FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Question about best credit card for United
Old Mar 15, 2020 | 5:55 am
  #6  
darthbimmer
20 Countries Visited
1M
All eyes on you!
15 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,377
Originally Posted by Laumeister
ICan you pls give a downside of United MileagePlus credit card? Both Citi Prestige and AMEX platinum have very annual fee, even with the transfer credits.

another option I was considering is Chase Sapphire Reserve...
The downside of the Chase United Explorer card is that it only pays 2x on UA tix. I sock-drawered my Explorer card then canceled it as I charged all my UA purchases to the CSR. CSR pays 3x on all airlines (plus other categories), and that 3x can be transferred to selected airline/hotel programs or redeemed at 1.5cpp (total 4.5%) in the Chase travel portal.

Yes, CSR has a big fee, but the various credits can knock it down significantly. You'll have to decide how valuable those are to you and if the card's other benefits are worth the remaining cost. There's an extensive discussion over in the Chase forum about this.
darthbimmer is offline