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The United℠ Business Card is a great value for anyone who flies with United at least a few times per year. Benefits include free checked bags, access to extra award space (only open to United elites and co-brand cardholders), and 5,000 bonus miles every account anniversary if you also hold a United personal card.
So, let's take a closer look at this card to see if it's worth your consideration.
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99.
- Receive a 5,000-mile "better together" bonus each anniversary when you have both the UnitedSM Business Card and a personal United credit card.
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on United purchases, dining (including eligible delivery services), at gas stations, office supply stores, and on local transit and commuting.
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. Plus, employee cards at no additional cost - miles earned from their purchases accrue in your account so you can earn rewards faster.
- Enjoy a free first checked bag - a savings of up to $140 per roundtrip (terms apply), 2 United ClubSM one-time passes per year, and priority boarding privileges.
- Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on eligible orders over $12 for one year with DashPass, DoorDash's membership service. Activate by 12/31/21.
- $100 United travel credit after 7 United flight purchases of $100 or more each anniversary year.
- 2x on United purchases
- 2x on local transit and commuting- including train tickets, taxicabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services
- 2x at gas stations, restaurants and office supply stores
- 1x on all other purchases
Earn 75,000 Bonus Miles
The United℠ Business Card is currently offering a bonus of 75,000 bonus miles!
United Business Card Feature Benefits
Unlock Hidden Award Space
We've covered this unique benefit of United co-brand cards in depth. Holding the United Business Card allows you to book award tickets with your miles that otherwise wouldn’t be available unless you hold United elite status. The benefit is marketed as “no blackout dates,” meaning you can use miles to grab the last seat available on a flight. The caveat being that these tickets are Everyday Awards and cost a lot more than Saver Awards.
However, what isn’t mentioned directly in the marketing material for this perk is that cardholders also get access to additional saver-level award space. This space is typically reserved for United Premier elite status members.
Free First Checked Bag
If you fly just one round-trip flight per year with a companion, you can recoup the annual fee. The first checked bag will set you back $35 per person each way on domestic flights. That means you can save up to $140 per round-trip flight.
The catch is that you need to pay for the flight using your United Business Card. So, you'll have to forgo the additional points you can earn on other cards. In this case, we think the up to $140 in savings provided by the checked bags almost always outweighs the extra points you could earn swiping another card.
2x United Club One-Time Passes Per Year
Another great perk is the two, one-time United Club passes cardholders receive after opening their account and on the account anniversary each year. These passes used to be issued as paper vouchers that never seemed to be with you when you needed them. Fortunately, United Club passes are now digital. So, you can easily access them from your account or the mobile app as soon as they are credited.
25% Back on Food, Beverage, and Wi-Fi Purchases
Get 25% back as a statement credit on food, beverages, and Wi-Fi purchases made with your United Business Card on United- and United Express-operated flights.
5,000 Bonus Miles If You Also Hold a Personal United Card
United Business Card holders will receive 5,000 bonus miles every account anniversary year if you also hold a personal United co-brand card. The personal card must be in your name for you to receive the bonus 5,000 miles.
$100 United Travel Credit
Each account anniversary year that you make seven or more United travel-related purchases of $100 or more with your United Business Card, you'll receive a $100 statement credit. United travel-related purchases include seat upgrades; Economy Plus; inflight food, beverages, and Wi-Fi; baggage service charges; and other United fees.
Priority Boarding
The primary cardholder and any travel companions on the same reservation can board United-operated flights before general boarding is called.
Premier Upgrades on Award Tickets
If you are traveling on an award ticket as a MileagePlus Premier member, and you also hold the United Business Card card, you can take advantage of complimentary Premier upgrades on United-operated flights if there are seats available.
Primary Auto Rental Insurance and Roadside Assistance
While these perks don’t typically fall under the feature benefits umbrella, the United Business Card stands out from similar business cards because it offers primary auto rental insurance when renting a vehicle for business purposes. You can also receive roadside assistance up to the value of $50 when driving a car you own or lease (no rentals). You can only claim one service event for the same cause during any consecutive 7-day period.
Points Earning Potential and Category Bonuses
The United Business Card features an easy to understand bonus structure, earning 2 miles per $1 spent on United, local transit and commuting and at gas stations, office supply stores and restaurants. Plus, earn 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
While the earning structure is easy to understand, the United Business Card is not a card we recommend putting a lot of spend on. The only time it really makes sense to swipe the card is when paying for United tickets to take advantage of the free first checked bag benefit.
We regularly review the best rewards cards for each spending category, and each of the bonus categories assigned to the United Business Card contains cards with higher earn rates, including when paying for United revenue flights.
- Best Rewards Cards for Dining & Restaurants
- Best Credit Cards for Gas & Fuel
- Best Credit Cards for Office Supplies
- Best Rewards Cards for Travel Purchases
Instead, the United Business Card is a card you hold for the perks and benefits, which we cover in detail below.
Best Uses of United MileagePlus Miles
One of the best aspects of the MileagePlus program is the lack of carrier-imposed surcharges on award tickets. United often charges more miles than its Star Alliance counterparts for the same itinerary. However, your out-of-pocket costs are likely to be far less.
For example, many Star Alliance programs charge as much as $250-300 in taxes and fees on a one-way ticket. MileagePlus redemptions tend to fall in the $5.60-50 range.
Many other frequent flyer programs have let these taxes and fees creep higher year after year. United has held its ground and become an industry standout for reasonable out-of-pocket costs. For business owners who can generate plenty of miles through everyday spending, that feature alone makes MileagePlus a great program.
Which MileagePlus Redemptions Provide the Most Value?
Thanks to United's dynamic award pricing, domestic United awards start at just 5,000 miles each way. And there are plenty of options for travel within the U.S. on United miles.
That said, the best return for your United miles will likely be premium cabin international awards, which typically provide a much higher cent-per-mile value than domestic or economy tickets. Some of our favorite United award redemptions include:
- United Excursionist Perk: Only available on a round-trip itinerary. The excursionist perk allows you to make a stopover in the same region as your destination. Essentially, you get a free one-way segment within the destination region. The rules are flexible, which can produce some creative routing if you study the United's region definitions.
- Australia or New Zealand starting at 40K: United charges 40K in economy and 80K in business class for flights to Australia and New Zealand from the U.S. There are plenty of ways you can get to the South Pacific for fewer miles. But United typically has good availability if you book months in advance.
- Lufthansa first-class to Europe from 121K: One of the most aspirational hard products flying from the U.S. You can fly transatlantic in Lufthansa first-class for 121K United miles and tick off a bucket-list experience in the process.
For more details about how to maximize United's frequent flyer program, check out our complete guide to United MileagePlus.
Application Restrictions
The United Business Card is a business card, so you need to be able to prove you have legitimate business expenses to apply. It's also subject to Chase’s 5/24 policy. That means you won't be approved for this card if you’ve opened 5 or more consumer (personal) credit cards within the last 24 months.
As with all of Chase’s co-brand cards, if you currently hold the United Business Card, or you’ve received a signup bonus for it in the previous 24 months, you will not be eligible to receive a new cardmember bonus.
However, if you currently hold another United co-brand card, you are still eligible to receive the bonus on the United Business Card, including if you hold this card's predecessor, the United℠ Explorer Business Card, as these are considered separate products.
“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.”
It’s a great card to apply for if you’re holding off on personal card applications to get back under 5/24. The United Business Card card won’t add to your 5/24 count, as it only counts consumer cards.
United Business Card Application Strategy
Where does the United Business Card fit into your overall application strategy?
A lot depends on your 5/24 status. If you are well over 5/24, it likely won’t fit into your application strategy at all. However, the opportunity cost of getting back under 5/24 is too high with so many great offers from other issuers.
However, the United Business Card is a top card to consider if you are just starting in your points and miles journey, you’ve recently dropped back under 5/24, or you and a partner plan your application strategy in two-player mode.
Here’s why:
- While the United Business Card is subject to 5/24, it won’t count towards your 5/24 total. That means you'll still be able to apply for valuable Chase consumer cards.
- Affordable annual fee. When building out your rewards-card portfolio, limiting yearly fees is essential to maximize the value of your points and miles. With an ongoing cost of just $99, you can hang onto this card for the long haul without the overhead of a premium rewards card.
Final Thoughts
The current offer on the United Business Card of 75,000 miles offers plenty of value for United fans. And, with a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99 annual fee, the card is affordable to hold in your wallet for the long term.
Cardholders can take advantage of extra award availability, free United Club passes, free checked bags, and plenty of other perks. We see this card as a long-term keeper whose benefits more than account for the annual fee.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Are there any chase cards that are NOT subject to 5/24?
I’m not aware of any Chase cards that aren’t subject to 5/24 at this time
In a normal year, I’d be all over this. But…2020. As I’m rarely traveling now, probably not worth the time and effort.
I have just not been able to understand the rationale behind the $100 travel credit after 7 transactions of $100 or more in travel related expenses. They specifically exclude the actual airfare. Between all the other expenses, it seems like an economy plus purchase and baggage fees are the only expenses that would cross the $100 barrier. I don’t see anyone being able to spend $100 in a single transaction on wi-fi, inflight food & bev or anything else (maybe pet fees). It almost feels like this credit was designed to “NOT” be used by most people (especially someone with elite status is going to have a hard time)
Yes, this new cardmember bonus offer is not available to either: current cardmembers of this business credit card, or previous cardmembers of this business credit card who received a new Cardmember bonus for this business credit card within the last 24 months.
The checked bag fees are simply way too high, sorry.
While I don’t love flying on United, the fact that Chase keeps issuing new versions of the United cards keeps sucking me back in. Just had both personal and biz United cards last year and can already cycle them.
Considering this as United will be starting nonstop service to JNB/Africa from EWR in the spring.
I’d much rather sign up for this card and get the 75k points for free then downgrade at the end of the year than pay $1400+ for 40k points as noted in the other post on buying points
It would be really hard for me to justify being a business to Chase. Especially today when banks are hesitant to extend credit.
However, I agree that spreading your spend over several offers would likely yield a better return.
It just appears these points are getting harder to use every day
I wish they offered 100K for this card.
75K is just a little too little IMHO.
What are the requirements to apply for a United Business Card?
Chase doesn’t publish specific criteria for what qualifies. Chase can be tougher than other issuers about requiring business income, but it’s still possible to get a small business card with a fairly small business. We discuss some tips and myths vs. truth on getting a business card in this post: https://awardwallet.com/blog/how-you-can-get-a-business-credit-card/
Trying to find biz seats for travel in Feb. with ability to use Excursionist is ridiculous. Miles required have certainly increased!
Ít hard to find 100K deals and while the threshold is high I believe it is doable. Thanks for sharing!
Before jumping, you should look a little more because these pandemic days, 100k or even larger deals are around.
Hmmm. Might be time to pull the trigger on this one. Do you also earn additional miles by having this card and using the MPX app? (25% bonus)
The free leg you get on international flights with United really makes this bonus huge. I did Louisville to Naples, Venice to Oslo, and London to DC for 3 people for 180,000(60,000/person) miles last year. What a trip!
That’s really good. How much did you pay in taxes and fees?
Can you get this if you recently cancelled a Sapphire Reserve?
Yes, there shouldn’t be any reason cancelling a CSR card would impact a new United Biz card application as long as you meet the 5/24 eligibility criteria.
The Sapphire is a whole different product line so as long as you didn’t do anything to get blacklisted from Chase, absolutely.
I feel like $10,000 minimum spend is more achievable for a small business as opposed to a mile-and-points gamer who claims they have a business to get the card.
Agreed, it’s do-able, but the 3 month window for the $10k spend really puts the crunch on, unless one has a large purchase or purchases already planned.
Oh boy, $10k spend is too much, esp that a lot of avenues for MS spending are probably no good.
Good to know that only higher level elites and cardholders get access to more award tickets. I thought it was anyone with elite status.
Well, they have come up with more “exclusive” member benefits over the years 🙂
Good bonus, but a high minimum spend requirement.
…ever bigger welcome bonuses for an ever smaller pool of qualified applicants.
The Premier Upgrades on award tickets is interesting though I’m not sure how often you would get to use them as those seats are usually all filled. I also have a question about the 100 dollar United Travel credit: is is required to use the card 7 times with purchases of 100 each time (So at least 700 dollars in purchases) or is 7 uses that make at least 100 dollars total for the 100 credit to be triggered?
The credit requires 7 “United” purchases of $100 or more, so the total spending would be at least $700. For most this would be flight purchases, so you’d probably find it hard to hit exactly $100 on each one.
Would 7 x $100 gift certificates be sufficient?
That is the $100 question! The Card Benefits summary says:
If anyone has experimented with this, please share your experience.
Seven uses of at least $100, but you can shoot for two one way tickets rather than a single round trip.
I’ve looked this deal over, and it seems to be a very workable option. I find the $99 fee doable. It is not always necessary to incur a large cash expenditure to realize good point acquisition. 100k points is a good value..
$10,000 is not a large cash expenditure? Maybe compared to the recent Cap One Biz card offers, but this one is definitely not peanuts.
not sure if I qualify as a business?
@Ron Do you sell things online at any of the popular marketplace websites or apps? Do you plan to? If so, you legitimately qualify as a sole-proprietorship. Remember, your business does not have to turn a profit as you start it up or operate it. In either instance, a biz cc is a good way to keep expenses separate so you can better track your business’ profitability.
Don’t see a lot of 100,000 points offers these days, though $10,000 in spend is pretty hefty. Too bad I’ve had this card before and I’m way above 5/24. I just used up almost all my UA miles, so I’d otherwise go for it. Thanks for the heads up.
$10k in spend could easily be three signup bonuses worth way more than 100,000 miles.
Exactly. Yes, 100k miles is understandably eyeopening at first. However, the large spend should have you pause and do a little math. How many miles are you getting per $1 of spend? Here, I agree that spreading your spend over several offers would very likely yield a better return.
A couple questions:
1. If I already booked flights yesterday on the Chase Portal and also using Singapore to fly UA, will getting this card now allow me to get free bags? I see it says you need to purchase with the card but there’s nothing to pay with the portal. Singapore I did have to pay the $5.60 so I wonder if I could try to get that refunded and pay with the UA card?
2. Is there a non AF card or would I need to go personal card? I don’t know if ill want to keep an AF card.
Thanks for posting, this is interesting! Although spend is a bit steep. Is 100k miles the all time best bonus offer?
Well, very simple math – for 100 K miles I can book 4 nights in my preferred hotel in London, each worth 169 pounds
For just 99 $ fee I can get more than 800 $ in hotel stay
You can book a hotel with United miles? I’m very confused. Booking with United would give at least $1,500 in value. How is only getting $800 from a hotel a good thing?
I do not think that booking hotel nights with miles is a good strategy.
That’s a really, really poor way to use the mailes goldena.
The miles required for overseas hotel bookings updated continuously and reflect the practically real-time foreign exchange rates.
Yes, it may be a poor way to use miles, but if a poor value redemption is still profitable relative to the annual fee paid, then that’s quite the compliment to the offer.