Is It Worth Earning Cash (NOT Miles) for Flights With This Brand New No-Annual-Fee Card?

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New card alert for folks who like United Airlines!

Chase has added the new United℠ TravelBank Card to their United Airlines co-branded collection.  And it comes with a decent sign-up bonus, nice perks like no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, and trip cancellation insurance.

That said, there are plenty of reasons you’ll likely want to give this card a pass!  I’ll explain why.

Chase United TravelBank Card

The new Chase United TravelBank card comes with $150 in TravelBank cash after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.

TravelBank cash can ONLY be used for flights on United Airlines.  So this sign-up bonus is good for $150 towards a United Airlines flight, NOT cash back.

You’ll also get:

• 2% back in TravelBank cash per $1 with United Airlines
• 1.5% back in TravelBank cash per $1 for all other purchases
• 25% off United Airlines onboard food and beverage purchases
• NO foreign transaction fees
• Rental car insurance (secondary coverage)
• Trip cancellation insurance
• NO annual fee

You can redeem rewards starting at just $1.  And if you don’t have enough rewards to cover the entire cost of the flight, you can pay the rest with cash.

Note:   This card will likely be affected by the Chase 5/24 rule.  So if you’ve opened 5+ cards from any bank (NOT counting Chase business cards and certain other business cards) in the past 24 months, it’s unlikely you’ll be approved for this offer.

Is This a Good Deal?

This is NOT a good card for folks new to miles & points.  Because applying for this card will affect your chances of being approved for other cards that offer bigger sign-up bonuses and earn more flexible points.

Even if you frequently fly United Airlines, I do NOT recommend the Chase United TravelBank Card, because there are other credit cards that will likely make more sense for you.

For example, the United℠ Explorer Card comes with a much better sign-up bonus, priority boarding, and earns 2X United Airlines miles per $1 spent with United Airlines.  It also comes with one free checked bag for you and a travel companion on United Airlines flights when you use the card to pay for your ticket.  This could save you $100 on a single round-trip flight!

And there are other no-annual-fee cards that earn more flexible rewards.

For example, the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 1% on all purchases, and another 1% after you pay your bill.  And because it’s a cash back card, you can spend your rewards on ANYTHING (not just United Airlines).  But it does NOT come with a sign-up bonus.

There’s also the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card, which comes with a $150 sign-up bonus after spending $500 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening, 1.5% cash back on everything, and no foreign transaction fees.

The information for the Capital One Quicksilver has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

That said, there are a couple things I like the Chase United TravelBank Card.

First, it’s great that the card has NO foreign transaction fees.  Because that perk is pretty rare among cards with no annual fee.

Also, I like that you can redeem your rewards for as little as $1 in United Airlines flight credits.  Other cards have a much higher minimum redemption amount.

And some folks have reported it’s possible to downgrade to the Chase United TravelBank card if you have the United Airlines Explorer card and don’t want to keep paying the annual fee. 😉

Bottom Line

The new no-annual-fee Chase United TravelBank Card comes with $150 in TravelBank cash (which can ONLY be redeemed for United Airlines flights) after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

Because you can only use TravelBank cash for United Airlines flights, I do NOT recommend this card most folks.  Most of y’all would be better off with a flat cash back card that has similar earning for everyday spending, like the Citi Double Cash or Capital One Quicksilver card.

If you’re new to the miles & points hobby, there are other travel credit cards that offer bigger sign-up bonuses and earn more flexible points.  And opening the Chase United TravelBank Card will affect your chances of being approved for other (more valuable!) Chase cards in the future.

Does the new Chase United TravelBank card appeal to you?