Chase United Business Card Review
Chase launched the United Business Card in January 2020. The older United Business Explorer card from Chase still exists, but that might not last. The new United Business Card is not considered a refresh but is a new product. In this United Business Card credit card review, we will take a look at the United Business Card welcome offer, earning structure, whether or not the card is a long-term keeper, and our overall grade for the card.
Updated with new offer 1/31/22
United Business Card Review – The Welcome Offer
The United Business Card comes with the following welcome offer:
- Earn up to 150,000 bonus miles.
- 75,000 miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
- And an additional 75,000 miles after you spend $20,000 total in the first 6 months.
- $99 annual fee not waived
- Learn More
Welcome Offer Value – $1,201
We value United MileagePlus miles at 1.3 cents per point right now. While it has been higher in the past, changes in their award program caused adjustments to this number. 1.3 cents means you’ll get $1,850 in value from the points after subtracting the annual fee. This card also comes with a ton of perks, including free checked bags & anniversary miles (see below), so your overall value should be even higher than that. Plus, you’ll have the miles earned on your spend to earn the welcome offer, as well.
Learn More
Need to Know – Bonus Restrictions
Just like all other Chase cards, the United Business Card does fall under the Chase 5/24 rule. This means you will not be approved if you have opened up 5 or more revolving accounts at any bank over the past 24 months. Remember that it does not add to your 5/24 count since it is a business card though.
Additionally, the Chase United Business Card also has Chase’s standard 24 month welcome offer restriction language:
“This new Cardmember bonus offer is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of this business credit card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of this business credit card who received a new Cardmember bonus for this business credit card within the last 24 months.”
As this is a new product, this appears to be a standard inclusion and should not apply to holders of the previous United Business Explorer card.
Chase United Business Card Review – Earning Structure
The United Business Card earns United MileagePlus miles and features bonus categories as well. Here is how you will earn MileagePlus miles with this card:
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on purchases from United, including tickets, Economy Plus, Inflight food, beverages, Wi-Fi, and other United charges
- 2 miles per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including taxis, mass transit, tolls, and ride share services
- 2 miles per $1 spent at gas stations, office supply stores, and restaurants
- 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Learn More
Chase United Business Cardmember Perks
The United Business Card offers several new and unique cardmember perks. Let’s take a look:
Anniversary Bonus Miles For Dual Cardholders
Get an anniversary bonus of 5,000 bonus miles when you have new United Business Card and a personal United card.
Annual United Travel Credit
You can receive a $100 travel credit from United each cardmember year that you have (7) transactions of $100 or more (each) with United. Qualifying purchases include flights, seat upgrades, extra legroom, bag fees, or in-flight purchases of food, drinks, or WiFi.
Other Card Perks
- Expanded award seat availability for cardholders
- No foreign transaction fees
- 25% back of United inflight purchases (includes Wi-Fi, food and beverages)
- Free first checked bag (must pay for the flight with your card)
- Priority boarding
- 2 United ClubSM one-time passes at account opening and on each Cardmember anniversary
- No blackout dates
- Employee cards at no additional cost
- Primary rental car insurance coverage (see more information here)
- Purchase protection up to 120 days and up to $10,000 per claim / $50,000 per year
- Extended warranty protection of an extra year on eligible purchases
- Trip cancellation & trip interruption insurance
- Luggage delay & lost luggage insurance
Should You Keep the United Business Card Long Term?
The United Business Card has a ton of features that make it a keeper card if you’re using them. The 25% price reductions and $100 annual credits are great for those who fly United often and spend money on-board or for upgrades.
However, for those who don’t fly United flights often, the $99 fee can still justify itself in some situations. If you fly domestic in economy, the free checked bags perk can save you more than $99. Using the other perks, like on rental cars and purchase protection, can also provide lasting value. The best perk may be the access to increased award availability for the card too. Cardholders have access to seats that regular flyers do not, this comes in handy especially for last minute flights. The 2 United Club passes also offer value for cardholders year in and year out.
Chase also offers an interesting incentive to keep the card long term even if you already have a personal version of the United card. The 5,000 miles each year, valued at $65, offset a big chunk of the annual fee.
If you use your United miles to book flights on partner airlines most of the time then this card may not offer you the value you would need to justify the $99 annual fee.
Summary
The United Business Card is a valuable product with massive welcome offer in addition to useful long-term perks.
Here are some key things we think you should take away from this review.
- The welcome offer is worth over $1,850 after factoring in the annual fee.
- The United Business card holders get access to expanded award availability. Finding just one of these seats will often offset the annual fee for an entire year.
- You get 25% discounts and can earn a $100 annual credit from United if using the card to pay for upgrades, checked bags, or in-flight purchases.
- Many other smaller perks add to the overall value of the Chase United Business Card
Chase United Business Card Review – Bottom Line
Chase has introduced a quality product in the United Business Card. It offers a slew of perks for your everyday purchases, but you may have these already from other credit cards. This is where each person’s situation is different, and this will affect your decision on whether to keep it long term or not. Anniversary points & club passes are nice perks to receive, and this card earns bonus miles on taxis & transit, which are not bonus categories for many cards. You also get access to increased award availability just for being a cardholder which comes in handy especially for last minute flights. The welcome offer and these perks make it a great card for United fans. The massive welcome offer doesn’t hurt, either.
If you’re looking for some ideas on maximizing those 150,00 United MileagePlus miles, we’ve shared some ideas here.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the old king of travel rewards cards. Right now
bonus_miles_full
Learn more about this card and its features!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Nice review. I applied for this card last week and initially got the dreaded 7 – 10 day response, then the 30 day response. Now Chase says that they don’t have any pending applications for me when I check online or call the application status phone number. My other business and personal accounts (separate logins – I know, I know) seem fine so I don’t understand what’s happening. Have you run across anything like this before? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
Does it show a hard pull on your reports?
Yes, I got a veritable explosion of alerts about a new inquiry from all over the place.
I would say just HUCA then or give it a few weeks and see if it comes through.
Alrighty then! I’m sittin’ pretty!! Thank you and
Keep up the great work, Mark.
Nice! Thanks for the kind words Gary – happy to help out where we can.
Thank you for the review. But please clarify… I thought I understood it that business cards did not count towards the 5/24 rule. Or is that only for non Chase business cards?
Gary
That is correct it does not add to your 5/24 count but you have to be under 5/24 to get it.