Just a little under a month ago I, somewhat randomly, opened the United MileagePlus Explorer card. I didn’t intend on opening that particular card as I don’t frequently fly with United Airlines. Then, as I mentioned previously, I received a targeted offer for 70,000 United MileagePlus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days.
After crunching the numbers I calculated that the increased sign-up bonus is worth at least $1,050 ($0.015/mile). Assuming I get at least $0.015/mile in value, the sign-up bonus alone pays the cards annual fee for the next 11 years! From my experience, if you maximize United MileagePlus miles you can get at least $0.05/mile which makes the increased sign-up bonus worth at least $3,500. Personally, I hope to use the miles to fly first class to Asia.
I also decided to open this card because of the two free United Club passes card holders receive each year. I value these Club Passes at $50 each which again helps to offset the $95 annual fee. The passes are only valid when traveling with United, but chances are I’ll be able to use them this year. If not, perhaps I’ll give them out as I did last time I had extra passes lying around.
My United Club Passes Arrived DID NOT Arrive
With all that being said, today was a big day because my United Club Passes finally arrived! Well, at least that’s what I thought when I opened the envelope. The envelope arrived from United today with big bold lettering which stated my Complimentary United Club Passes were inside.
As you can see from the above envelope, Chase and United try to make it very clear that this isn’t just another credit card mailer. Inside I found my United MileagePlus Explorer card membership guide, my guide to travel and purchase protection benefits, and lovely note. The note read as follows:
Dear Cardmember (that’s me):
We hope you’ve already started to make use of all the great benefits of your United MileagePlus Explorer Card membership.
Enclosed are your Membership Guide and you two United Club one-time passes (over $100 value). We have also included your Guide to Benefits which details the collection of travel and purchase protection benefits that come with your card.
If you have any questions (where the heck are my United Passes?) please call 1-800-888-8756 and a dedicated MileagePlus Explorer Card Customer Service specialist will assist you…
My United Club One-Time Passes Weren’t Included!
As I dug through the membership guide, the travel guide, and the lovely note from David Gold (General Manager) and Praveen Sharma (President, MileagePlus) I didn’t see any United Club Passes. In fact, to add insult to injury, at the bottom of the note there’s bold letter which says:
Your Two United Club Passes
Please remove carefully, and note the expiration date on the passes
Yet, the area just below that very heading is empty. There are no passes to remove! The whole this is fairly comical because all of the provided literature. Each document provided references the incredibly valuable (over $100) club passes, yet somehow they weren’t included in the mailer.
Final Thoughts
Well, this was a funny one to write because I started writing it before I opened up the envelope. I sat here, incredibly excited to add my United Club Passes to my travel wallet. Additionally I expected to write about how great these passes are. Now, I’m sitting here with no passes and a new chore on my list of things to do tomorrow. As disappointed as I am I’m also pretty excited to see how United or Chase handles this situation. More on that to come…
