United Business Card Review

The United Business Card is best for business owners who fly United Airlines often and want to earn more miles to use for award flights. You’ll need good or excellent credit to qualify, but this card’s miles-earning structure and perks are worth pursuing.

• Generous earning structure and sign-up bonus: Unlike some airline credit cards that offer 2 miles per $1 spent only on airline purchases, this card offers double miles at restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores, as well as when you charge eligible local transit and commuting costs. As a new cardholder, you can also score a sign-up bonus worth more than $2,000 if you meet the spending requirement in the first three months.
• Frequent flyer perks: This card gives you and a companion on your itinerary a free checked bag on United-operated flights. You also get to board the airplane before general boarding takes place. 
• Valuable miles: United’s miles are worth an average 2.16 cents when redeemed for flights, more than those of any other major U.S. airline researched by The Balance.

• High spending threshold to earn sign-up bonus: While the sign-up bonus is sweet, you have to spend $10,000 in the first three months of having the card to earn it, which may be unrealistic for businesses with smaller budgets. Competing cards have smaller bonuses, but they also have more attainable spending minimums of $2,500 or $5,000.

This card offers an impressive 100,000 bonus miles to new cardholders who spend at least $10,000 in their first three months with an account. That’s a pretty steep spending requirement, relatively speaking, but for business owners who can swing it, this bonus is quite lucrative. In fact, at an average of 2.16 cents each, we value 100,000 miles at a whopping $2,160. Most airline cards offer fewer miles that are often less valuable.

You’ll earn 2 miles per $1 spent with the airline, at restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores, as well as on local transit and commuting costs. You’ll get 1 mile per $1 spent on everything else you buy.

And remember, having free employee cards means you can earn miles when your employees make work-related charges, too. 

Miles transfer to your United MileagePlus account, and that’s where you’ll monitor, manage, and redeem them.

You can cash in miles for flights with United Airlines or its partners to more than 350 destinations around the globe. You can also redeem rewards for flight upgrades, hotel stays, cruises, merchandise, gift cards, and experiences like concerts or Broadway shows.

Considering United miles are most valuable when redeemed for airfare, you’ll get the most bang for your buck with this card if you redeem your miles for free flights instead of gift cards or hotel stays. The value of those rewards can vary considerably.

On the earning side, you may want to consider pairing this card with a personal or business credit card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Chase lets you transfer Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines at a 1-to-1 ratio, and several of Chase’s cards offer better points earning rates in some spending categories. When you’re ready to redeem, transfer your Ultimate Rewards to your United account.

The United Business Card offers a slew of important perks many credit cards leave out. These are the ones the editors of The Balance consider “excellent.” 

• Priority boarding and a free checked bag: You and a companion traveling on the same reservation can board prior to general boarding—and you’ll each enjoy a free checked bag. 
• United Club passes: You’ll receive two airport lounge passes once you become a cardholder and two more every year thereafter on your cardholder anniversary. 
• Primary auto rental coverage: Qualify for primary auto rental coverage when renting a car for business purposes. Coverage is good for up to the cash value of the car for theft and collision damage, although coverage is not valid for certain types of vehicles and in certain destinations. 
• Insurance coverage for lost or delayed luggage: Coverage for lost luggage is good for up to $3,000 per passenger when luggage is lost by a common carrier. If luggage is delayed by six hours or more, you’ll be reimbursed up to $100 per day (for up to three days) to cover the cost of incidentals.
• Insurance coverage for trip cancellation, interruption, or delay: Get reimbursed for up to $10,000 per trip in prepaid travel expenses when your trip is cancelled or interrupted for a covered reason. For trip delays, you’re covered for up to $500 of expenses.

• Insurance for stolen or damaged purchases
• Extended warranties
• Concierge for booking event tickets, travel, and other services

J.D. Power’s 2019 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study ranked Chase fourth among 11 credit card issuers. Chase scored 807 out of 1,000 possible points in the study, whereas the national issuer average was 806. 

As a major credit card issuer Chase offers major credit card issuer customer service. You can access your account online or via an app, and there are multiple ways to reach a customer service rep. If you sign up for Chase’s Credit Journey service, you’ll have access to a free VantageScore credit score and other credit monitoring tools. 

Chase offers industry standard security features like fraud alerts, zero liability for fraudulent purchases, plus credit monitoring if you sign up for Credit Journey. 

Fees for the United Business Card, including the $99 annual fee, are pretty standard for a mid-tier airline card. There’s no foreign transaction fee, making this card a good option if you’re traveling outside the U. S.