Update, 8/9: The limited-time offers highlighted below will end today at 5:59pm ET!
United no longer includes any checked bags on their least expensive fares to Europe and Israel, but you can still get 1 or 2 free checked bags for you and for a companion with the cards below. That compares favorably to American, which doesn’t provide any free bags internationally with their cards, and to Delta, which doesn’t have any cards that provide 2 free checked bags.
While you normally have to use your card to pay for the flight to get the free bags, that requirement is waived for the first 90 days of cardmembership!
Originally posted on 6/6:
- Chase United Gateway Card, Limited time offer ends 8/9: Earn 30,000 miles.
- Chase United Explorer Card, Earn 60,000 miles.
- Chase United Quest Card, Limited time offer ends 8/9: Earn 70,000 miles+500 PQPs.
- Chase United Club Infinite Card Card, Limited time offer ends 8/9: Earn 80,000 miles+1,000 PQPs.
- Chase United Business Card, Earn 50,000 miles.
- Chase United Business Club Card (Click on apply now to reach this card application), Earn 50,000 miles.
Table of Contents
United card offers and post-devaluation timing
United has limited time offers available on several credit cards through 8/9.
The timing is bizarre. Delta seems to have mastered devaluing their miles after the end of limited time card offers. United devalued and then released limited time offer? I guess it’s more honest than Delta, but how did the marketing people sign off on that?
Oddly enough, United miles are worth more than ever for covering the annual fees on their credit cards. I guess they don’t want people cancelling their cards due to the devaluation?
While I don’t think it’s worth spending on United cards, there’s no reason not to take advantage of signup offers and card benefits.
All of the United cards offer expanded saver award availability, an incredible perk that no other airline card offers. However in most cases, those awards cost a lot more than that used to.
While United miles are not as valuable as they used to be, they never expire, there are never fuel surcharges, and there are some advantages to using miles over cash or bank points.
When you use cash or bank points you won’t get benefits like free bags for using your United card, whereas with miles you can put the taxes on your credit card to get those benefits.
Plus, you can cancel award tickets for free and get back all of your miles and taxes. That’s a huge peace of mind that is hard to calculate and accurately value when comparing the value of a mileage ticket to a cash ticket or to booking awards with partner airlines that don’t have free cancellations.
- Chase United Gateway Card
- Limited time offer ends 8/9: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of card membership, plus 12 months 0% APR on purchases.
- This card previously offered 20,000 bonus miles.
- No annual fee.
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on United purchases, gas stations, transit and commuting, including ride share services, taxicabs, train tickets, tolls, and mass transit.
- 1 year free DoorDash membership.
- $10 monthly GoPuff credit through 12/31/23.
- Chase United Explorer Card
- Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months of card membership.
- $0 intro annual fee, then $95. You can currently redeem 6,600 United miles to pay for the card’s annual fee thanks to a value of 1.5 cents per mile towards refunding the annual fee on this card!
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on hotels and dining as well as on United purchases.
- Cardholders get Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS for free.
- A free checked bag worldwide for the cardholder and a companion, even on basic economy fares.
- A free carry-on bag for the cardholder and companions, even on basic economy fares.
- Priority boarding for the cardholder and companions, even on basic economy fares.
- The ability to use online checkin and get a boarding pass in advance on basic economy fares. United does not allow online checkin on basic economy fares unless you have elite status or a United card with free bags.
- 2 free United Club passes every year for being a cardmember.
- Primary rental car CDW insurance in every country.
- Cardholders with United elite status get free upgrades on coach award tickets on upgrade eligible routes for the cardholder with status and a companion!
- If you spend $12K/year on the card it will give you 500 PQPs and if you spend $24K/year you’ll get 1,000 PQPs. PQPs from multiple cards can stack together up to 15,000 PQPs, enough for Platinum status.
- 1 year free DoorDash membership.
- $10 monthly GoPuff credit through 12/31/23.
- Chase United Quest Card
- Limited time offer ends 8/9: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 500 PQPs after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of card membership.
- $250 annual fee. You can currently redeem 15,625 United miles to pay for the card’s annual fee thanks to a value of 1.6 cents per mile towards refunding this card’s annual fee!
- Earn 3 miles per dollar on United purchases.
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on travel, dining, and streaming
- Cardholders get Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS for free.
- Get a rebate up to $125 every cardmembership year, equal to the amount spent on United tickets, upgrades, seat assignment fees, WiFi, inflight food and beverages, baggage fees, or other United charges. This will also work for United Travel Bank funding valid for future United flights with a minimum 5 year validity!
- Get a rebate of 5,000 miles, up to 2 times per cardmembership year starting with your first card anniversary, for a total of up to 10,000 miles per year, when the primary cardholder flies on an award that includes at least 1 United flight segment. You’ll get the 5,000 mile rebate even if the award cost less than 5,000 miles! You’ll want to redeem 2 one-way awards as those will each trigger a 5,000 mile rebate.
- 2 free checked bags worldwide for the cardholder and a companion, even on basic economy fares. A value of up to $680 round-trip!
- A free carry-on bag for the cardholder and companions, even on basic economy fares.
- Priority boarding for the cardholder and companions, even on basic economy fares.
- The ability to use online checkin and get a boarding pass in advance on basic economy fares. United does not allow online checkin on basic economy fares unless you have elite status or a United card with free bags.
- Primary rental car CDW insurance in every country.
- Cardholders with United elite status get free upgrades on coach award tickets on upgrade eligible routes for the cardholder with status and a companion!
- Earn 500 PQPs towards elite status for every $12K/year spent annually on the card, up to 6,000 PQPs for $144K/year spending. PQPs from multiple cards can stack together up to 15,000 PQPs, enough for Platinum status.
- 1 year free DoorDash membership.
- $10 monthly GoPuff credit through 12/31/23.
- Chase United Club Infinite Card Card
- Limited time offer ends 8/9: Earn 80,000 bonus miles and 1,000 PQPs after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of card membership.
- This card previously offered an annual fee waiver with no bonus miles.
- This card has a hefty $525 annual fee, though that’s cheaper than even top-tier United elite members pay for a Club membership, which is included with the card.
- You can currently redeem 30,000 United miles to pay for the card’s annual fee thanks to a value of 1.75 cents per mile towards refunding this card’s annual fee!
- Full United Club membership: Cardholders get a full United Club membership. You can bring your entire family, or you and 2 guests, to enter over 1,000 United and partner lounges and Star Alliance lounges worldwide when flying United or Star Alliance airlines. Club membership normally costs $650 per year.
- 4 miles per dollar on United purchases, including tickets, upgrades, WiFi, inflight food and drinks.
- 2 miles per dollar on all other travel and dining and 1 mile per dollar elsewhere.
- Cardholders get Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS for free.
- 2 free checked bags worldwide for the cardholder and a companion, even on basic economy fares. A value of up to $680 round-trip!
- IHG Platinum elite status which gives free internet, 50% bonus points, upgrades, welcome amenity, late checkout, and more. Plus your IHG points will never expire if you have status.
- Avis President’s Club Status.
- Instant discount on select United awards: Cardholders get a 10% instant discount on saver awards within the US48 and Canada. This applies to X class (saver awards available to everyone) and XN class (expanded saver awards available only for United cardholders) flights.
- Cardholders with United elite status get free upgrades on coach award tickets on upgrade eligible routes for the cardholder with status and a companion!
- A free carry-on bag for the cardholder and companions, even on basic economy fares.
- Premier Access: Priority check-in, security screening, boarding, and baggage handling privileges.
- 3 free years of Shipt for free deliveries from Target stores and more.
- The ability to use online checkin and get a boarding pass in advance on basic economy fares. United does not allow online checkin on basic economy fares unless you have elite status or a United card with free bags.
- Primary rental car CDW insurance in every country.
- Earn 500 PQPs towards elite status for every $12K/year spent annually on the card, up to 8,000 PQPs for $192K/year spending. PQPs from multiple cards can stack together up to 15,000 PQPs, enough for Platinum status.
- 1 year free DoorDash membership.
- $10 monthly GoPuff credit through 12/31/23.
- Chase United Business Card
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of card membership.
- $0 intro annual fee, then $99. You can currently redeem 6,600 United miles to pay for the card’s annual fee thanks to a value of 1.5 cents per mile towards refunding this card’s annual fee!
- A free checked bag worldwide for the cardholder and a companion, even on basic economy fares.
- 2 miles per dollar on United, restaurants, gas stations, office supply stores, local transit, taxis, tolls, mass transit, and ride share services.
- 5,000 bonus miles every card anniversary if you have this United business card and any United consumer card.
- $100 annual statement credit if you make 7 United purchases of $100 or more on the card.
- 25% statement credit for food, beverage, and WiFi purchases on United flights.
- A free carry-on bag for the cardholder and companions, even on basic economy fares.
- Priority boarding for the cardholder and companions, even on basic economy fares.
- The ability to use online checkin and get a boarding pass in advance on basic economy fares. United does not allow online checkin on basic economy fares unless you have elite status or a United card with free bags.
- 2 free United Club passes every year for being a cardmember.
- Primary rental car CDW insurance in the US when renting for business purposes and in every other country for any rental purpose.
- Cardholders with United elite status get free upgrades on coach award tickets on upgrade eligible routes for the cardholder with status and a companion!
- If you spend $12K/year on the card it will give you 500 PQPs and if you spend $24K/year you’ll get 1,000 PQPs. PQPs from multiple cards can stack together up to 15,000 PQPs, enough for Platinum status.
- 1 year free DoorDash membership.
- $10 monthly GoPuff credit through 12/31/23.
- Chase United Business Club Card (Click on apply now to reach this card application)
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of card membership.
- This card previously offered 50,000 bonus miles.
- This card has a hefty $450 annual fee, though that’s cheaper than even top-tier United elite members pay for a Club membership, which is included with the card. You can currently redeem 25,714 United miles to pay for the card’s annual fee thanks to a value of 1.75 cents per mile towards refunding the annual fee!
- Full United Club membership: Cardholders get a full United Club membership. You can bring your entire family, or you and 2 guests, to enter over 1,000 United and partner lounges and Star Alliance lounges worldwide when flying United or Star Alliance airlines. Club membership normally costs $650 per year.
- Earn 1.5 miles per dollar everywhere and 2 miles per dollar on United purchases.
- 2 free checked bags worldwide for the cardholder and a companion, even on basic economy fares. A value of up to $680 round-trip!
- A free carry-on bag for the cardholder and companions, even on basic economy fares.
- Premier Access: Priority check-in, security screening, boarding, and baggage handling privileges.
- Avis President’s Club Status.
- The ability to use online checkin and get a boarding pass in advance on basic economy fares. United does not allow online checkin on basic economy fares unless you have elite status or a United card with free bags.
- Cardholders with United elite status get free upgrades on coach award tickets on upgrade eligible routes for the cardholder with status and a companion!
- If you spend $12K/year on the card it will give you 500 PQPs and if you spend $24K/year you’ll get 1,000 PQPs. PQPs from multiple cards can stack together up to 15,000 PQPs, enough for Platinum status.
- 1 year free DoorDash membership.
- $10 monthly GoPuff credit through 12/31/23.
Comparison chart
| United Gateway | United Explorer | United Quest | United Club Infinite | United Business | United Club Business | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signup Bonus | Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of card membership. | Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months of card membership. | Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 500 PQPs after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of card membership. | Earn 80,000 bonus miles and 1,000 PQPs after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of card membership. | Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of card membership. | Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of card membership. |
| Annual Fee | None | $0 Intro annual fee, then $95 (or use 6,600 miles) | $250 (or use 15,625 miles) | $525 (or use 30,000 miles) | $0 Intro annual fee, then $95 (or use 6,600 miles) | $450 (or use 25,714 miles) |
| Annual credit on United tickets and fees | $0 | $0 | $125 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Access to expanded saver and standard award space | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| United Club | No | 2 annual one-time passes | No | Full membership | 2 annual one-time passes | Full membership |
| Annual anniversary credit | None | None | Up to 2 rebates of 5K miles each when you redeem for a United award | None | 5K miles if you also hold any United Consumer card. $100 United credit for making 7 United flight purchases of $100. | None |
| Foreign transaction fees | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 25% back on in-flight purchases. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| First checked bag fee waiver for cardholder and companion, even on basic economy | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Second checked bag fee waiver for cardholder and companion, even on basic economy | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Free full size carry-on bag on basic economy for cardholder and companions | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Priority boarding for cardholder and companions, even on basic economy | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Premier Access Checkin, baggage handling, security, and boarding | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Allows the use of online checkin on basic economy for cardholder and companions | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Miles per dollar on everyday purchases | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Miles per dollar on United purchases | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Miles per dollar on restaurant purchases | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Miles per dollar on gas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Miles per dollar on transit, commuting, and rise sharing | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Miles per dollar on hotels | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Miles per dollar on office supply stores | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Miles per dollar on streaming | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Miles per dollar on car rentals | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Roadside Assistance | No | No | 4 free incidents per year | 4 free incidents per year | 4 free incidents per year | 4 free incidents per year |
| Return protection | No | No | No | $500/item, up to $1,000/year. | No | $500/item, up to $1,000/year. |
| Purchase protection | 120 days theft or damage coverage, up to $500 | 120 days theft or damage coverage, up to $10K. | 120 days theft or damage coverage, up to $10K. | 120 days theft or damage coverage, up to $10K. | 120 days theft or damage coverage, up to $10K. | 120 days theft or damage coverage, up to $10K. |
| Extended warranty | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
| Car Rental CDW Insurance | Secondary | Primary | Primary | Primary | Primary for business purposes only | Primary for business purposes only |
| Global Entry/Pre-Check credit | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Baggage Delay insurance | No | $100/day up to 3 days | $100/day up to 3 days | $100/day up to 3 days | $100/day up to 3 days | $100/day up to 3 days |
| Lost Baggage insurance | No | $3,000/passenger | $3,000/passenger | $3,000/passenger | $3,000/passenger | $3,000/passenger |
| Trip Delay Insurance | No | $500 trip delay insurance coverage/ticket on 12+ hour delays | $500 trip delay insurance coverage/ticket on 12+ hour delays | $500 trip delay insurance coverage/ticket on 12+ hour delays | $500 trip delay insurance coverage/ticket on 12+ hour delays | $500 trip delay insurance coverage/ticket on 12+ hour delays |
| Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance | $1.5K/person and $6K/trip. | $1.5K/person and $6K/trip. | $1.5K/person and $6K/trip. | $10K/person and $20K/trip. | $1.5K/person and $6K/trip. | $10K/person and $20K/trip. |
| IHG Platinum Status | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| IHG $75 Hotel Credit In 2022 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Avis Presidents Club Status | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| PQPs from spending | No | 500 PQPs for $12K spending, capped at 1K PQPs/calendar year for this card and 5K PQPs/calendar year per United account | 500 PQPs for $12K spending, capped at 6K PQPs/calendar year for this card and 5K PQPs/calendar year per United account | 500 PQPs for $12K spending, capped at 8K PQPs/calendar year for this card and 5K PQPs/calendar year per United account | 500 PQPs for $12K spending, capped at 1K PQPs/calendar year for this card and 5K PQPs/calendar year per United account | 500 PQPs for $12K spending, capped at 1K PQPs/calendar year for this card and 5K PQPs/calendar year per United account |
| Premier upgrades with a companion upgrade on award tickets | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Instant discount on select United saver awards | No | No | No | 10% discount | No | No |
| 10K bonus miles for enrolling in CLEAR | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| 3 free years of Shipt Membership | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Welcome bonus terms
You can receive the bonus on each of these cards if you haven’t received a bonus on the same exact card in the past 24 months and don’t currently have the same exact card.
If you do have the exact same card you can change to another United card, wait 3-4 days, and apply for that card again.
5/24
While all Chase cards are typically subject to 5/24 restrictions, there have been many reports of that not being enforced for United consumer cards. If you apply for a United card and are over 5/24, please let us know what happens!
In general, 5/24 means that you won’t be approved for a Chase card if you have been approved for 5 or more consumer credit cards in the past 24 months. Read more about that here.
Spend Threshold
You can pay your federal taxes for a 1.85% fee. If you overpay your taxes you can request a refund or apply it to your next year’s taxes.
My local natural gas company allows me to prepay up to $1,000 on a credit card for a $1.65 flat fee. That’s a great way to earn miles and help meet a spend threshold. My electricity supplier allows me to pay with a credit card for free as long as I am enrolled in autopay.
See this post for more ideas on meeting a credit card spend threshold.
Card convertibility
You can change a consumer card between all 4 United consumer card products:
- Chase United Gateway Card (No annual fee)
- Chase United Explorer card ($99 annual fee)
- Chase United Quest card ($250 annual fee)
- Chase United Club Infinite Card ($525 annual fee)
You can change a business card between both United business card products:
- Chase United Business Card ($99 annual fee)
- Chase United Business Club Card ($450 annual fee)
Pay yourself back for the annual fee
You can redeem United miles to pay yourself back for the annual fee at a rate of 1.5-1.75 cents per mile!
You can pay back all or part of the annual fee at that rate.
You have 90 days from when the fee is billed to pay yourself back and you can do so even after paying the annual fee.
You can use miles from the card’s signup bonus or you can transfer points from Ultimate Rewards to United to pay back the annual fee.
Card benefits
In addition to the benefits listed above, all 6 cards offer:
- No foreign exchange fees.
- A 25% rebate on inflight WiFi, food, and drink purchases.
- Exclusive cardmember access to auctions that allow you to use your miles for once-in-a-lifetime experiences. A few years ago I used 25K miles for 4 field box seats to an Indians game along with the right to run onto the field before the top of the 7th inning and swipe 2nd base right off the field. Nobody could believe it as I walked around the ballpark with 2nd base. I even got it signed after the game by the Indians wining pitcher that night, Justin Masterson, who was equally shocked that I actually had 2nd base.
- United miles never expire, even if you close your card.
- Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance
- Extended Warranty Protection
- Purchase Protection
United Cards As Part Of A Chase Quinfecta Strategy
All of the United cards have unique benefits, so which should you get?
That depends on which benefits you value and how much they would cost you otherwise.
It’s worth noting that you can get the signup bonus for each United card as long as you didn’t get the bonus for that exact card within the past 24 months and don’t currently have that exact card.
If you have a United consumer card you can change to any currently offered United consumer card and if you have a United business card you can change to any currently offered United business card. After waiting 3-4 days you can apply for that card again.
It certainly makes sense to have a United card on top of a Chase Quinfecta strategy as just having the card makes your points more valuable. That consists of:
- Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred for mileage transfers and bonus value on points.
- A no-fee Freedom Unlimited or Ink Unlimited for 1.5 points per dollar everywhere.
- A no-fee Freedom Flex for 5 points per dollar in rotating categories.
- A no-fee Ink Cash for 5 points per dollar on wireless and office supply stores, including gift cards to stores like Amazon and hundreds more.
- Having a United card on top of the cards above creates a Chase Quinfecta as your United miles (and by extension your Chase points) become more valuable thanks to expanded award availability.
Here is a summary comparing what the currently available United cards have to offer:
- If you just want expanded award availability, go for the no-fee United Gateway Card. However you should get a premium consumer card with a higher signup bonus and downgrade the card after your first year as the higher signup bonus will more than offset the first year’s annual fee. Plus you can redeem miles to directly cover the annual fee and still come out ahead.
- If you also want to be able to get a free bag and bypass onerous basic economy restrictions, go for the United Explorer Card or United Business Card.
- If you will be able to take advantage of the Quest card’s $125 and 10,000 mile rebates, then the United Quest Card will effectively be cheaper than the Explorer card, plus you’ll get 2 free bags to boot!
- If you want United Club access, go for the Chase United Club Infinite Card Card or United Business Club Card
- Grandfathered cards like the old United Presidential Plus card (good for earning more PQPs towards United elite status) and the old consumer United Club card (similar to the current United Business Club card) can’t be had anymore, so think twice before you close those.
Expanded award ticket availability
The reason the United cards are the best airline cards you can get isn’t for the spending benefits, it’s for the perks. And they are awesome.
The United cards are the only airline card that offers expanded award ticket availability.
All of these cards offer this benefit.
This increases the value of your miles significantly and in turn makes the Chase Quadfecta/Quinfecta spending strategy even more valuable.
Cardholders have access to significantly expanded saver coach award availability (XN class), last seat standard coach award availability (YN class), and last seat standard business/first class award availability (JN class).
If you’re not a United cardholder, there are no dates with saver award space nonstop from Tel Aviv to Newark in January-February 2024:
If you are a United cardholder, there are many dates with saver award space and discounted saver award space:
This availability differential applies to all domestic and international routes and makes it crucial to be a United cardholders.
Expanded Plan B availability
As you have better access to saver coach awards you’ll also have better ability to do Plan B awards.
Plan B allows you to redeem for saver business class awards when there’s only saver coach available! Read more about Plan B in this post.
No airline besides United offers a Plan B style award redemption.
Discounted awards for cardholders
United runs promotions offering discounts on award flights for cardholders.
They have offered these discounts for travel to Tahiti, Ski destinations, Hawaii, Mexico, The Caribbean, and more.
Here Is United’s Hidden Award Chart
United no longer publishes a saver award chart, but I have compiled those rates in the chart below:
| United flights | Partner flights | |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland US | 5K-15K Coach 25K-30K Business 30K-35K Premium Business | |
| Canada | 10K-14K Coach 25K-30K Business | 16.5K Coach 33K Business |
| Alaska | 15K-17.5K Coach 30K-35K Business 35K-40K Premium Business | |
| Hawaii | 15K-25K Coach 40K-50K Business 50K-60K Premium Business | |
| Mexico | 5K-20K Coach 30K Business | 20K Coach 38K Business |
| Central America | 10K-20K Coach 30K Business | 22K Coach 38K Business |
| Northern South America | 20K-30K Coach 35K Business | 22K-33K Coach 51.2K Business |
| Southern South America | 41K-45K Coach 80K Business | 49.5K Coach 88K Business |
| Europe | 30K-40K Coach 80K Business | 33K-44K Coach 88K Business 121K First |
| Africa | 45K Coach 80K Business | 49.5K Coach 88K Business 143K First |
| Middle East | 40K Coach 80K Business | 44K Coach 88K Business 154K First |
| Central Asia | 31K-40K Coach 80K Business | 49.5K Coach 88K Business 154K First |
| South Asia | 55K Coach 100K Business | 60.5K Coach 110K Business 154K First |
| North Asia | 50.9K Coach 100K Business | 53.1K Coach 110K Business 132K First |
| Japan | 55K Coach 100K Business | 60.5K Coach 110K Business 121K First |
| Oceania | 45K Coach 85K Business | 49.5K Coach 93.5K Business 121K First |
| Australia and New Zealand | 55K Coach 100K Business | 60.5K Coach 110K Business 143K First |
Excursionist Perk
While American and Delta have eliminated free stopovers, United continues to offer a free excursionist perk as described in this post. Just use the multi-city award search on United.com to piece it together.
You can read this post for more about hacking excursionist perks.
A round-trip to 2 Hawaiian Islands is just 50,000 miles round-trip thanks to the free excursionist perk:
Or you can stopover in NYC and LA when flying from Tel Aviv to the US:
You can also hack the excursionist perk for even more value.
You can use the multi-city search to book 2 flights within a single region and then you can book a free one-way within any other region sandwiched in between your flights.
For example if you book a round-trip from Cleveland to Chicago for 6,240 miles you can add in a free Excursionist Perk flight anywhere else in the world in between your flights, such as onboard the United Island Hopper from Palau to Kosrae via Guam, Chuuk, and Pohnpei, a flight that costs $598 or 12.5K miles on its own:
Or if you book a one-way flight from Cleveland to Chicago and then Chicago to Kansas City for 6,240 miles you can add in a free Excursionist Perk flight anywhere else in the world in between your flights, such as Johannesburg to the Seychelles, a flight that costs $473 or 19.5K miles on its own.
Partner airlines
United has dozens of partner airlines which means lots of great award opportunities. It can be worth checking for award space on partner sites like ANA or Aeroplan.com to search for award availability and then call United to book if you don’t see availability on United.
Partners airlines include:
- ANA
- Aegean Airlines
- Aer Lingus
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air Dolomiti
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- Aeromar
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca Airlines
- Azul Brazilian Airlines
- Brussels Airlines
- Cape Air
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- EVA Air
- Edelweiss
- Egyptair
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Eurowings
- Germanwings
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Island Air
- Juneyao Airlines
- LOT Polish
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airlines
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Silver Airways
- Singapore
- South African Airways
- Swiss International Airlines
- TAP Portugal
- THAI
- Turkish Airlines
Business card information
Some of these are business cards, but you may already have a business that needs a card to keep track of expenses. For example if your name is Joe Smith and you sell items online, or if you have any other side business and want a credit card to better keep track of business expenditures you can open a business credit card for “Joe Smith” as the business. You don’t need to file any messy government paperwork to be allowed to do that. Just be sure to select “Sole Proprietorship” as the business type and just use your social security number in the Tax Identification Number field.
It’s important to just write your own name as the business name if you are just applying for your own small business as a Sole Proprietorship that doesn’t have any business paperwork.
If you’re like me and you run more than one business, you can signup for multiple of the same card for each business to manage each businesses expenses separately.
Business cards from most banks, including Chase business cards, do not get added to your 5/24 count of recently opened cards. That’s because business cards from most banks don’t show up on your personal credit report and the 5/24 count is based off of your personal credit report. That means that applying for Chase business cards won’t “hurt” your 5/24 count.
Another benefit of business cards not reporting on your personal credit report is that when you spend money on personal cards your credit score will be hurt even if you pay your bill on time. A whopping 30% of your credit score is based on credit utilization. You can pay off your card bill before your statement is generated to avoid that, but that takes effort and laying out money well before you have to. Additionally it’s good to have the statement close with a couple dollars to show the card is active and being paid every month. On an business cards from banks like AMEX and Chase it’s just not reported, so you can wait until the money is due without it having a negative effect on your score. That also means if you close the card, it won’t have an effect on your credit score.
Will you signup for one of these cards? Which United cards do you have?
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40 Comments On "After Mileage Devaluation, United Releases Increased Credit Card Signup Bonus Offers, Should You Bite?"
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Why all the Delta bashing? For domestic travel, Skymiles have pretty decent value. Especially with the 15% off for cardholders – I am consistently getting 1.5 cents per mile. Which airlines are better?
1. Which route is consistently 1.5?
2. Delta is always horrific for last minute awards, which is when I want a good value the most due to tickets being pricey.
3. Delta is nearly always horrific for business class awards, which is when I want to redeem my miles for something I wouldn’t otherwise pay for.
4. Delta charges way more if you want one-way travel.
I use Delta miles all the time between Miami and NYC. With the Reserve credit card and gold status, I am always upgraded to comfort and sometimes first class. Great lounges, and my favorite airline to fly.
1. I consistently get these rates between Miami and NYC. For example, just booked about 5 minutes ago: JFK to MIA, DL1368, Tue, Aug 01. Paid 7600 miles for main cabin instead of $124. That’s better than 1.5
2. When I search NYC to Miami tomorrow, the cheapest flights are 15,300 miles in main cabin (12,700 in basic economy), and $214 ($179) when paying cash. Close to 1.5 here as well.
3. There are multiple flights tomorrow also NYC-Miami in first class for 28,400 miles, instead of $384. Not quite 1.5 but 1.33 isn’t horrific, is it?
4. Do you mean internationally? Domestically, there is no difference.
1. Well, instead of $118.30 as you pay $5.60 tax, but yes, that’s a fine value. Though it requires a Delta card and Sapphire Reserve is the same value.
It’s nothing to write home about.
2. Again, nothing to write home about and it mirrors the paid rate. If it was high season for Miami, the price would be high.
If I want to fly CLE-JFK tomorrow, it’s 31.4K miles with a Delta card or 37K otherwise. That’s a very poor value compared to 8.5K AA miles or 13.5K United miles or 6K Air Canada miles on United.
3. Couldn’t care less about domestic first. I’m talking about lie-flat international long-haul in business. That’s where miles are exciting.
4. There is a different domestically, though it varies by route. Internationally is where’s its huge though.
In short, Delta miles are non-aspirational and non-high value providing. I can use a Freedom Unlimited + Sapphire Reserve to do 2.25%, or 50% better than a 1.5 cent redemption. Or even more with Ink Cash.
Other miles can have outsized value, but Delta does not.
Another benefit; aa and united allow free cancellation/redeposit on the lowest mileage tickets, delta doesn’t.
The most important feature for me is the non-stop from Chicago to Israel. And the flights are over night. Sit back – have a snack -and then take that long nap
what are the restrictions of authorized users in terms of the benefits from the club card
Benefits are generally just for the primary.
Do you know how soon before a flight you can cancel a mileage ticket for a full refund? Would 2 hours before work? Thinking of booking a back up flight in case of delay.
Up until time of departure.
50k for united business? They had 75k in the past for the same spend
The limited time offers are in red, that’s just for comparison.
Any reason not to open the gateway card? low spending threshold, no AF. easy 30k miles
Yes, all good reasons — and most of all, I keep the card in my drawer for the added saver award availability
Got 2 offers today. I have the regular Bonvoy Amex. They’re offering me 100,000 Bonvoy points to upgrade it to Bevy. I’m guessing the strategy is to take the upgrade for 1 year, and then downgrade back after that? 100,000 points + the 50K certificate (vs 35k certificate) is certainly worth the price difference between the cards? (Last November, I actually was able to use the 35K certificate at the Ritz in Key Biscayne, thanks to this website, where I learned I could top it up to 50K using points, The Ritz KB had some 45K nights, available, and Zak the Baker delivered via Uber Eats) I got an offer in the mail today for United Quest for 80K + 500 Premier Qualifying points. Which should I take?
Dan,
I did bite on both offers. At this point, I don’t plan on keeping the Bevy beyond one year. To justify the $250 for the upgrade from the Regular Bonvoy Bevy, there was a nice surprise (#2 below).
1. (expected) 100,000 bonus points for what I normally spend in a month anyway ($4K)
2. (unexpected) Apparently, the $ I had spent before upgrading the card to Bevy, counts towards the $15K spend required for a 50K certificate. I just got an email that says I will get my 50K certificate in 8-12 weeks.
3. (expected) – given #2, I still have my 35K certificate from the regular card.
Let me know your thoughts.
Does the club have a lounge access in TLV?
Hi
With spending constraints only allowing for one card, would you go for this or Venture card?
The Venture may be around for longer.
Dan, have you heard of any recent plan B datapoints? I’ve only had success doing it via twitter, but 2 weeks ago I was told my the twitter agent that it’s no longer an option…
Still works, needs HUCA.
Try via SMS or call?
Are all the details the same as the post from10 years ago or has that post been updated?
Would lovt to see on which cards theres a foreign transaction fee!
It’s in the chart.
just ordered the explorer card on 50k bonus, secure msg them but they denied me to upgrade to 60k, any advice?
Try calling?
they denied. i asked for manager, was put on hold and was disconnected ♂️
I just picked up my first United Credit Card. How/When do i get access to the expanded saver award availability
You say you can’t get a free bag if you use bank points. Is that only if you use bank points to pay for the whole ticket, or even if you pay for some of the ticket with a United card that offers free bags? More generally, to get the free bag, do you need to book directly with United, or does it also happen when you book through OTAs?
When you use bank points to pay for part of a ticket, they typically pay for the whole thing with the bank’s card and not your card.
Note that the requirement to pay for the flight with the card is waived for the first 90 days of cardmembership.
You can use any OTA and still get free bags.
Will I receive the checked bag benifit on bookings through 3rd party websites/ 3 party award redemption? Or must the flight be booked through United.com?
3rd party sites are fine. 3rd party points are unlikely.
What credit score do you need for a Quest card?
Wait what? No more free checked bag on united to Israel?? What about on a saver rewards flight?
No free bag on basic economy.
United doesn’t sell basic economy awards, only Delta does that.
got it. thanks!
What is the “wait time” to open new Chase cards and be eligible for the bonues/offers, and does it start from when the previous card was originally opened, or when it was closed. TIA!
For these cards, 24 months from when you last got a signup bonus.
Opening and closing date is irrelevant.
We used miles and the United card to pay about $80 but didn’t get the free bag.
Any ideas?
Which miles?
I booked today before I opened my card the representative said I would not get the free checked bag since I didn’t pay with the unidet credit card how can I prove them that its free the first 90 days?