Chase Pay App to Be Discontinued in Early 2020
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Say goodbye to the stand-alone Chase Pay app because JPMorgan just announced it's being discontinued in early 2020. However, once the app is closed, you'll still be able to use the online-only features at participating merchants' websites and apps, like United and Walmart. Chase says they're discontinuing the app in an effort to integrate the digital payment option into more website and in-app purchases as they have over 51 million digitally active customers that utilize the button on websites and in apps.
For those who are unfamiliar with what exactly Chase Pay is, it's similar to Apple Pay where you add your card to a digital wallet so that you don't have to pull out the physical card. It also allows you to redeem your points against purchases in real time (although it's not a good use of Chase points). In practice, it can be useful for times when you forget your wallet at home and don't realize it until you're at the checkout.
It's also convenient for online shoppers as all you have to do is click a button during checkout and you're paid for; there's no hassle of entering all your card information. Additionally, if you have multiple Chase cards — perhaps the Chase Quartet — and don't feel like physically carrying them all around, then this is a solid option. For example, when you're ordering food to go through the Chase Pay app and want to earn 3x points on dining by using the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, but then you have to stop and get gas on the way home and want to earn 1.5% cash back (or 1.5x points) and save 15 cents per gallon by using your Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Pay.
The downside of the app is that it's accepted at a very limited amount of merchants. However, Chase sometimes offered incentives like bonus points and other rewards if users used the app at select merchants.
If you're an avid user of Chase Pay you should know that all loyalty points and rewards will expire when it's discontinued in early 2020, so that's something to keep in mind when using the app in the coming months. Additionally, you can continue to redeem Ultimate Rewards points for egift cards through the app until Sept. 11, 2019, but after that you will only be able to redeem for physical gift cards through the Ultimate Rewards Gift Card Storefront. Any remaining egift card balances will be valid until early 2020; after that they will be credited to your Ultimate Rewards account. Just note that redeeming your Ultimate Rewards points for gift cards is usually a bad idea since you can get much more value when transferring them to travel partners like Hyatt or British Airways.