I logged on to Chase today and was surprised to see a splash screen for “Blueprint” so I clicked to find out more as I was a bit intrigued and discovered that Chase is finally doing something right but I’m not sure how right it is at this point.    The “Blueprint” are essentially some tools to help consumers manage expenses a bit better.

What I did like was the fact that Chase will now offer the ability to track expenses much like Quicken does on a desktop level.  Seriously, I think I know why Microsoft dumped MS Money and why Quicken bought Mint because as more and more banks offer online tools to track and manage money there really isn’t any point to buying or using Quicken.

What I don’t like or can’t determine yet is whether the other “options” in Blueprint are of any value or if its just another way of scamming people.   There is an option to split up purchases and pay some expenses in full each month while letting other expenses accrue interest.   The example used on the site shows how you can pay for food and gas on your Chase card and pay that portion off in full at the end of the billing cycle but if you purchased an LCD for $1000 then you can pay only interest on that purchase.   On the surface, it sounds like a good deal because interest isn’t accruing on all purchases, just certain items but I’m not sure about the details or caveats.  What happens if you’re late on a payment?  Can gas & fuel purchases still be paid in full interest free?

Ultimately, I won’t use much of  “Blueprint” because I pay off ALL of my expenses every month so I have no need to split my bill.  I also prefer to use my Amex card anyway since they’ve been itemizing and categorizing my expenses for years now. Of course, the real issue is the interest rate on the card and not the ability to split bills.   I would have been happier if Chase were to offer low interest on large purchases vs. having the ability to split the bill.