United Reconsidering Chase Partnership Amid Double-Digit Growth
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United offers a robust portfolio of co-branded credit cards, tied to its MileagePlus loyalty program. But here in the US, United, like Delta, is solely linked with one issuer — in this case, Chase — while American Airlines seems to be doing well for itself by branching out, through products issued by both Barclays and Citi.
Currently, United’s Chase-issued cards include:
- United Club Card
- United Explorer Card
- United Explorer Business Card
- United TravelBank Card
The information for the United TravelBank, United Club card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
As the airline’s president Scott Kirby discussed during the company’s earnings call this week, “credit card acquisitions grew double digits in the first quarter of 2019” — no doubt in part due to a big push the carrier’s been making through its flight attendants, who are incentivized to sign customers up during a flight.
Credit cards have been known to bring in significant revenue, and it’s no secret that Kirby’s set his sights on more, saying:
“With respect to our MileagePlus program, we know some of us from prior personal experience that this is one of our single biggest margin growth opportunity and therefore one of the company’s and my personal top priorities. There are aspects of the program we’re very proud of. However, it remains true that the co-brand component of our program underperformed relative to our peers, and this disparity only widened after recent announcements. Fortunately, United has hubs in the largest and highest income cities, which gives United and Chase the most opportunity for any co-brand card anywhere in the world.”
It sounds like United is still hoping to build a stronger (more lucrative) partnership with Chase for the moment, though I’m sure American Express, Citi and other issuers wouldn’t mind throwing their hats in the ring, too, assuming their current airline partnerships allow it.
As Kirby said, “We’re negotiating with Chase opportunities for improved economics for our card partnership to ensure that our deals delivers industry competitive value to all of our stakeholders.”
Still, a new co-branded partnership could create an opportunity for United to innovate a bit — hopefully by changing its cards for the better, with new benefits, additional earning opportunities and other perks, such as even more discounted award availability for elites and cardholders. We can dream, at least.
What would you like to see in a new United credit card? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Featured photo by Sara Wass/The Points Guy.
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The United Explorer card offers 2 miles per dollar spent at restaurants and on hotel stays and a Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check Fee credit (up to $100). The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.
- Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $6,000 in the first 6 months
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining, hotel stays, and United purchases
- Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® fee Credit
- 25% back on United inflight purchases
- Check your first bag for free (a savings of up to $140 per roundtrip) when you use your card to purchase your ticket
- Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United Club℠ with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining and eligible delivery services
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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.