Maybe I’m a passive user, but my credit cards are autopay set it and forget it. As someone with no opinion on cc companies, curious what gave you such a bad impression.
It is possible to get locked out of your card abroad and not have a way to unlock it.
I guess I'm lucky they rejected me before any money changed hands. I've heard horror stories from people with significant assets at their bank, locked out until an actual lawsuit (the letter from a lawyer didn't work) finally got their attention. I think it's like Google support, usually fine but catastrophic when it's not.
As far as I can tell, going to a branch of a big bank to address a problem nowadays is similar to going to a cellphone store for tech support. All they can really do is call the same hotline or fill out the same webform you’d have access to at home.
I have to imagine that this bank relationship will be different from those previous acquisitions? I never interacted with Goldman Sachs for the duration I've had my Apple Card—the relationship is entirely with Apple and their iOS app. I don't imagine that to be much different when Chase is the issuer.
First Republic was great - they were the reason I didn’t go to a credit union sooner. Schwab also has amazing customer service, if you’re still searching for a new home and aren’t willing to make the leap to a CU.
You were unusually unlucky. The US has a very decentralized banking system, with thousands of institutions. The Big Four (JPM, BAC, C, WFC) have under 50% of total deposits; the comparable figure for Canada's Big Five is ~85%,
And then they bought my bank, and I had a Chase account again. I gave them a chance and they were still awful, so I switched banks.
A couple years after that, they bought my bank, and I had a Chase account again. This isn’t a duplicate paragraph, it happened again. I gave them a chance again, and they were still awful, so I switched banks again (to a credit union, which, fingers crossed).
Now I guess I get to do business with Chase again, which is neat. I’m happy to be part of an economy where I can vote with my dollar like this.