FoundersCard offers a number of benefits to its members, ranging from hotel and car rental savings to discounts on physical products, from Dell laptops to Apple gear. While the membership is a bit pricey — you can sign up with our discounted $495 rate here — the benefits can easily make the program worthwhile for some.As a United Premier 1K elite, the program’s latest partnership has really caught my eye. As of this year, members can get up to 6% off select flights booked directly through United.All you need to do is link your MileagePlus account through FoundersCard’s dedicated page. I completed the process on Jan. 23, and my discount became active yesterday, Jan. 31.I was skeptical at first — the language implies that I wouldn’t encounter a 6% discount every time I booked, and that is indeed the case. Once your account is linked, it’s easy to search, though — simply head to United.com (or the airline’s mobile app) and ensure the “business travel” box is checked.Naturally, I decided to do some comparison shopping. My first search, for a one-way flight from Newark (EWR) to London (LHR), yielded fares that seemed in line with what I’d encountered in the past.Searching again with the box unchecked confirmed that I was in fact seeing a discount, but it was far below the 6% cap. Economy was discounted by 3.8%, Premium Plus by 1.8% and Polaris business class by 1.7%. Note that my calculations are based on the “PQP” figure below, which represents the pre-tax amount.I then searched a common domestic leisure route — Newark to Fort Lauderdale (FLL).I didn’t find a 6% discount here, either — a measly $2 discount for economy, and $6 for first class.On the hunt for that elusive maximum discount, I searched for one of the airline’s priciest domestic fares, a full-fare “J” ticket between Newark and San Francisco (SFO). That yielded a discounted price of $2,993 for a lie-flat transcon seat.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Meanwhile, the same ticket would have cost $3,183 without the discount, representing a discount of $176, equivalent to a savings of… 6%!So, is it worth signing up for FoundersCard just for the “up to 6%” United discount? Unless you book a number of very expensive tickets each year, no, probably not.Paired with the other benefits, though — Caesars Diamond status, hotel and car rental discounts, elite status challenges and more — it could easily make sense to shell out the $495.
