Our friend over at One Mile at a Time spotted the new 50,000 miles Continental bonus for opening a standard checking and a business checking account with a local Chase branch.

Personal Checking Bonus

• Get 10,000 bonus miles when you open a Chase CheckingSM account and make 5 debit card purchases or set up direct deposit
• Get another 15,000 bonus miles after your first qualifying purchase if you open a Chase Continental Airlines Preferred Debit Card (annual fee applies)
• Link

Business Checking Bonus

• Get 10,000 bonus miles when you open a FREE Chase Business ClassicSM Checking account and deposit $500 into your new account within 30 days of account opening
• Get another 15,000 bonus miles after your first qualifying purchase if you open a Chase Continental Airlines Business Debit Card (annual fee applies)
• Link

Bottom Line

This was the fastest way I’ve ever earned 50,000 airline miles. Even though I don’t fly Continental very much, it was a good idea to pad my account for future travel. Continental is currently in transition from the Skyteam Alliance to the Star Alliance. The only thing I would caution is to watch out for the up-sell and stick with the exact accounts the promotion says, they tried to stick me with a debit card that came with a $65 annual fee as opposed to the free business debit card and the $25 personal Continental debit card. These miles help me diversify from Skyteam plus they only cost me $25 and about an hour of my time.