The Offer
- Chase is offering a 50,000 mile bonus after $3,000 in spend within the first three months on the Chase United Club card
Card Details
- $450 annual fee, not waived
- United Club Membership
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 2x miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased from United
- 1.5x miles per $1 spent on all other purchases
- First & second checked bags free
- Chase 5/24 rule does apply to this card
Our Verdict
It’s often possible for people to get this card without the annual fee. We also saw a targeted offer of 75,000 miles early this year. According to our spreadsheet this is the best public bonus we’ve seen on this card. The main problem with this card is the $450 annual fee and then the secondary problem is that it falls under the 5/24 rule. I think there are a lot of better Chase bonuses than this if you’re under 5/24. The exception would be if you can get great utility out of the club lounge and would be happy to pay the $450 annual fee for access (and even then it’s only a 50,000 mile sign up bonus). Personally I don’t really get the hype around this card and think there are much better options out there.
I won’t be adding this to our best credit card bonus list. As always if you do think you’re going to apply for this card, make sure to read this post first.
Hat tip to churningaccount on /r/churning
Has anyone got the annual fee waived due to military? I’m thinking of having my wife apply.
Can one apply both for Chase United Personal and Business credit cards at same time or one after the other or is it only one card Bonus offer per 24 months for chase (Irrespective of Personal/Business cards) unlike AMEX and Citi Products?
How long to wait while applying for Both Personal and Business Versions?
Also Both United Personal and Business cards open more availability to Look for Saver award travel availability?
I will say, the waived close end award fee does intrigue me. I always end up paying this because I wait for first calss tickets to open up, and their partner airlines always open up 2 weeks prior to departure. I know their are tricks to avoid this but I have been burned booking a far out date and then using the 24 hours to change the date sooner. On teh fence and I will wait, but I am now intrigued in a cared I used to scoff at. Give me no annual fee first year and 50k+ points, I think I will jump.
Agreed. That is the one truly nice benefit of the card (assuming you don’t have a high enough status with United to get it waived, which I don’t ha).
But if you book more than 6 close in awards a year, I guess the card would pay for itself at that point.
In the past, they offered no annual fee for the first year, but without any miles. Personally, I would prefer that to the current offer.
Al, you and I are exact opposites. I had this card 2012-2016 and had the annual fee waived for 2012-2013. I think the current offer of 50,000 miles is a much better deal. It’s worth about $750 on flights to Europe, and I have always been able to find award seats when I want them.
I realize 50,000 miles can be worth more that $450. But the way I look at it is that, I can acquire 50,000 United miles for less than $450. In fact, I just received a mailing for the Explorer card offering 60,000.
If you are a United traveler the 1.5X miles on everyday spend is nice. We use this for tickets to Hawaii from Indiana. A $1300 ticket for essentially 30,000 miles is a like receiving 4%+ back. Maybe it has changed but when I signed up I got a $200 travel credit per year. So the card is really $250 per year with Club privileges that United has extended to my authorized users in the past. Also comes with priority boarding, 2 bags free, TSA Pre-check credit, extended warranty (which I use and has saved me $1000’s over the years). For my family this card rocks!
50,000 bonus miles is nice but I cannot be sure I am confirmed on board with my boarding pass
Hey Doc
Thanks as always for the post, but lets be real (and to this point there can be no debate):
this United Club Card offer * S U C K S *
The hype is due to the bonus bloggers earn for conversions.
Probably a pretty fair assessment.
Exhibit A: https://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards/richest-signup-bonus-ever-chase-united-club-card-club-membership-2-free-checked-bags-waived-close-fees/
Of course no mention of 5/24 on DansDeals.
This is why I love DOC! He tells it like it is.
I just noticed that. Pretty sleazy that he replies to every comment EXCEPT those asking about 5/24.
Same here, I noticed the exact thing as well. Very slick-rick of him to post a card that a large demo would be auto-denied for.
He gets commission only for approvals right?? Or is it for applications as well??
May its for applying thats why.
I highly doubt he gets a kick back for applications as it actually costs the bank money to conduct a hard credit inquiry and potentially involve an underwriter.
5/24 is a major “bugaboo” to leave out as it could unnecessarily cost someone a hard pull.
I am sure affiliate-happy bloggers would rather someone try than to see a 5/24 warning and stay away for no reason.