US Airways Premier World MasterCard® 40,000 miles after first purchase
I’ve been touting the 40,000 point signup bonus for the US Airways Mastercard for awhile, the link I’ve been using has been www.mostmiles.com/chairman. Because it’s been the best available offer, 40,000 points after first purchase and fee waived the first year.
Every time I post about this, I get questions. Because the web page says it is an “Exclusive Offer for Chairman’s Preferred Members Only” — people who fly 100,000 miles or more on US Airways each year. Although I had no problem getting the card using that offer, and I am not a US Airways elite member. And I haven’t heard of others with difficulties either.
The application page recently changed to say that it was only for US Airways employees.
It asked applicants to enter an employee badge number.
Please enter your 2-character Airline Code followed by your Employee Badge number (no spaces). Only employees of US Airways and US Airways wholly-owned subsidiaries are eligible.
Folks were leaving that field blank and still being approved.
This week I’ve gotten several questions in the comments suggesting that the card may no longer be giving out a 10,000 mile annual bonus at renewal (which is my reason for keeping the card, since that makes it worth the $85 annual fee). I haven’t gotten such a notice.
Fortunately, though, there’s now an actual official offer that isn’t targeted for the US Airways Mastercard which offers 40,000 points after first purchase.
There are two downsides compared to the targeted Chairmans offer that I’ve used in the past. First, the $89 annual fee isn’t waived the first year. Second, there’s no second year bonus of 10,000 miles (which may or may not be staying around with that other offer).
But great to have an increase in the publicly available offer. As in my experience the card is churnable, some people get more than one card open at a time (explaining that they want to keep different sorts of expenses separate). Though my own experience is that I got the card when it was first introduced, didn’t keep it, but got it again some time later.
40,000 miles is a great start when 90,000 is business class to North Asia (including with an enroute stopover in Europe)….
The card also comes with:
- A companion ticket — buy one ticket for at least $289+tax and then each of two companions can fly for $99+tax each on the same itinerary.
- First class check-in and priority boarding.
- 5000 mile discount on awards that are on US Airways flights only (not on airline partners), including off-peak awards meaning that during a limited set of dates business class to Europe drops to only 55,000 miles roundtrip.
- A lounge pass every year.
In addition to the 40,000 points after first purchase they’ll also give you 10,000 more for a balance transfer within 90 days which is a feature I don’t touch personally. The card also gives 2 points per dollar on US Airways purchases but I prefer the 2 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for those with a Sapphire Preferred or 3 American Express Membership Rewards with my Amex Premier Rewards Gold.
This new offer is a referral link, so if you apply and are accepted then I’ll receive referral credit which I certainly appreciate. I always flag the best offers, have been writing about this long before there was this good of a public offer (and chose not ever to write about the existence of a lesser referral offer). As my goal is to make sure the most miles possible are earned by the frequent flying public.
Is there a minimum for the balance transfer bonus? If not then isn’t it a steal – transfer a small amount, pay a little in interest, get 10,000 miles? I’ve never transferred balances between cards so maybe there is something else I don’t know that makes it not worth it…
Gary, props to you for actually spelling out all of the differences between the old “elite” link and the new “official” offer. This way people can decide for themselves if they want to risk the old offer and it’s better terms, or play it safe and go with the new one, albeit with a greater first yr cost. Shockingly (insert eye roll here) Rick at FTG conveniently “omitted” those facts, as did Milevalue (which actually did surprise me).
Looks like I made it in just under the wire for the Chairman’s preferred offer. I applied (and received instant approval) at the end of November. The “Employee Number” field wasn’t on the application at that time. My 40,000 bonus points have already credited. Hopefully, I’ll still get the 10,000 mile anniversary bonus!
Maximizer, per the T&Cs “Earn one (1) mile per one dollar ($1) in balances transferred to your US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard requested in the first 90 days after account opening, up to a maximum of ten thousand (10,000) mile.” So with a 3% transfer fee it would cost you $300 to get 10,000 miles.
@Lee, I clearly misunderstood what Gary wrote. Thanks.
You know that you can still cancel the card after the 10K anniversary bonus posts but before the annual fee is due?;)
I opened mine 14 months ago and cancelled 60 days ago. When can I reapply?
@alohastephen – yep, several pieces to that — first, my anniversary bonus posted the month before the fee hit. second, i believe you can actually cancel for a refund of the fee within 60 days of the statement on which the fee hit.
I just called to inquire about the annual anniversary 10k bonus and was told that it can be found in the terms & conditions. can anyone confirm this?
I cancelled last year and applied for this offer this week. I have excellent credit yet was denied. When I called they told me it was because I had a Barclays card in the past.
The T&Cs at the posted new link make no mention of an anniversary bonus, unlike the other offer page.
You forgot to mention the $89 not waived using your link for commission
@travel time, actually I flagged TWO areas where the new offer is inferior to the ostensibly targeted one that I’ve been writing about and suggesting folks use for a long time —
“There are two downsides compared to the targeted Chairmans offer that I’ve used in the past. First, the $89 annual fee isn’t waived the first year. Second, there’s no second year bonus of 10,000 miles (which may or may not be staying around with that other offer).”
So I did explain that the fee is not waived the first year. Thanks for commenting!
Gary – any insight into whether the Companion Pass is transferrable? I read through the T&C this morning, and while it may not be “sold or barterred”, there was no indication that it could not be gifted.
Do you know anything further regarding whether it can be given to family members? That would materially increase the card’s value.
3rd downside of the new offer: If you don’t get approved for the world mastercard version, you will likely get a lesser version that comes with only a 15,000 mile bonus.
Has anyone who applied recently been getting the 10000 anniversary bonus? I applied through the Chairman link but the CSR claims not to see the anniversary bonus listed on my account.