Continental Credit Card Now Has 40,000-Mile Bonus AND Lounge Access

Though the Continental credit card is being slowly phased out in favor of the new United MileagePlus Explorer, for the moment, you can still take advantage of the 40k-mile bonus offer. Continental and United are merging their mile programs at the end of 2011, as part of their merger (details on their website), and will also be combining their elite status and credit card programs.

The Continental OnePass card is actually a much better value post-merger. Previously, Continental miles didn’t expire, but United’s did after 18 months of inactivity. But if you have a Continental/United card with an annual fee (like this one), your miles will never expire so long as your account’s active. You earn 25,000 miles after your first purchase, 5,000 for adding an authorized user, and 10,000 for spending $25k the first year. This threshold spending bonus is recurring: every year you spend $25k+, you get an extra 10,000 miles. Plus, the $95 annual fee is waived the first year.

The card also has quite a few perks to recommend it:

• It has an unusually good rental car insurance policy, giving you free primary coverage (rather than the more commonplace “secondary” coverage to whatever your normal auto insurance provides). The main benefit of primary coverage is that an accident in your rental car won’t be reported to your insurance company for claims, which could save you increased premiums.
• Priority boarding
• Two Presidents’ Club day passes a year (this is also a better perk than it was before: Priority Pass lounge members, including AmEx Platinum cardholders, will not have access to Continental/United lounges)
• First checked bag free
• Baggage delay and lost luggage reimbursement

Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card
	Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles & first year free ($95 value)* Now with priority boarding privileges on Continental and United flights Check your first bag for free on Continental and United flights, up to a $50 value Visit the United Club with two complimentary passes every year, a $100 value Earn 2 miles for $1 spent on tickets purchased from Continental and United and 1 mile per $1 everywhere else Your miles don't expire and there is no limit to the number of miles you can earn
Annual Fee Signing Promo APR, variable* Intro APR Promotions $0 the first year, then $95 25,000 Continental Airlines Miles Bonus - after your first use, an additional 5,000 when you add an authorized user to your account, and 10,000 more miles when you spend $25,000 on your card. APR: 14.24% Default APR: 29.99% Cash Adv: 19.24% Purchase: None Bal Trans: None

Great intro deals like these raise the age-old question, “Does opening new credit cards damage my credit score?”

Credit inquiries will damage your credit score over the next 6 months, but it’s perfectly OK to have quite a few credit lines open. Therefore, hold off on offers like this if you plan on applying for a loan in the next 6 months, otherwise, don’t worry about it too much. Don’t take our word for it, soak up this page as evidence; there is a penalty for having fewer than 6 credit lines or greater than 21 credit lines open.