Why Was My Chase Credit Card Declined?

If your Chase card has been declined, you need to figure out the reason why so you can fix the problem as quickly as possible. There are several possibilities for the lock, including suspected fraud, using the card in a new place, exceeding your credit limit and violating Chase's terms of service.

Jeff Whelpley is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Dec 9, 2022

If your Chase credit card was declined for a recent transaction, you're probably concerned and wanting to figure out what's happening as quickly as possible. There are several possible reasons why your card was declined, which can range from terms of service violations to late payments and card expiration.

Different Location

If you use your card while traveling out of the city or state you normally use it in, Chase may suspect that your card has been stolen and is being used by the thieves. It will then lock your card to prevent any losses. It's always a wise idea to tell Chase when you'll be traveling to avoid this problem.

Terms of Service Violation

If you violated any of Chase's terms of service, the company may deactivate your card.

Credit Limit

If you reach your credit limit, Chase might lock your card so that you don't make any unauthorized purchases.

Expiration

When your card expires, it is automatically deactivated. However, in most cases, you should receive a new card before this happens.

Late Payments

If you're too far behind on your Chase credit card payments, Chase may lock your card to prevent you from falling even further behind.

Hold

Some merchants, such as hotels and car rental companies, might place a hold on your account to make sure they get paid for the transaction once they submit the charge. This hold may be large enough to exceed your remaining available credit.

Suspected Fraud

If Chase suspects that your card has been used for fraud, it will lock your card until it has completed a fraud investigation. This can sometimes happen by mistake, even on valid transactions.

Typo

If you recently opened your Chase account, your card may have been locked due to a mistake on your application. Once Chase notices that your information doesn't check out, it will lock your card.

Contacting Chase

To resolve any issues with a declined card, you should contact a Chase customer service representative. You can do this by phone or on the Chase help forum.

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Jeff truly believes that all customers deserve good service. He’s been building tools, inventing phone tree hacks and helping customers since before his days at GetHuman. He's also a Google GDE and involved in the Angular community.
Why Was My Chase Credit Card Declined?

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