Chase Introduces Blueprint: New Features Give Credit Card Customers More Control

Industry-first Initiative Makes It Easier to Reduce Balances and Avoid Interest Charges

WILMINGTON, Del. - Sept. 15, 2009 - Chase Card Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. [NYSE:JPM] today introduced Chase BlueprintSM, an innovative set of features that dramatically improves the way customers can manage their spending and borrowing. Blueprint helps consumers take charge of their finances with free tools they can use to pay down balances, manage everyday spending and pay off major purchases.

"Consumers want more control, simplicity and predictability when it comes to their finances," said Gordon Smith, CEO of Chase Card Services. "With Blueprint, customers can design their own plan to pay off balances sooner, save money by avoiding interest charges, and then easily track progress toward achieving their financial goals."

Blueprint: An Industry First For Consumers

Unlike other card companies that may offer tools to analyze spending, Blueprint is fully integrated into customers' accounts, enabling them to create customized payment plans and track their progress on every statement, either online or on the phone working with a Chase advisor. Blueprint, a first for the banking industry, also enables Chase customers to better manage their expenses - from everyday spending like groceries to major purchases like appliances or home repairs - and adjust their plan at any time without penalty.

Blueprint consists of four distinct features found at www.chase.com/blueprint:

• Full Pay^SM - Enables customers to decide which expenses they want to pay in full every month - items like groceries, gasoline, prescriptions - set those purchases aside and avoid paying interest by paying them in full each month.
  
• Split^SM - Provides customers a way to better manage larger purchases like home improvement projects or a new appliance. They can select the number of payments or monthly payment amount that works for them. Chase does the math and makes it clear on each statement so they can stay on track to meet their goals.
  
• Finish It^SM - Gives customers the flexibility to create a plan to pay down their current balance faster, allowing them to choose a goal date for pay-off. Chase does the math, calculating the monthly payments, sets up the plan and charts customers' progress toward achieving their goal on each monthly statement and online.
  
• Track It^SM - Provides customers a snapshot of all of their Chase card purchases. Customers can track their spending online by category whenever they want, not once a year like some card companies offer. Spending snapshots are available online daily allowing customers to track their progress toward achieving goals in real time.

"Given today's economic environment, the kind of flexibility and control that Blueprint offers is especially important," Smith said. "Blueprint enhances Chase's partnership with our customers by helping them better manage their finances -- setting them up for long-term success. This strengthens our relationship with our customers and helps make Chase their card of choice."

The launch of Blueprint follows more than two years of planning and research focused on better understanding the way consumers think about borrowing. According to a Chase survey of 4,026 U.S. consumers, 74 percent say it is "very important" that they have complete control over managing their finances and believe that cards are an essential part of that equation.

Blueprint will be available at no charge to twenty million customers using one of four leading Chase cards: Chase Freedom^SM, Chase Sapphire^SM, Slate^SM from Chase (formerly Chase Platinum), Ink^SM from Chase and other Chase business cards.

Blueprint Tools for Every Financial Style

To help consumers better understand their financial behavior patterns or "styles" and identify the Blueprint features best suited for them, Chase partnered with Dr. Hersh Shefrin, author of Beyond Greed and Fear: Understanding Behavioral Finance and the Psychology of Investing, to develop the What's Your Financial Style? quiz. The quiz prompts consumers to answer eight simple questions about their financial goals and spending habits.

Based on the results, the quiz identifies four financial management styles and the Blueprint features highlighted for each:

• Make It Easy - People who don't have a lot of time to put into managing finances - they have broad financial goals, such as "saving more." According to Chase's Financial Style Quiz, half of Americans have general versus specific (24 percent) financial goals. Blueprint's "Full Pay" and "Finish It" may be right for them.
  
• Control Seeking - People who have a strong desire for control in managing their finances - they tend to manage their spending by using a card more for "big ticket" and emergency purchases rather than everyday use. According to Chase's Financial Style Quiz, almost half (49 percent) of Americans are deliberate spenders and 37 percent use their card(s) only for emergencies or big ticket purchases. Blueprint's "Finish It" and "Split" may be right for them.
  
• Financially Savvy - Savvy card users who are comfortable managing multiple cards for various uses. According to Chase's Financial Style Quiz, 64 percent of Americans have high confidence that they manage their money well and 30 percent of Americans use different cards for different reasons. Blueprint's "Track It" and "Split" may be right for them.
  
• Confident and In Control - People who prefer to use a single card for all of their purchases, and often pay the entire balance each month, but want it to be flexible and customized to their needs. According to Chase's Financial Style Quiz, 53 percent of Americans pay their entire balance each month and 49 percent use a single card for all of their expenses. Blueprint's "Split" and "Track It" may be right for them.