One Chase United Explorer Card Solved My Parents' Round-Trip Flights
My parents will be staying a while, so their return date was never settled. I paid cash for the outbound ticket; for the way back I used miles, because award tickets can be cancelled. A $780 cash fare, booked for 49,500 miles as a cardholder instead of 55,000.
My parents are visiting the US to see us and the baby. They’ll be staying a good while, and when they fly back has never been settled — which makes booking harder than usual.
Last month I bought the outbound tickets. The same day I bought them, United’s app showed me a welcome offer for the Chase United Explorer card, so I applied: 70,000 miles, plus another 10,000 for adding an authorized user. The outbound fare went straight onto the new card — the offer needs $3,000 in three months, and those two tickets put a real dent in it.
The return trip was different, and I sat on it for a month
The outbound dates were fixed. The return isn’t. How long my parents stay depends on how things go here — and once you buy a cash ticket, it’s basically locked in, cheap fares especially.
Then it clicked: award tickets can be cancelled. Cancel before departure, the miles go back to your account, and a change of plans doesn’t mean eating the cost. For a trip whose dates I genuinely can’t pin down, that mattered more than saving a few dozen dollars.
So today I booked the return leg too — with miles.
A $780 fare, for 49,500 miles as a cardholder
The return ticket costs $780 per person in cash, taxes included. The same seat with miles:
- No cardholder pricing: 55,000 miles
- Cardholder pricing: 49,500 miles
That’s 5,500 miles saved. Measured in cash, the value of each mile goes from 1.42 cents to 1.58 cents — the better the redemption, the higher that number, and 1.58 is a solid one.
(Two return tickets for my parents came to 99,000 miles.)
Where the 10% comes from
United gives cardholders their own award pricing: sign into your MileagePlus account and you’ll see it. General members save 10% or more; Premier members save 15% or more. Mine came in at 10%, which took 55,000 down to 49,500.
✈ TravelChase United Explorer
- ✓Cardholder award pricing: save 10%+ as a general member, 15%+ with Premier status (when signed into MileagePlus)
- ✓9 total miles per $1 on United flights (6x as a member plus 3x from the card), 2x dining and hotels booked direct, 1x everything else
- ✓First checked bag free for you and one companion, plus priority boarding
- ✓Two one-time United Club passes each anniversary year
- ✓Up to $120 Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit every four years, and no foreign transaction fees
The annual fee went up, but the first year is free
The United Explorer’s annual fee is now $150 from the second year on, waived the first year. I opened mine last month, so this year costs nothing — a free year in exchange for a card that takes 10% off award flights and throws in a free checked bag.
My welcome offer was 70,000 miles (these amounts move with promotions — check the current terms), with another 10,000 available for adding an authorized user. I haven’t added one yet; I’ll do it when my parents actually need to travel with it. As for the minimum spend, the outbound tickets went on this card and everyday purchases covered the rest — $3,000 in three months isn’t hard to reach.
The honest takeaway
This isn’t a miracle card. What it hands you is concrete: 10% off award tickets, one free checked bag, a year without an annual fee. One card covered both ends of my parents’ trip: the outbound fare fed the minimum spend, and the return leg was booked with miles for 5,500 fewer. What actually made it worth opening was the trip that won’t sit still — because award tickets can be cancelled, I could lock in the return flight early without being trapped by it. If my parents’ plans change, I just cancel.
This article is a record of my personal experience and personal finances; it does not constitute investment or credit card advice. Card benefits, annual fees, welcome offers, cardholder award pricing and change/cancellation rules are subject to United’s and Chase’s current official terms; award tickets still require paying applicable taxes and fees.