United Enlists Chase to Kill the Tulip

August 8, 2012 By 9 Comments

I like the old United tulip logo. So much in fact that it is one of the reasons I still have my old Mileage Plus Select Visa card from my early days as a graduate student. It was alo my very first churn (I had earlier applied for and canceled it as an undergraduate).

It has lots of other benefits, like up to 5,000 elite qualifying miles each year and 3X redeemable miles for purchases on United.com plus a few thousand points each year for renewing. These have been replaced by the Explorer card that provides pseudo-elite status, diluting the benefits for elite flyers without offering much that’s actually useful to a Gold, Platinum, or 1K. But I digress…

It was the tulip I liked. In fact, the tulip had this cool brushed metal appearance that made me happy to flash it before I got my solid metal Sapphire Preferred. Then I got a letter in the mail on Monday:

picture of two Chase credit cards

Chase has sent me a NEW United Select Visa with a stupid globe on it and some blue color scheme. It looks like a child’s plaything. I am not happy, but at least they haven’t closed the account altogether. I guess it was only a matter of time… :(

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About Scott Mackenzie

Scott founded HMT while traveling on a budget during graduate school and stays loyal to United, Alaska, Hyatt, and Starwood.
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  • marZ

    I had no idea it was a tulip.

  • Peggyl135

    Thanks for letting me see what my Select Visa will look like when my account renews in November. Sure is hideous.

  • http://www.frequentlyflying.com/ Darren

    I saved an expired, closed account card with a tulip on it just as a momento/keepsake

  • Sterndogg

    Just got the MileagePlus Platinum card replaced (and according to a Chase CSR, the Select is on the way) with the hideous globe and is now totally generic looking with a grey background titled “MileagePlus Card” with nothing else on the front. What a waste of money to send cards which still have over two years till their expiration dates AND will auto activate after 60 days…what’s up with that! Got a post going on over at Flyertalk as well.

    http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileageplus-consolidated/1335342-mp-select-platinum-class-visa-now-mileage-plus-card.html 

  • Hulagrrl210

    So what happens if you don’t activate the new card? I got mine this week, but my old one is still valid for another year.

    • Scottrick

      The FT forum that Sterndogg linked to suggests these cards will auto-activate after 60 days. Sooo… you don’t have to throw away your current card, but I’m not sure if it will still work after that point (mine has the same number, but the strip may be encoded differently).

  • Dan

    I don’t really understand the angst. Both logos are fairly generic corporate logos.  Just some weird endearment to whatever you grew up looking at more.

  • u600213

    According to Chase secure email, United is no longer crediting the $140 annual fee for 1K, just $60. I got my tulip free card around the same time the fee hit me.