Chase Mails Mistake Scare About United Explorer Card Bonus

United Explorer Card

In the middle of March I was really psyched to have Reconsideration Line Success for the Chase United Explorer card.

After receiving mailers quite a few times for a 50,000 miles bonus offer for the United Explorer card, I decided to apply. I was told that I’d get a decision within 30 days. A letter came that I was denied but I was able to call in and get approved. (Check out the link above for more details.)

I’ve since spent more than the required $2,000 spend and have been expecting the bonus miles to post pretty soon.

When I got home from work last night, I had a mailer from Chase which at first looked like a piece of junk but it actually contained some very bad news.

The mailer stated that the “bonus premium” was only available to new card members. Since records showed that I had taken advantage of the offer or a similar one within the past two years, my account was not eligible!

My first thought was WHAT! When I called into the reconsideration line, I had discussed the offer when I got approved. If I didn’t qualify for the bonus, I obviously didn’t want the card!

I had one thing to do- call customer service and plead my case as to why I deserved the bonus.

Upon calling in, I was asked why I was calling by a relatively friendly rep. I explained the situation and expressed my frustration with having put a good amount of spend on the card after being approved only to be told I did not qualify for the bonus.

I was a bit surprised when the rep apologized for the mailer. He actually said that it was a mistake which many people had received.

I was then told that the 5,000 bonus points had posted to my account. My answer- it’s supposed to be 50,000! The rep then saw that the initial 5K bonus was due to adding an authorized user.

He then let me know that my account did mention I would receive a 50,000 points bonus and I was supposed to get it around June 3rd!

He apologized again and I thanked him for bringing me this good news!

If you receive a mailer from Chase stating that you won’t be receiving a bonus, I’d still give customer service a call but odds are, it’s a mistake. (I was told that tons of people were calling in about this like I had.)

If you ask me, Chase should’ve sent these mailers out on April Fools Day rather than mid- May. Then they would’ve had a solid excuse for this error!

6 thoughts on “Chase Mails Mistake Scare About United Explorer Card Bonus

  1. I got one of these on the Marriott card yesterday. I’ve never had the Marriott card and I’ve already received the 80k bonus, so I figured it must be a mistake and one of the bloggers would be writing about it in the next couple of days, so I ignored it. Thanks for the confirmation that I was right on all accounts!

  2. Me and my wife received one yesterday for the Marriott cards as well. I have to call them up today

  3. I have had a lot of trouble with Chase. I applied for the Mileage Plus Card 2 months ago and was approved. Two weeks ago, there was a fraudulent charge on my account which required reissuing the card. Chase wanted to verify me (where do you work, who is your mortgage company, previous address etc.) They told me my answers were wrong and could not verify me. Obviously this was a mistake. More calls to Chase. Then I got he letter described in the post. Sorry, another mistake. Then, my replacement card did not show up. More calls to chase. Sorry another mistake. I’m sure if the hassle of dealing with Chase is worth it. Then they wonder why people churn the cards? Not impressed with Chase at all.
    I am totally unimpressed with Chase

  4. I got the same mailer yesterday – it was a mistake. I’d never had the card before, met the min. spend, and received the bonus points. The rep said the mailer went out to “several thousand cardholders” by mistake.

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