Does Facebook Content for “United MileagePlus Cards” Inspire Card Usage?

I am a United MileagePlus Visa Signature cardholder. I have been for more than a decade, making me a pre-recession newbie cardmember, when credit lines were more than generous. I keep the United MileagePlus (UMP) card primarily because of its credit line. I like that I have it in case of emergency and am willing to pay the annual fee to hold on to that credit line. However, I am one of those offenders who keeps the card in the top drawer of my dresser – “just in case” I need to tap into the credit line someday. I have no real intention of becoming an active cardmember anytime soon.

As a financial services marketer, I am open to the next best things in credit cards, but in my household we tend to stick with a general rewards card as our primary card. While I think cash back cards are great, I like that we have the option to redeem our rewards for anything we want – travel, gift cards, cash back and pretty much any reward we want to create for ourselves. We also enjoy the flexibility and lack of restrictions that many miles cards just don’t provide, and so we would need some serious motivation to start using the UMP card again.

So when I discovered the “United MileagePlus Cards by Chase” Facebook page, I wondered if it would inspire me to start using my UMP Visa Signature card again. Maybe, I thought, it will give me that motivation.

Before visiting the page, I was intrigued by the fact that the page is dedicated to UMP’s family of cards: not to a brand or sub-brand, not to a single card product, but to a family of cards.

Then I saw posts promoting a “1,000,000 Mile Travel Insider Contest,” which asked cardmembers to submit their best travel tips to be entered to win enough award miles for an “amazing trip.” That commanded my attention, and we were off to a good start.

As I continued to scroll through the posts though, I found the content to be fairly narrowly focused. Although abundant photo caption contests and “Photo Friday” posts may appeal to the broad Facebook universe, the balance of content primarily emphasizes the aspirational “Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection,” “Inside Access” exclusive events and an “Aisle or Window” interview series with chefs, restaurateurs and TV celebrities.

Not that the content isn’t rich and/or interesting, but as a cardmember in Albany, NY (and a focus group of one), I would like to be reminded of practical card features that would benefit me without requiring me to travel to a major MSA to participate in an expensive and exclusive event (for example). Although there is the occasional post reminding cardmembers about rewards earned with card use, those are few and far between. (That being said, I’m pretty sure the content is targeting UMP’s Explorer and Club cardmember bases, not the basic Visa Signature cardmember. In that case, the content may be appropriate as is.)

I also question the moniker of the page: “United MileagePlus Cards by Chase.” The name is misleading since it – and its content – is not inclusive of and relevant to all UMP cards. And I would think those Explorer and Club cardmembers could benefit from (and may even appreciate) reminders about their cards’ features, since they are paying annual fees of $95 and $395, respectively.

While I offer my kudos to Chase and United for implementing a page dedicated to their family of cards (it’s a strategically smart approach), the execution of content could stand to be more diverse, inclusive and relevant.