Neo to Launch United Airlines Credit Card

A new credit card is coming to Canada – the United MileagePlus Neo World Elite Mastercard.

Neo is teaming up with United to offer a credit card for Canadians. This is the first time a Canadian issuer has partnered with a U.S. airline since MBNA discontinued their Alaska Airlines cards.

We don't know much about this new credit card, other than it appears to be launching towards the end of March 2026. But, we can dream about what it might include – and what we want it to include.

The brief overview of United MileagePlus

Before getting into the credit card, what is United MileagePlus?

MileagePlus is the frequent flyer program for United Airlines, which is not only one of the largest airlines in the United States but also in the world.

United is also part of the Star Alliance airline network. Since Air Canada is also part of the Star Alliance network, this means you can use miles earned with United on Air Canada flights. This applies to all the airlines on the Star Alliance network, allowing you to earn miles with airlines in various countries.

But how easy is it to redeem United points with Air Canada? It's not easy. Based on travel searches conducted by our team, it seems they're limited in how many seats they can sell with miles.

A search from Calgary to Toronto only revealed a pair of 1 stop flights. Another flight search yielded only a few results in an entire month. So, your mileage may vary using these points with Air Canada.

The new Neo United Mastercard

Neo hasn't yet released much information about the new card, but we know there will be a waitlist bonus.

The first 3,000 to add themselves to the waitlist for the card will get an extra 5,000 miles when they make their first purchase with the card.

But what can we expect from the card itself? Well, the closest competitor would probably be the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card. But instead of getting Aeroplan points and Air Canada benefits, you would be switching to United.

Here are the basics of this card. First, here's what it earns for points on purchases:

• 1.5 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, electric vehicle charging, grocery and direct through Air Canada purchases
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases

Spending $3,000 per month on your card across various categories earns roughly 41,850 points per year.

Then it has these key Air Canada benefits:

• Free first checked bag,
• Preferred pricing on reward flights

This comes with an annual fee of $139.

We expect the new United Mastercard to look similar to this.

This makes it less appealing for many Canadians – benefits on a U.S. carrier will have some limited use for many.

What would we like to see? 2 things.

First, we'd like to see the benefits extend to any Star Alliance carrier. This way, you can get these advantages on multiple carriers.

And the other: easier redemptions on Air Canada itself, such as the ability to transfer points to Air Canada.

Without these benefits, this card won't be a good fit for many Canadians. If you're largely going to be limited to using miles with United itself, you'll find limited use for this card.

However, extended benefits and expanded Air Canada redemption would make it much more appealing for Canadians to consider getting this credit card.

Looking for an airline credit card?

We compared all the airline-partnered credit cards in Canada using 126+ datapoints. We factored in rewards, airline perks, travel insurance and more.

The top 3 cards are all Aeroplan cards, but we also explore the best cards for Porter and WestJet. Read more about Canada's most rewarding airline credit cards.

More credit card updates

Stay on top of all things credit card-related. Subscribe to our newsletter, and we'll deliver the news to your inbox.