Some of you may remember the United Platinum Class Visa Card. It’s a no-longer-offered Premium United co-brand credit card that came out when Continental merged with United.
If you have this card, you won’t after March 21st. That’s the day that your United Platinum Class Visa will convert to a new United Quest card. At the same time, you will be able to apply anew for a United Quest card. I’m not yet sure if having a United Explorer or United Club card will disqualify you from applying for a new United Quest card.
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United Quest Earn Rate
The Quest will earn 3X United miles on United purchases.
Rather intriguingly, it will earn 2X on Star Alliance purchases. It’s intriguing only because I can’t think of another card that earns a bonus on an entire airline alliance, however, since you can earn 3X points on any airline in the world with a Chase Sapphire Reserve or 2X on any airline in the world with a $95 annual fee Chase Sapphire Preferred, I don’t see a real benefit here.
You’ll also earn 2X miles on “Other Travel” (so why break out the Star Alliance 2X earn rate?) and 2X on dining and streaming services. Once again, your Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3X on dining and Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 2X.
Everything else earns just 1 mile per dollar.
United Quest Benefits
- Two 5,000 mile award flight credits each year after account anniversary. It appears to me that you get 5,000 miles “back” after you book an award flight and I don’t see any mention of a mileage minimum to spend, so that could be a fun deal for short hop award flights.
- $125 annual United purchase credit. This is a statement credit against UA purchases including airfare and most things you can buy related to a flight, like bags, upgrades, seats, and Wifi.
- Earn 500 PQP for every $12,000 in card spend, up to 3,000 PQP in a Calendar Year (I need full confirmation on this). Valid up to 1K status as long as the required PQF requirements are also met.
- 2 free checked bags
- Priority boarding
- $100 in Global Entry or TSA Precheck once every 4 years.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Premier upgrades on award tickets. Prioritized after the lowest paid fare class, a Premier member with this card will get upgraded on award tickets.
- 25% statement credit on onboard purchases (food, drinks, and wifi)
- Trip Cancellation / Interruption insurance
- Trip Delay reimbursement
- Car rental collision / damage waiver (I believe this will be primary)
- Purchase protection (details TBD)
- Roadside assistance (details TBD)
United Quest Card Annual Fee
The old United Platinum Class Visa Card had a $140 annual fee.
The United Quest card will have a $250 annual fee. However, a lot fo the above benefits are new to the card and worth more than the $110 differential for United loyalists.
The United Quest will be added to an already long list of United Airlines credit cards, with 4 others currently offered for new applicants and 6 more that are no longer available for new applicants.
Once the card launches, I expect to have more thoughts but, for now, we’ll just standby.
United Explorer Card Bonus Offer 40,000 bonus MileagePlus miles: when you spend $2,000 in your first 3 months | How to apply for this offer.
Questions?
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