas of personal finance, including checking accounts.

According to a report citing the company, the bank will change the Chase Premier Platinum accounts to Sapphire Banking accounts. Chase Premier Platinum accounts have a $75,000 minimum for deposits. With the new checking accounts, customers will get access to sporting events and other entertainment, just as Sapphire Reserve credit card customers do.

According to the report, the Sapphire Reserve card is popular among millennials because of the generous rewards points, which cater to their desire to travel. Customers will also get a reduction in some undesirable fees, including wire transfer fees and foreign exchange fees at ATMs outside of the country.

Later in 2018, Chase will offer Ultimate Rewards points as a sign-up incentive to new Sapphire Banking account holders.

The new checking account is just the latest example of how the bank has been courting younger customers. In late July, JPMorgan Chase announced that Chase Pay customers with Samsung Galaxy smartphones can link Chase Pay to Samsung Pay. In a press release, Chase said that as result, customers will be able to use Samsung Pay’s Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology, along with NFC, to pay with the Chase Pay app at millions of merchants in the United States by simply tapping the payment terminal. JPMorgan said that by bringing together Chase Pay and Samsung Pay, it gives cardholders more ways to pay via their mobile phones at more locations.

Samsung Pay is accepted at nearly all payment terminals, making it the most widely accepted mobile payment product in the United States, JPMorgan said in the release. Consumers who link Chase Pay to Samsung Pay will have the ability to earn Samsung Rewards points — and for eligible Chase cards, Chase Ultimate Rewards points — for purchases. Customers will be able to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points at checkout to receive a statement credit, noted the company.