CPMaverick

Yes, the sign up bonus gives you Choices Points.

WineCountryUA

From the Platinum Card sign-up site
"Miles are earned on net purchases only. Miles are not earned on balance transfers, cash advances, any checks that access your account, or fees, including fees for products that protect or insure the balance of the cardmember's account. "

It is odd, different demographic targeting???

WineCountryUA

Added, thanks
The collective knowledge of the FT community works again

aku

I had a flight to DEN canceled by the Christmas storm and ended up a few hundred miles shy of 125k. No cheap tickets were available that week on such short notice. . . . so WineCountryUA was right: I was desparate.

As for the other comments: Point well taken. I've updated my post.

BigE

Nice primer. I have one qualification though:

Yes, your CHOICES cannot exceed your RDMs. So, if your choices and RDM balances are similar, you might think that redeeming non-choice RDMs would wipe out CHOICES as well. But that is true only a limited sense. Redeeming non-choice RDMs temporarily reduces "available" CHOICES but does not reduce "potential" CHOICES.

Example: You have 25k RDM and 20k Choices. You use 25k miles for a domestic award ticket, bringing both balances to zero. Then you earn 10k RDM on a trip. You should now find that 10k CHOICES have been magically restored (even without any new credit card purchases). Your CHOICES will continue to rise back up to the initial 20k "potential", assuming you've not using them up directly.

At least, that's what happened to me. Has anyone had the opposite experience (CHOICES permanently wiped out)?

I defy anyone to get a Chase or United agent to understand this question, let alone answer it correctly.

WineCountryUA

BigE, interesting observation and I could see how it would be this way

Available Choice Points = MINUMUM ( RDMs, Choice Points net bank/total ).

this would say the Choice Points are capped by your RDMs but the excess is not erased but temporarily unavailable and is banked.

I have not seen anything in the T&Cs about this and this is the first I have heard this reported.

Interested in hearing additional feedback on others' experience.
Can we "document" this as how the program works?

CPMaverick

Good info, I've never gotten my RDM bonus below my Choices balance before.

WineCountryUA

Althought the T&Cs for the Choices program required tickets to be puchsed on united.com to redeem Choice Points, there seems to some other appraoches allowed.

To redeem, purchase any airline ticket on united.com with your Mileage Plus credit card. Flights purchased through any other source, such as United General Reservations, United Vacations, travel agencies or other travel websites, are not eligible.

example: Recently purchased a pair of tickets using a MP VISA Zone Fare Companion coupon. That had to be done on the phone and I had no trouble redeeming Choice Points.

Ticket purchase was not labeled on the MP Visa Chase card as
UNITED AIR 016xxxxxxxxxx ROSEMONT IL
but instead was
UNITED AIR 016xxxxxxxxxx E-TKT MI

Have folks found any other exceptions?

dfreeman02

No documentation, but I have never redeemed Choice Points, and for the last few months my Choices balance has always been equal to my RDM balance, bouncing up and down as I accrue miles through flying and through Chase, and redeem them for upgrades. This would support the "bank" hypothesis.

dlwalt

Hope this doesn't sound to stupid, I can take my Choice Points (current balance (71k) and credit my credit card $710 since I purchased a $1400 ticket last month from IAD - BER. In other words, this is just a way for me to cut my cc balance down by $710.

WineCountryUA

Yes, if the ticket meets the requirements (purchased on united.com, with MP Visa, with in the last 90 days, ...) and remembering you will lose the 71K Choice Points and RDMs.

The Choices redemption is essentially a general credit to the CC account and a partial redemption (say $710 on a $1,400 ticket) is allowed.

Modern 49er

Thought I saw something about this previously, but couldn't find it...

If you purchase an e-fare ticket on united.com, can you use Chase choices to get a credit for the purchase amount?

The scenario:

E-fares IAD-SFO for $305.
Purchase on united.com.
Use e-500 or CR-1 upgrades.
Use 30,500 choices for $305 credit to chase account.

Anyone see any problem with this?

Thanks.

mahasamatman

Yes. Chase only sees a United ticket purchase - they have no idea what fare you paid for, nor do they care.

WineCountryUA

No problem with e-tickets. a ticket purchased on united.com is the only requirement as mahasamatman stated.

Also the Choices credit can be any amount up to the ticket fare. So, if you only had (or only wanted to use) 28,000 Choice Points, you could get $280 credit on on the $305 ticket.

RichardHere

Sorry, but this program is making me feel a bit more dimwitted than usual. I am trying to figure out just how valuable this Chase Choices program is for an international ticket. I am sure the FT mavens can explain it in a way for the kid who has to take the special bus.

Let's say I want to travel to Narita or Beijing in Business and I have not recently robbed a bank or married up, so I can't afford to buy a busines seat. As I understand it, my options are to:

1. Fork over the money for an upgradeable fare of, let's say $1,500 and apply a SWU and hope I clear because you KNOW that there won't be a confirmed seat available before Flag Day;
2. Hand over 200,000 miles from my Mileage Plus account for a standard award ticket, pay a modest ticketing fee and confirm everything pretty much right away; or
3. Buy the $1,500 ticket with my Chase United card, call Chase and use up 150,000 Choice points and 150,000 Mileage Plus miles. I can also apply a SWU to that fare and hope for the best as in option 1 above.

The advantage I can see here to Option 3 over Option 2 is that I can save 50,000 miles from my Mileage Plus account and I will earn RDM and EQM on the flight, which may help me hit some milestone. The risk is that the SWU does not clear and I'm in E+ for a 14 hour flight focusing my envy ray on the cabin ahead of me for the whole time.

The advantage of Option 3 to Option 1 is that I get the ticket without any cash outlay, but I have been dinged for 150,000 United Mileage Plus RDM, 150,000 Chase Choice Points, and, as mentioned, remain cheerfully optimistic that my SWU clears.

The sure thing would be Option 2 and another 50,000 miles from my account, but then I won't earn EQM or RDM.

Is that pretty much right?

Many thanks.