• by Danielle Oster , March 25, 2025

United Airlines is introducing an updated suite of membership rewards cards through Chase, including the United Explorer Card, which the company says offers over $800 in value annually, and the United Club Card, which it says has annual perks valuing $2,000.

Laurinda Rainey told Marketing Daily that the refresh was the first she led in her role as managing director and general manager for the United Airlines co-brand at Chase, as well as the “first time there’s this level of investment to refresh multiple products at one time.”

An Instagram page for United Cards from Chase announced the revamped card suite and associated perks in a post.

The brands tapped Emmy-winning actor Ty Burrell, of “Modern Family” fame, for a campaign explaining why travelers should get a United/Chase card.

United’s relationship with Chase dates back more than 45 years, with the new campaign representing “a new evolution to the joint advertising we’ve done for decades,” United Airlines Chief Advertising Officer Maggie Schmerin told Marketing Daily.

In the ads, created in partnership with creative agency 72andSunny, Burrell addresses a series of relatable “travel truths,” taking a conversational and comedic tone to showcase the cards’ perks.

Schmerin explained that the brand had been focused on the strategy of exposing “travel truths’ for a few years now.

In the 30-second ad, Burrell calls out perks like checking two bags for free, the extra leg room that comes with an earned upgrade, and earning “triple miles on United Flights.”

Burrell told Marketing Daily he was drawn to the project by the simplicity of the concept, as well as his organic connection to the product as a customer of both brands. “My concern is that the message is clear and that the spots are genuinely entertaining,” Burrell said. “One can cross out or negate the other. If it gets too message-heavy, people tune out. And sometimes if it’s just comedy, you don’t even know what the commercial is about.

“72andSunny were really wonderful about being open to making sure we were putting out the funniest version of this message that we could,” he added. “In the TV world, you're at your best when the best joke wins, [and]  that's how this partnership went. A lot of the agency jokes are in there still, because they were the best jokes.”

The campaign is launching on April 1 and running on channels including linear TV, as well as streaming and social channels. It’s the first time that United has advertised on linear TV since 2019, according to Schmerin, as well as the brand’s “largest push in some time.”

“We still absolutely believe in linear broadcast,” Schmerin added. “We want to go where eyeballs are, so we make sure we have a varied media plan, and that includes both linear and streaming.”