New Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card: 30,000 Bonus Miles & Improved Benefits
As the next step into the merger of United and Continental Airlines, the respective affiliated credit cards have announced some improved benefits that also bring them much closer together. Replacing the ole’ gray United MileagePlus Signature card is the new United MileagePlus Explorer Card.
Here are the perk highlights for the card (application link):
- Up to 35,000 Bonus Miles. Earn 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months, 5,000 additional bonus miles after adding an authorized user and making a purchase within three months of opening your account. Adding a user is free, and you can destroy the 2nd card if you don’t want it actually used. Just 25,000 miles is enough for a roundtrip flight within continental US.
- Additional 10,000 Bonus Miles for spending $25,000 on the card in a year. This last part is a rather high hurdle, but is available every year for high spenders.
- First Checked Bag Free. Cardholders and one companion will receive their first checked bag free on United and Continental. This usually costs $25 per bag each way, that’s $100 for a couple roundtrip.
- Priority Boarding – Cardholders get to board right behind First Class and Elite, before the rest of Economy. This should allow you to avoid the lines and grab a nice overhead bin on the plane.
- Miles Never Expire. Right now, Continental miles never expire but United miles do. After the merger, miles will expire after a period of inactivity, but if you have this card they won’t no matter what.
- Primary Rental Car Insurance. Almost all personal credit cards only offer secondary rental car insurance, which means you have to file a claim with your own auto insurance first, which means you have to pay the deductible and possibly face higher future premiums. With primary collision damage waiver (CDW) even for personal use, you get coverage for damage or theft without having to make a claim. Also includes trip cancellation insurance, trip delay coverage, and roadside assistance.
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased from United or Continental and 1 mile per $1 for everything else.
- Two complimentary passes every year to the United Club lounges.
- Elite members can now get free upgrades to business/first on award tickets as well as paid tickets.
- $95 annual fee, waived for the first year for new cardholders.
Current Chase United cardholder?
The old Chase United Signature card lacks some of the nicer perks above, but has a lower $60 annual fee. If you want to keep it, don’t do anything and Chase will not upgrade you automatically. If you do want to upgrade, simply call the number on your card and it will be converted without changing your card number.
This card does offer unique features, yet be sure to compare with the other ways to rack up $500+ in credit card bonuses…
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By Jonathan Ping | Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 7/20/11, 5:00am
July 20th, 2011 at 6:05 am
Note that Chase is keeping track of who applies for what UA/CO card and you will NOT be able to double dip.
The verbiage:
United MileagePlus Explorer cardmembers will only receive one 50,000 bonus miles award if they apply for both the United Explorer Card and the Continental OnePass Plus Card after 7/19/2011.
Either way, this “up to 40,000 miles” is a trash offer from them as it’s really only 30k miles with the yearly spend bonus. 40k is just marketing to catch the attention.
Also note, if you hold status with either UA or CO, if you log into your United MileagePlus account, you will see a targeted offer for this new card that is “up to 60,000 miles”. Much better but only targeted
July 20th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
So if you apply for both, you get 50,000 miles? Isn’t that just double the usual 25,000 miles for each card separately? Or are they not allowing the authorized user bonus if you apply for both?
July 20th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
The wording is actually a bit ambiguous due to the fact that there are different mileage bonuses circulating the web.
Basically what it means is that you can’t sign up for the old OnePass Plus credit card that has a bonus AND also sign up for the old United Explorer CC and receive both xx,000 bonuses. More or less… they won’t let you double dip sign-up bonuses.
It’s sad news really but there’s more verbiage in the T&C of this new card that seems that Chase will be cracking down on churners (i.e. those who sign up just for bonuses then cancel shortly thereafter).
July 20th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Just to clarify….. If you already have the Continental OnePass Plus card and received bonus miles when signing up for that card, will you receive the 30k miles for signing up for and using the United credit card?
July 20th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
@Anthony – Yes, the way I read the fine print, you should be able to get the bonus miles if you only have the Continental from before 7/19 and not the United. Here is what I find on the United application:
There is nothing about previous/existing Continental cardholders.
The quote that Mike L has posted appears to be fine print from the targeted 60k bonus to certain Elite members (although I am Elite and didn’t get it). It basically says that people who don’t have either card before 7/19 can’t get both the New United and New Continental cards and get bonuses from each.
July 20th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
The One Pass Plus card had free one baggage check for the passenger and something like 8 fellow travelers if booked on the card. Wonder if that’s changing?
July 20th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
@Steve – I found this on the Continental site for Chase Continental (non-fancy-Presidential) cardholders:
It would appear you would get your old terms until the end of 2011. Was it always that you had to buy your tickets on the card?
July 20th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Can the miles from this card be redeemed for cash/gift cards/anything besides airline tickets?
July 21st, 2011 at 4:21 am
Yup no more free first check in for 10 on the same reservation.
And you didn’t have to buy the tickets with the card, but you did have to all be on the same res.
July 21st, 2011 at 6:49 am
anybody else having trouble now getting signed up for new credit card offers? I have now opened up too many chase cards with all of these offers, that they are not allowing me, or under my wife’s name, open any more. I have great credit so anyway others are getting around this? how is jonathan getting all of these without them saying, “no more”?
July 21st, 2011 at 6:53 am
I’m not having problems. I have 5 Chase cards right now, 3 since April. The latest one was the old United Explorer card for 50k bonus.
What I had to do was call the Chase reconsideration line (888-270-2127) and inquire about my non-instant approval. They ask a few questions like “Why do you want this card if you already have xxx cards?”. Answer intelligently. Then they just shifted credit from one card to this new one. I have almost $50K in credit with Chase so it was easy for me to shift around enough credit to have enough for them to approve my latest card.
September 23rd, 2011 at 11:00 am
Why would Iwanr an Explorer cES QHWN I am already a UNITED ELITE and have a grey United-Chase Visa signature card. I see no benefits. Please advise.
October 3rd, 2011 at 6:51 am
@Florence P Miller – Any old United or Continental Chase credit card will be ‘transformed’ into the new Explorer card anyway so to you it probably doesn’t matter.
October 3rd, 2011 at 2:41 pm
I am about to get the United Explorer card, as a means to get my expired miles re-instated. Is there any problem with cancelling the card a few months later? Thanks for any advice! Mike
December 29th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
I applied for and received an Explorer card thinking that I can collect my 25,000 miles, cancel my old Signature card, and transfer the miles from the Signature account to the Explorer account. Are you saying I can’t do that?