Don't Give Up!

During my App-O-Rama, I applied for the Chase United Credit Card, among others.  I had previously gotten the sign up bonus for that card a couple years ago, but based on reports I had read on the internet I should not have trouble getting the bonus again.


I signed up for a 30,000 mile bonus.


Over the phone I confirmed with a rep that I would be getting the bonus.  Then I asked the rep about getting qualified for a 50,000 mile bonus with a $50 statement credit which I had already successfully gotten for my wife.


She said it wasn't her department, but Chase will contact me in 10 business days.


10 days later I got letter in the mail saying that I won't be getting any miles because I had previously gotten this bonus!  I was quite perturbed to say the least.




So, I sent a secure message to Chase without alluding to the letter I received.  Here is the message:

After I signed up for the United 30,000 mile sign up bonus 

I noticed that there was a 50,000 mile sign up bonus with  

a $50 statement credit. Can I please be matched to that  

offer? Thank you very much.

In a couple of days, I got the following message back from Chase:

Dear Oren, 

Thank you for contacting Chase regarding your United MileagePlus® credit card account. 

We are pleased to inform you that we have honored your request and issued a $50.00 statement credit and 20,000 additional miles. The credit and miles will be reflected on your next billing statement. 

If you have any further questions, please reply using the Secure Message Center. 
Thank you, 

Later that month, my $50 statement credit and miles posted to my United account and all was good in the world again.

Secure Messaging Your Way to More Miles

I signed up for the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer credit card for my wife a couple months ago.

The current sign up bonus, which is the one I signed up for was 30,000 United Miles if you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.

In addition, you get another 5,000 miles if you add an authorized user within 3 months for a total of 35,000 miles

I had read online that there was an offer for the same card with a 50,000 mile bonus (55,000 when you add an authorized user), but I hadn't signed up for it.  I also read about possibly getting a $50 credit as well.  Not surprisingly, when I spent $1,000, 30,000 miles were credited to my wife's United account.

I wanted the extra miles so this is what I did and you can do it too whenever there has recently been an available offer that's higher than your bonus.  I have done it with Chase and Citibank.  I don't know if it works with American Express.

Send a Secure Message

• Log in to your account at Chase.com
• Click on "Secure Message Center"

• Then Click on "send a secure message"
• Choose the credit card and the category of message you want to send and send you message.

It doesn't need to be complicated.  This is what I sent:

After I signed up for a 30,000 mile sign up bonus I noticed that there was a 50,000 mile sign up bonus with a $50 statement credit. Can I please be matched to that offer? Thank you very much.

I got the following response from Chase within 1 business day:



         Thank you for contacting Chase regarding your United 

MileagePlus® credit card account.

We are pleased to inform you that we have honored your 
request and added an additional 20,000 bonus miles and a 
$50.00 statement credit to your account to match our 
latest offer. These adjustments will be reflected on your
next billing statement.

If you have any further questions, please reply using the 
Secure Message Center. 

It only takes a minute and your results can be great.  As you see, I didn't even send a link or a screen shot of the available offer.