TLDR: The United℠ Business Card offers a huge bonus for business owners. It provides valuable travel perks like lounge access, free bags, and a fast track to United Premier status.
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If you’re a United loyalist and you happen to fly United Airlines frequently, you might’ve come across United Quest℠ Card, which is another United co-branded credit card that offers lucrative perks and benefits to cardholders.
However, if you’re a business owner who happens to be a loyal customer of United, you might find even more value in the United Quest’s business card counterpart: United℠ Business Card.
The United℠ Business Card offers a bonus of up to 110,000 United MileagePlus miles + 2,000 PQP after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening (100K + 10K more miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first 3 months).
110,000 United MileagePlus miles can stretch your travels well beyond the $150 annual fee, either through multiple redemptions in Economy or a long-haul redemption in United’s Polaris business class.
For example, you could fly from New York (EWR) to Tokyo (HND) in United Airlines’ Polaris business class for 100k United MileagePlus miles plus taxes and fees. Polaris on this route typically costs around $4,000 to $5,000 a seat, meaning that you’ll be able to save thousands of dollars on flying business class, covering the annual fee by more than twentyfold.
If you wanted to be more conservative with your miles and save them up for multiple redemptions, you could also go down that route.
For example, you could fly on one of United’s newest destinations/routes from New York (EWR) to Nuuk, Greenland (GOH) for just 40,000 United MileagePlus miles plus taxes and fees. This route normally costs around $800 in Economy, especially given that you’re not only flying to a destination with pristine scenery and nature, but also a destination that is considered remote and sparsely populated.
With these redemptions, you can easily stretch the value of your points beyond 2 cents a mile, ensuring that you redeem your points for ample value.
If you ever see a long-haul Polaris seat available for 100,000 miles, I highly recommend booking the seat as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to book these valuable redemptions as they are guaranteed to disappear quickly.
United℠ Business Card earns bonus miles across a variety of spending categories, making it even easier for cardholders to accrue United MileagePlus miles that they can redeem towards flights. Here’s how the earning rate breaks down:
You can also accrue Premier qualifying points (PQP), making it easier for you to earn Premier status with United. You can earn 1 Premier® qualifying point (PQP) for every $20 spent on purchases with your United Business card, up to 4,000 PQP per year.
Additionally, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile better-together anniversary bonus when you have United℠ Business Card and a personal United credit card.
I would pair together United℠ Business Card and United Quest℠ Card for the 5,000-mile anniversary bonus, as well as to cover both personal spending categories and business spending categories.
I’d use the United Quest℠ Card for United flights purchases as it earns 10x miles compared to 8x miles for the United Business. I’d also use the United Quest for other eligible United purchases as it earns 3x miles compared to 2x miles.
I’d use the United Business to cover purchase categories that the United Quest doesn’t, and vice versa. However, when it comes to everyday spending, I’d mostly use other cards that earn more flexible points, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
With Chase points, you have the freedom to transfer your points to eligible partners, including United. However, the miles you earn with United credit cards will be United MileagePlus miles and will only be available for redemption via United.
On top of the up to 110,000 bonus miles that are part of the introductory offer (100k + 10k after adding an authorized user in the first 3 months), you can also earn 2,000 Premier qualifying points (PQP) after hitting the required spend. Premier qualifying points allow you to attain Premier status with United MileagePlus, unlocking even more benefits depending on your status.
You can unlock United MileagePlus status tiers by accruing a combination of Premier qualifying flights (PQF) and Premier qualifying points (PQP), or by just accruing PQP only.
Premier Silver | Premier Gold | Premier Platinum | Premier 1K® | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PQF + PQP | 15 PQF + 5,000 PQP | 30 PQF + 10,000 PQP | 45 PQF + 15,000 PQP | 60 PQF + 22,000 PQP |
PQP only | 6,000 PQP |
Here are the benefits that you get with each status tier:
With United℠ Business Card, you’ll get 2 United Club one-time access passes per year. United Club is United’s network of airport lounges, allowing you to relax and enjoy amenities before your flight.
These two one-time passes have over $100 in value, and you can enjoy a variety of amenities such as complimentary beverages, snacks, high-speed wireless internet, and other amenities, depending on location.
United℠ Business Card is a solid credit card for frequent travelers, as it offers many benefits that are particularly useful for anyone who flies with United. These benefits include, but are not limited to:
On top of these benefits, you can also unlock an additional benefit for a premium spend requirement. You can earn 2 continental U.S. Economy Plus® seat upgrades after spending $25,000 each calendar year. I doubt I’ll find any value in this benefit due to its exorbitant spending requirement.
United℠ Business Card offers multiple credits that cardholders can apply towards their travel or other lifestyle needs. These credits include:
In short, I think I’ll be able to find enough use out of the card to justify the $150 annual fee. I know that I’ll be able to use the $100 rideshare credit every year. This effectively brings my net annual cost for the card down the $50. The other credits cover more niche situations, and I’m not sure that I’d be able to use more than $150 in credits a year.
However, $50 is worth the benefits that I’ll get with the card, especially with the first free checked bag benefit, priority boarding, United Club access passes, and most importantly: the introductory offer.
United℠ Business Card stands out as a valuable travel companion for business owners who frequently fly United. Between its exceptionally high welcome offer, strong earning rates on United purchases, and a wide variety of travel-related perks, the card delivers more than enough value to justify its $150 annual fee, especially if you can take advantage of the rideshare credit, United Club access passes, and other credits.
While not every bonus credit may be useful to every cardholder, the core travel benefits and MileagePlus mile-earning potential make this card a solid option. Paired with a personal United card like United Quest℠ Card, you can maximize your MileagePlus earnings even further.
Whether you're looking to unlock Polaris business class flights for less or just want a reliable travel card for your business expenses, United℠ Business Card is worth considering, especially while the generous introductory offer is still available.
United℠ Business Card is a strong travel credit card for business owners who frequently fly United Airlines, offering up to 110,000 bonus MileagePlus® miles and 2,000 PQPs after meeting initial requirements. With generous earning categories, like 7x on United flights, 2x on dining, gas, transit, and more, the card makes it easy to rack up rewards. Travel perks include priority boarding, a free checked bag, two United Club passes per year, and a $125 United Travel Credit. While not all lifestyle credits will appeal to every user, the card easily justifies its $150 annual fee for those who can leverage the rich welcome bonus and core travel benefits.
12,000 PQP
18,000 PQP |
28,000 PQP |
