United Mileage Plus® Platinum Business Card

17,500 Bonus Miles after the First Purchase 2 Miles for Every $1 Spent on United Purchases 1 Mile for Every $1 Spent on All Other Purchases Free One-Way, 1,000 Mile, One-Class Upgrade Certificate

Review: The United Mileage Plus® Platinum Business Card, issued by Chase, is designed for those who have a very good credit history and frequently travel with United. Through the reward program, cardholders earn one mile per dollar spent on all purchases, two miles per dollar spent on United purchases, and additional miles through participating restaurants. Cardholders receive 17,500 bonus miles after the first purchase is made with the card. Cardholders also receive a $25 United discount travel certificate and a free one-way, 1,000 mile, one-class upgrade certificate after their first purchase. There is a yearly limit of 150,000 miles that can be earned. However, those who are Mileage Plus Premier®, Premier Executive®, or Premier Executive® 1K® members are exempt from mileage limitations. Earned miles do not expire as long as the cardmember earns or redeems miles at least once within a three-year period. The card has a slightly high annual fee of $75 for the primary cardholder and $25 for each additional cardholder. It also has a high interest rate for purchases and balance transfers for a business card (although the rate is just above average for a reward card). Those who plan to occasionally carry a large revolving balance may find doing so costly due to the "Two Cycles Average Daily Balance" method used by this credit card to determine finance charges, which ends up costing more to maintain an occasional balance as compared to the "Average Daily Balance" method used by many credit card issuers. A variety of common platinum business cardholder features can be found with this card, such as auto rental insurance, up to $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance, and up to $3,000 in lost luggage insurance. Therefore, those who plan to pay in full each month (to avoid costly finance charges), frequently fly with United to take advantage of the reward program, and would like the additional travel services and discount certificates will benefit most from what the United Mileage Plus® Platinum Business Card has to offer.

Date of Review: 2006-03-17 00:00:00

Notes: See website for complete terms and conditions of card usage and application disclosure.

Additional Perks: Various Internet account related services. Up to $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance. Up to $3,000 in lost luggage insurance. Auto rental insurance. Various travel and emergency assistance services. Quarterly management reports (upon request). See website for additional benefits.