United Cardmembers Can Book Polaris Business Class For 27,000 Miles — And Use The Polaris Lounge

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Be aware that websites may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Capital One, and others. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all offers that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.United is making significant business class award space available between Newark and both Los Angeles and San Francisco – premium Polaris cross-country routes – for just 27,000 miles for their cobrand credit card customers. That’s an exceptional deal, with plenty of inventory in August and September. A lot of the flights you’ll see in results at that price are actually domestic one-stop first class, so you’ll want to make sure you’re looking at non-stop Boeing 787-9 flights ideally. This was flagged by Tim at Roame. The ‘standard’ price for premium cross-country business class awards has been 35,000 points, but we’ve seen some creep up at 30,000. So 27,000 is a 10% discount off of that which is the new cardmember discount. It’s just that we rarely see pricing like that, what’s new here is the amount of cardmember additional inventory that’s being made available in combination with the low price and discount down from there. In general I was skeptical when United announced these cardmember and elite discounts – expecting it to resemble more like Delta where pricing was just increased for everyone else to accommodate the reduction for the customers they value more. Here, that’s not actually the case. It’s lower pricing we haven’t seen before in awhile. Newark – San Francisco Newark – Los Angeles These Tickets Come With Polaris Lounge Access Polaris lounge access for premium cross-country flights is something new they announced just in March and matches both Delta and American. Polaris lounges are generally nicer than American’s Flagship lounges but not as nice as Delta One lounges. Polaris Lounge Newark Polaris Lounge Newark Access is available prior to departure and also on arrival (as well as at any connecting points on a smae day itinerary). No guest access is provided for passengers not themselves eligible. United Cardmembers Pay Less For Awards United has shifted its program so that you need their cards to get the most value – cardmembers earn more miles flying, and awards cost less. There’s 10% or more savings on United flight redemptions for cardmembers (elites with the card are supposed to get at least 15% off). This applies to United flights only, and doesn’t include ‘miles and money’ redemptions or to taxes and fees. But the real key here I think is additional inventory of Saver Award seats in United Polaris business class for cardmembers. My favorite play is the UnitedSM Business Card (See rates and fees). Small business cards don’t add to your 5/24 total, it has in my view the best bundle of benefits, and right now it has the biggest initial bonus offer by a lot. This $150 annual fee and an offer to earn up to 110,000 bonus miles. This offer has just been extended. 100,000 bonus miles + 2,000 PQP after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. 10,000 BONUS MILES when you add an employee card in the first 3 months your account is open. You’ll receive a $125 United travel credit after making 5 United flight purchases of $100 or more each calendar year with the card. They even encourage you to have both a business and personal United card because you’ll receive receive a 5,000-mile “better together” bonus each anniversary when you have both the UnitedSM Business Card and a personal Chase United® credit card. Remember that you don’t need to put your regular spend on the card, you can just sock drawer it, the key is having a card to unlock more mileage-earning and lower redemption costs. So the UnitedSM Explorer Card (See rates and fees) also works well. That card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. Topics on this page Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.