How to Use United TravelBank Credit from IHG Cards
Two IHG One Rewards credit cards have a $50 annual United Airlines TravelBank credit. While this is not a huge perks, it is still valuable for those who fly with United occasionally. Chase has made this credit a bit difficult to use, and we have a couple of tricks that can help you use this credit more efficiently. Let’s jump into the details.
Which IHG Cards Offer United TravelBank Credit
First let’s look at which cards actually offer this United Airlines TravelBank credit. That includes these two cards:
The no-fee IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card does not have this credit.
How It Works
Each calendar year, the primary cardmember will receive a total of $50 United TravelBank cash deposit in their United MileagePlus® account. This comes as two $25 credits that are issued as follows:
- $25 on or about January 5th
- Deposits made between January 1 and June 30 will expire on July 15 of the same calendar year, regardless of deposit date.
- $25 on or about July 5th
- Deposits made between July 1 and December 31 will expire on January 15 of the following calendar year, regardless of deposit date.
You Must Register for This Benefit
This United TravelBank credit is not automatic. You need to register in order to receive a $25 credit every sox months. Here’s how that works:
- Cardmembers must complete a one-time registration to receive this benefit.
- Registration is available at ihg.com/united.
- The registration must be made through the Cardmember’s IHG One Rewards account.
- Only one registration per IHG® account is permitted.
- It might take up to two weeks after registration for the first $25 deposit to hit your MileagePlus account.
You can check your United TravelBank balance here.
How to Maximize It
The best time to use this credit is when two credit overlap, meaning that the new credit has been issued while the previous one has not expired yet.
For example, let’s say that you received a $25 credit on January 5, 2024. That credit expires on July 15, 2024. You then received another $25 credit on July 5, 2024. Now you have between July 5 and July 15 to use both these credits at once.
And if you don’t have any travel plans set during this short window, we have another tip for you. Just book a cheap United Airlines flight, possibly just over $50 (check DVL-JMS). Then cancel the flight after 24 hours and you will receive the amount you paid as.
Future Flight Credits have an expiration window of one year from issue date. It can be extended even farther if you repeat the same process.
Guru’s Wrap-up
This United TravelBank credit is a relatively small perk for the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card. But if you take it at face value, it helps you recover half of your annual fee.
So make sure you take advantage of these simple tricks to maximize this credit and don’t forget to repeat the same process every year.
Let me know if you have used these tricks, or if you have any others!
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