The New United Business Card review: Free checked bags, priority boarding, and annual travel credits

Business owners loyal to United Airlines should consider The New United℠ Business Card because of its earning power, elite benefits, and travel protections. As a new cardholder, you can earn a generous welcome bonus based on your spending. Plus, you can add employee cards at no extra charge to earn miles on their purchases.

While the United Business Card’s earning power is capped at 2x miles per dollar, the real value is in its wide array of complimentary benefits. Use these benefits to unlock huge savings for your business when traveling:

• First checked bag free: Get the first checked bag free for yourself and one travel companion. This is a savings of up to $160 on a roundtrip flight for two people.

• Earn up to 4,000 Premier qualifying points (PQP): Accelerate your path to United MileagePlus elite status based on your annual spending. You’ll receive 1 PQP for every $20 you spend, up to a maximum of 4,000 PQP per year.

• Two United Club passes each year: Receive two complimentary United Club passes each year.

• $125 United credit: Earn a $125 United travel credit (in the form of United TravelBank cash) after purchasing five United flights of $100 or more each calendar year with your card.

• Priority boarding: The cardmember and others on the same reservation can board before general boarding to get on the plane sooner.

• Inflight discounts: Use your United Business Card to save 25% on inflight purchases of drinks, snacks, and Wi-Fi on United flights. The discount also applies when buying premium drinks inside the United Club.

• Seat upgrades: Earn two continental U.S. Economy Plus seat upgrades after spending $25,000 each calendar year.

• 5,000 anniversary bonus miles: Receive 5,000 bonus miles on your business card anniversary when you have both the United Business Card and any United personal credit card.

• $25 FareLock credit: Receive up to $25 in credits on FareLock purchases yearly when you buy FareLock on United flights.

• $100 United Hotels credit: Receive up to $100 in credits annually on prepaid hotel stays purchased through United Hotels with your card.

• $100 rideshare credit: Enroll to receive up to $100 in credits each calendar year on rideshare purchases when paying with your card.

• $50 United travel credit: Receive up to $50 in United travel credits annually when you book Avis or Budget car rentals directly through cars.united.com and pay with your card.

• $100 JSX credit: Receive up to $100 in credits annually on flights purchased directly through JSX with your United℠ Business Card.*

• $120 Instacart credit: Receive up to $120 in Instacart credits each calendar year for purchases made directly through Instacart with your card.

• Free employee cards: You can add employee cards to your account at no charge. Each card has a unique credit card number, so you can track spending and set up individual spending limits.

• Travel protections: Receive complimentary travel protections when using your United Business Card to book eligible travel. These protections include primary rental car insurance, travel accident insurance, baggage delay insurance, lost baggage reimbursement, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and trip delay reimbursement.

• Purchase protection: Eligible purchases are automatically covered with purchase protection and extended warranty coverage.

• No foreign transaction fees: Avoid fees of up to 3% when purchasing outside the U.S.

Related: Best credit cards with no foreign transaction fees

The United Business Card offers many ways to earn travel rewards toward future flights.

Using your United Business Card to make a purchase with United Airlines earns 2x miles on every dollar.

But when you book flights with United Airlines, you can earn up to 7 total miles per dollar — 5x miles on fare as a United MileagePlus member and 2x miles with your card. You can also boost your mileage when you book hotels using United Hotels — 2x miles as a United MileagePlus member, 2x miles as a United Business cardmember, and 1x additional miles from United for a total of 5x miles.

Additionally, you’ll earn 2x miles on inflight food, beverages, and Wi-Fi. Upgrades, baggage fees, and other United charges will also earn 2x miles.

Take advantage of this card’s bonus categories to earn 2x miles on eligible purchases, including dining, gas stations, local transit and commuting, and office supply stores.

Even when you don’t earn bonus miles, you’ll still earn at least 1x mile per dollar on all your other eligible purchases. This can help your spending add up quickly toward booking award flights with your miles.

Referring friends and family

You can typically earn up to 100,000 United MileagePlus miles per year when referrals are approved using your link to apply for any United credit card. You’ll receive 10,000 miles for each referral.

Using United personal and business cards

When you have both a United Business Card and any personal United Airlines credit card, you’ll receive an annual bonus of 5,000 miles on your business card anniversary. This “better-together” bonus rewards cardholders for earning United miles on personal and business expenses.

Business owners can add employee cards for free and set individual spending limits on each card. This allows you to earn rewards on their purchases while keeping track of their spending and limiting your risk.

Read more: How to add an authorized user to a business credit card

United Airlines offers numerous redemption options for its miles, including flights, hotels, rental cars, airline fees, shopping, experiences, and more. However, the most valuable options tend to revolve around booking flights and upgrades with the airline.

Here are a few ways you can spend your miles for maximum value.

• Book flights on United Airlines. Use your miles to book an award flight in every cabin class, from Economy to First Class.

• Money + Miles flights. If you don’t have enough miles or want to save them for another redemption, you can combine cash and miles to book an award flight.

• Award flights on partner airlines. United Airlines is part of the Star Alliance, which unlocks over 20 additional airlines for you to redeem miles to travel across the globe.

• Upgrades on United flights. Buy a ticket in one class, then use your MileagePlus miles to upgrade to a premium seat. Pricing varies based on destination and fare class.

• United Club membership. You can buy a membership to access the United Club airport lounges when flying on United or one of its partner airlines. Prices vary based on your elite status.

The United Business Card is ideal for business owners who prefer flying United Airlines and want to rack up miles on their business travel and expenses. This card is best for people who want an accelerated path to elite status and fly United often enough that savings from the card can justify the annual fee.

• Numerous valuable travel benefits and perks when flying on United Airlines, including a free checked bag

• Bonus miles on both United and everyday purchases

• Earn PQP toward elite status based on spending

• Earning rate offers meager bonus category multipliers, limiting miles earned

• No intro APR offer on purchases or balance transfers

• Annual fee of $150

The United Business Card is a Visa business credit card, so it is accepted almost everywhere you can use a credit card. Visa is one of the most widely accepted credit cards, so it is a solid choice within the U.S. or when traveling internationally. The card does not charge foreign transaction fees, so you won’t be hit with fees of up to 3% on purchases outside the U.S.

Business owners should use the card when booking United flights and on bonus category purchases to maximize the miles they can earn on business purchases.

Chase issues the United Business Card, so you need to use your Chase account to make payments.

• Log into your account online at Chase.com

• Make payments through the Chase mobile app

• Pay using cash or check at a Chase ATM

• Over the phone: (800) 436-7958

• In-person at a Chase Branch

• Mail payments to Cardmember Services, P.O. Box 6294, Carol Stream, IL 60197-6294

Read more about today’s best Chase credit cards

The United Business Card is an excellent choice for United loyalists, but it may not be the best small business credit card for your situation. Before applying, consider these alternatives to find the best fit for your business spending and travel needs.

Why we like it: The Ink Business Preferred Card is fantastic for business owners because it earns 3x bonus points on the first $150,000 you spend each year on common business categories. The Ultimate Rewards points you earn with your Ink Business Preferred can also be transferred to over a dozen airline and hotel partners, including United Airlines.

Read our full Ink Business Preferred Credit Card review

Why we like it: If you’re a business owner who doesn’t want to worry about bonus categories, the Capital One Venture X Business could be a solid choice. It earns an unlimited 2x miles on every purchase (plus a boosted 5x on flights and vacations through Capital One Business Travel and 10x on hotels and rental cars through Capital One Business Travel). While it has a $395 annual fee, it comes with a $300 annual travel credit for Capital One Business Travel bookings and 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary to help offset the cost.

Why we like it: While the United Club Card is a personal card instead of a business one, it is ideal for frequent United flyers who value airport lounge access. It costs $695 annually but includes a complimentary United Club membership, which allows entry for the cardholder and eligible travel companions and is worth at least $750 annually.

Read our full United Club Card review

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