United expands contactless food and beverage sales with new PayPal integration
There's a new way to pay for food and drinks on United.
The Chicago-based carrier unveiled a new integration with PayPal on Wednesday, Oct. 6, allowing travelers to use the company's mobile app as a form of payment in flight.
If you have the PayPal mobile app downloaded on your phone, you can open it to display a QR code that's tied to your account. When a flight attendant gets to your row, you'll be able to display the QR code and purchase any of the buy-on-board offerings, which will be charged to your selected payment method within the PayPal app.
This new technology is rolling out on select flights departing from the airline's Chicago O'Hare (ORD) hub in November, followed later this year by all flights across the network where contactless payment is available.
Due to the pandemic, United exclusively accepts contactless payment for onboard purchases. When a flight attendant passes by your row, you're asked if you want to purchase a snack or drink. If you do, the crew pulls up your profile on a mobile tablet and charges your stored payment method. Receipts are emailed, keeping the purchase process completely touchless — in line with guidance from the Cleveland Clinic.
Until now, you needed to pre-select and update your preferred method of payment in the United mobile app before travel if you wanted to purchase an item in flight.
With the new PayPal integration, however, you don't need to be connected to Wi-Fi or pre-authorize a saved credit card to make inflight purchases. While this is definitely an improvement, I'm personally surprised that the airline hasn't invested in accepting contactless mobile payments, like Apple Pay, which can also be processed without an internet connection.
Related: Here's what food and drinks you can expect on your next flight
Either way, this is the latest enhancement to United's inflight food and drink experience. In late July, the airline debuted a new pre-order option, giving all flyers the ability to reserve their preferred snack and drinks from the buy-on-board menu.
If you order an item in advance, it'll be "reserved" for you specifically — you won't have to worry about the crew running out before reaching your row.
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Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month