No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
@afbar1114 wrote:
in order to get those benefits you MUST book the ticket on your united card.
As you all have pointed out, I missed that small detail. I've heard rumors to the contrary, but the terms and conditions say what they say. Baggage terms here.
The priority boarding is NOT dependent on the card used to purchase the itinerary, however.
OK, ok. So the MP Explorer has a place in the spending rotation, but it still stays out of the wallet. Signature graphic remains the same.
@djrez4 wrote:
@bribro wrote:
@djrez4 wrote:
You'll notice the Explorer is not there. Once I hit the bonus spend, it will remain around only for free bags, priority boarding, and the secret-squirrel access to more award seats. With baggage fees at $25 for the first bag, the card pays for itself in four solo flights (two with my wife). But, it gets no spend because, even on United flights, the CSP earns better.
So there you have it folks. Rez is in the garden. And I'm not mad about it, either.
This was my first thought as well, but I have decided to still put United flights/charges on my MP Explorer card, along with any car rental because of the primary CDW. The award rates are similar (2x vs. 2.14x) but I justify missing out on that 0.14% with the hope that this additional spend on the card will incentivize Chase to give me a better retention bonus when my AF comes due.
I do want to keep this card because I've had good luck with CPUs on award tickets. My favorite was booking a RT domestic saver award for 25k UR points (no booking fees because of my UA status). I got bumped to first class for both legs, so in that particular case I got what was a $3,500 RT first class ticket for 25k UR points. Not bad.
I see the benefit of your method, but your calculation neglects the fact that booking the same United revenue flight through the UR portal gets you 3.21 points per dollar with the CSP. A UR portal United purchase with the MP Explorer earns you one mile and one point - UR United purchases code as tripchrg.com, not United. Does that change your metric?
Good point haha. Honestly, I totally forgot about the 3rd point you get for using the UR portal! Good catch. Do you still get the MP miles when using the UR portal though?
I'll still put the occasional flight on this card to try and get my annual spend above $5k. Perhaps I'm kidding myself, but I guess we can share retention bonus stories a year from now.
I'm there. Although, I admit that I snuck in a successful Amex MB Platinum app beforehand.
Chase capped you at 4 cards total in 12 months? It was amount of cards not total limit?
@djrez4 wrote:I appear to have reached my limit with Chase.
They approved me for a Mileage Plus Explorer card this afternoon, but wouldn't push through the Ink Plus application, saying I'd applied for too many Chase cards specifically, and cards in general, in the last 12 months.
I've been dishing advice to everyone else over the past couple of days. It's time to heed it myself.
So, in the spirit of introspection, I've reduced my signature image from "every single card I have"/Costanza:
to the current cards I intend to carry and use on a regular basis:
You'll notice the Explorer is not there. Once I hit the bonus spend, it will remain around only for free bags, priority boarding, and the secret-squirrel access to more award seats. With baggage fees at $25 for the first bag, the card pays for itself in four solo flights (two with my wife). But, it gets no spend because, even on United flights, the CSP earns better.
So there you have it folks. Rez is in the garden. And I'm not mad about it, either.
You have a bounty of cards......it should be easy (or easier) to garden!
@scenery_guy wrote:Chase capped you at 4 cards total in 12 months? It was amount of cards not total limit?
Three personal, 1 business. I'm not sure if it was the number of Chase cards or the overall number of new accounts. It could have been both. There have been quite a few in the last 12 months.
iMPRESSIVE AND CONGRATULATIONS