Originally Posted by
JustinNashville
Hoping to get some help here!
I have the Reserve card and love the benefits of minimum 4.5% travel/dining.
I'm flying out of BNA and use UA a lot. I have 82k Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
I currently have Silver on UA, but will lose it this year due to the PQD requirement. I booked my Asia trip using points. Assumption: I'll qualify in 2018 for the PQM or PQS. I will not qualify based on PQD.
Does it make sense to get the Mileage Plus card and use it for my UA spend and enough other spending to get to the $25k for 10k bonus AND to qualify for Silver based on PQM or PQS and get the PQD waived? It seems like I'd get 35k points or 2.1% assuming UA is worth 1.5%
I currently use the Citi 2x Cash for non dining/travel pleasure and the Chase Freedom Unlimited for Biz expenses. Both will hit the $25k spending by themselves. If the Unlimited gets me 1.5 points worth a minimum of 2.25% then the 2.1% vs 2.25% is very small.
Does it make sense to use the UA Card for United travel vs for the 4.5% for the Reserve in this case? 2 points UA equals 3% assuming 1 UA = 1.5%. The Reserve is much higher but I'm wondering if the benefits of the UA card are worth the difference. I was routed through ORD to Calgary in August and got 2 FC upgrades. I'm guessing that's since I was Silver. I wouldn't fly FC on UA domestically.
I have a E+ subscription through 8/2018. I despise flying regular economy.
Does having the card and/or status make it easier to get more Saver ability?
Thanks in advance!
Justin
The following is just my opinion, so take from it what you will. I think $25K is a lot of potential to be giving up from using the MP card instead of the reserve. Just having the MP card gets you the same availability for awards as Silver. Furthermore, for flights you pay with the card, you can still get the luggage allowance. I think just having the card gives you BG2.
So, that leaves you with E+ at 24H and slim chance of CPU for $25k of points+bonus categories. Since you are already paying for E+ subscription anyway, I'm not sure I see the value in trading rewards for the PQD waiver. If you were going for gold, that would be a different story.
So, if I were in your shoes, I'd put spend on reserve but get the UA explorer card.
Edit: Just wanted to add that if things like Premier Access are important to you, you could always just pay for it ala carte and still come out ahead.