Thursday, November 25, 2010

Continental OnePass Plus Card: Free 30,000 Miles + $50, Free Checked Bag, Primary Rental Car Insurance


The new Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card from Chase has improved their sign-up incentive to include a $50 statement credit, 30,000 free miles, and a pretty nice mix of perks for travelers.


Sign-Up Bonus: Free Flight



  • 25,000 Bonus Miles after first purchase (no minimum amount) for first-time Continental Airlines personal Cardmembers. That’s enough already for one free roundtrip airfare within the continental US.

  • 5,000 More Bonus Miles for adding an authorized user to your account. This is another easy one to get. Remember, just because you add someone doesn’t mean you have to give them the card. ;)

  • $50 statement credit after your first purchase of any amount.

  • No annual fee the first year. The regular annual fee is $85, but is waived the first year.

  • If you spend $25,000 on the card annually, you’ll get another 10,000 bonus miles. Since you earn 1 miles per $1 spent as well, this works out to 1.4 miles/dollar when you reach that mark.


Travel Perks



  • Free checked bag. If you fly on Continental, you and up to 9 travel companions will all each get your first checked bag for free. That’s a savings of $50 roundtrip, per person.

  • Primary rental car insurance. Almost all personal credit cards only offer secondary rental car insurance, which means you have to file a claim with your own auto insurance first, which means you have to pay the deductible and possibly face higher future premiums. With primary collision damage waiver (CDW) even for personal use, you get coverage for damage or theft without having to make a claim.

  • Additional travel insurance that isn’t on all cards, like trip cancellation insurance up to $1500 for a illness with doctor’s note , delayed baggage coverage up to $300 if you have baggage delayed more than 18 hours and need to buy items to get by.

  • If you decide to keep this card past the first year, you’ll get two free passes to their First-Class airport lounge.


As you may have heard, Continental and United are merging, and the resulting airline is supposed to have the name United. Here’s a chance to rack up some miles that will eventually merge together – this card and bonus may not be available in the future (although hopefully the free checked bags will then apply to United). Until they actually do merge, I should also note that Continental’s OnePass is known as one of the better programs when it comes to redeeming miles for trips.


Besides the OnePass Plus card, you can get a more flexible $250 sign-up bonus but less travel-specific perks from the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Actually, you can also trade the $250 cash bonus for $312.50 in airfare through their rewards site.