Update: There is a datapoint found here of one person being approved despite being over 5/24 when they applied through the in app entertainment. That’s an encouraging sign.
One of the things that was brought up by analysts during the recent United quarterly earnings call was the fact Delta & American Airlines are growing sales of miles significantly faster than United. United is expecting growth of $300 million and American Airlines expecting growth of $800 million (as Gary points out these numbers aren’t directly comparable).
Previously Chase were not allowing United to offer credit cards to customers on board United flights. That will shortly change and United will be allowed to offer credit card sign ups during flights. The question most people will have is: “will this by pass the 5/24 rule?”
There will obviously be some change to the contract that United & Chase have to allow this new customer acquisition channel, the contracts that Chase have with each co-branded partner govern when they do/don’t apply that rule and it’s entirely possible that this rule will be waived for in flight applications. There are a few reasons why this might be the case:
- United will want higher approval rates for customers already flying United
- Chase’s cost basis for the points will be different for this acquisition channel, especially when it was previously prohibited
That being said, at this stage it’s entirely speculation. It’s also worth noting that United cards do already show up for in branch pre-approvals that do by pass this rule as well.
