How I Got a $500 Shopping Spree From Chase

Well, this story is a bit interesting. Bare with me (Michael) for a brief anecdote before I dive into how I got a $500 shopping spree from Chase at Brooks Brothers and Selfridges in London….

Back in March, was traveling through Europe solo. I visited friends in London and Florence and also spent a weekend in Edinburgh alone. My round-trip flight was through London Heathrow (LHR), so following my week in Florence, it was time to head back to London to spend a night or 2 and return home to the States. Well, that day that I was flying from Florence to London happened to be the same day that the International Women’s Movement decided to strike around the globe. From an employee perspective, the Florence airport was empty. From a passenger perspective, we were packed to the gills. We had 1 attendant to check-in our entire flight, and due to a shortage of ground crew, flight attendants, and other miscellaneous airport employees, we were lucky to only be delayed 2 hours.

Considering this mess, I thought to myself, “Well, there is a good chance our bags are going to get lost.” So I put some important things in my carry-on, and ultimately sent my checked bag into Limbo when it was time to check-in.

When our flight arrived in London, about 30-40 of us stood near the baggage claim waiting aimlessly for bags that would never arrive. After about 20 minutes a nice gentleman walked over and noted that all the bags had been offloaded from the flight. As such, ours were lost (or delayed as they prefer to say).

Fortunately, when I travel, I think carefully about which cards I’m using for each purchase. Regardless of which option I go with, I ensure that the card booking the flight covers baggage delay and lost baggage reimbursement.

For this flight specifically, I used the Chase Ink Business Preferred card. This card is “technically” a business card, but you can qualify using your social security number as your tax identification number (TIN) and if asked to elaborate on your business by a Chase banker, you can mention that you’re a sole-proprietor who engages in contracts for various activities. My “business” is Couple’s Coordinates, although I have still not filed a LLC with the state.

(This card currently has one of the best sign-up bonuses out of any credit card on the market. You’ll earn 80,000 miles when you hit your spending requirement. That is enough for a round trip flight virtually anywhere in the world. On top of that, the benefits I’m about to explore make this card a must have. Click the link above to apply. *Disclaimer: I receive bonus points when you apply and are approved.*)

So how did I get a $500 shopping spree from Chase?

Well, easily, and not so easily. In theory, it is quite easy. The Chase Ink Business Preferred card provides card members $100/day for “necessities” such as clothes, toiletries, etc. in the event that a bag is lost or delayed. The maximum allotment is $500 (or 5 days of delay).

So why am I just writing this blog now? Why not write this in March, instead of the day before September? Well, this goes back to why I said this was easy, but yet not so easy. The easy part was filing the claim with LHR airport, calling Chase, and finally filing the claim with the third party EClaims Line. The even easier part was going to Brooks Brothers and Selfridges in London and spending $500 (which goes quite quickly when shirts are priced at 120 GBP). The difficult part was dealing with pushback over minuscule details for the last 5 months.

In order to mitigate your reimbursement taking 5 months, follow these steps when your bag is delayed or lost:

File a report with the lost baggage desk at your respective airport IMMEDIATELY upon arrival when you notice your bag is not going to arrive
- Either ask for a copy of the claim you submit or take a photo on your phone.
- Ask if the airline will reimburse you for expenses and if not (most likely) ask for a “denial response” right there at the airport. This will mitigate needing to get one via email. This “denial response” denies responsibility and ultimately says they will not reimburse me you, placing the full responsibility on Chase.
Call the international number (or domestic if you’re in the States) on the back of your credit card, quickly inform the agent of the situation, and mention you’d like to file a claim
- Once you file the claim over the phone, you’ll have 90-days (for Chase cards) to actually submit the paperwork/online form.
Use ONLY the card you purchased the flight with for the necessities (i.e. Brooks Brothers shirts and underwear from Selfridges) you purchase
- Keep ALL receipts from these purchases
Go online to Eclaims Line within 90 days, finish filing your claim, and submit all relevant paperwork
1. There is a pretty good chance that Eclaims Line will go back and forth with you noting that something has not been submitted correctly or that something is missing. Be persistent. I fought back and forth with them for 5 months. It was a massive pain in the ass, but when a $500 check arrived, it felt like a massive victory.

I’m on a personal vendetta to ensure this Eclaims Line has to pay as many Chase customers who deal with a delayed bag as possible. If you are in a similar situation and are going through a nightmare of a claims process, don’t hesitate to comment below with questions, concerns, etc. I would love to help ensure you get the full claim amount you’re entitled to.