In partnership with Your Best Credit Cards
United Credit Cards from Chase
The following United Airlines co-branded credit cards all offer benefits like free checked bags, priority boarding, and expanded saver award availability.
For most consumers, the standard United Explorer Card is the best choice while small business owners should consider the United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card.
The Club Card, by contrast, caries a $450 annual fee, though it does come with United Club membership.
Many people would likely do better with a Credit Card That Earns Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, which are generally earned at a faster rate and can be transfered to United 1:1 (as well as a range of other transfer partners). Note that you would need one of the Chase cards with an annual fee, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, or the Chase Ink Business Preferred in order to be able to transfer the points.
The main reason to get the United cards would be if you travel with United a few times a year and check bags, meaning that you will save more on the free checked bags than you pay in annual fees, or if you value the expanded saver award availability.
You can also use the Your Best Credit Cards “rewards optimization calculator” to find the best card for your spend.
Advertiser Disclosure: Your Best Credit Cards has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Your Best Credit Cards and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Commissions do not affect or prioritize placement within our results and not all cards displayed earn us a commission. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.
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5 Cards Available:
Annual Fee:
$525
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This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$960
Annual Fee:
$525
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This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$960
- United Club membership. Guest access includes 2 adults or 1 adult and dependent children under 21 years of age.
- The United Club membership can also access participating Star Alliance member airline lounges with up to one guest when departing on a same-day flight on a Star Alliance carrier.
- Two free checked bags for you and one companion traveling in the same reservation paid with your Club Infinite Card.
- Premier Access (including priority boarding, priority check-in, priority baggage handling, etc)
- Premier upgrades on award tickets: If you have MileagePlus® Premier®status and are traveling on an award ticket, you and one companion traveling on the same reservation are eligible for Complimentary Upgrades on select United- and United Express-operated flights, subject to availability.
- Expanded award availability
- Status PQD waiver with $25,000 spend
- Up to $100 in Global Entry / TSA PreCheck fee reimbursements
- 25% back on in-flight United purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- CLEAR Membership discount
- IHG Rewards Platinum status
- Get one-year of complimentary DashPass, a membership for both DoorDash and Caviar that provides unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders. Activate by 12/31/24. After the trial period, you will be automatically enrolled in DashPass at the current monthly rate.
NOTE: In calculating your rewards for this card, we are making the assumption that all airfare entered is spent on United, which earns 4X. If part of that spend is on other airlines, that spend will earn only 1x on this card, reducing the value of your rewards.
Annual Fee:
$250
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This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$840
Annual Fee:
$250
Close X
This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$840
United Quest(SM) Card Earn Rate
- 3X United miles on United purchases.
- 2X on other travel (like air, hotel, and car rentals). (Recall, though, that you can earn 3X points on any airline in the world with a Chase Sapphire Reserve or 2X on any airline in the world with a $95 annual fee Chase Sapphire Preferred.
- 2X miles on dining and streaming services.
- Everything else earns just 1 mile per dollar.
United Quest Benefits
- Two 5,000 mile award flight credits each year after account anniversary. Essentially, you will get 5,000 miles “back” after you book an award flight.
- $125 annual United purchase credit. This is a statement credit against UA purchases like airfare as well as things you can buy that are related to a flight, like checked bag fees, upgrades, seats, and Wifi.
- Earn 500 PQP for every $12,000 in card spend, up to 3,000 PQP in a Calendar Year - valid up to 1K status as long as the required PQF requirements are also met.
- 2 free checked bags
- Priority boarding
- $100 in Global Entry or TSA Precheck once every 4 years.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Premier upgrades on award tickets. Prioritized after the lowest paid fare class, a Premier member with this card will get upgraded on award tickets.
- 25% statement credit on onboard purchases (food, drinks, and wifi)
- Trip Cancellation / Interruption insurance
- Trip Delay reimbursement
- Primary car rental collision / damage waiver
- Purchase protection
- Roadside assistance
NOTE: In calculating your rewards for this card, we are making the assumption that all airfare entered is spent on United, which earns 3X. Other airfare earns 2X. If part of that spend is on other airlines, that spend will earn only 2x on this card, reducing the value of your rewards.
Annual Fee:
$0 Introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $95
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This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$720
Annual Fee:
$95
Close X
This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$720
Holders of the United℠ Explorer Card get free checked bag for you and a companion (must pay with card) and priority boarding on United flights.
- You'll also get two one-time United Club passes per cardmember year, access to the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection, and access to both Inside Access events and United MileagePlus Events.
- You can earn a PQD status waiver with $25,000 spend and, best of all, this card entitles you to expanded saver economy award availability on United flights.
- Up to $100 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit: You can receive a statement credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS when charged to your card.
- Get one-year of complimentary DashPass, a membership for both DoorDash and Caviar that provides unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders. Activate by 12/31/24. After the trial period, you will be automatically enrolled in DashPass at the current monthly rate.
Includes Primary Rental Car Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) Coverage
The coverage is Primary, so you won't have to involve your own insurance as long as you reserve and pay for the rental with this card (see issuer website for all terms).
NOTE: Our rewards calculator and Estimated Rewards Values assume all "Airfare" is on United and is therefore counted at 2x points. If you also fly another carrier, you will only earn 1x points for those purchases and your Reward Values would be lower than indicated.
Annual Fee:
$0 Introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $99
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This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$600
Annual Fee:
$99
Close X
This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$600
Allows for a free checked bag, priority boarding, 2 United Club one-time passes each card anniversary, the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection, access to United MileagePlus events, and expanded economy award availability.
The United Business Card offers bonus categories of 2x on office supply stores, restaurants, and gas stations, local transit and commuting, including taxicabs, mass transit, tolls, and ride share services as well as on United itself, of course. It also offers 10,000 bonus miles and a PQD waiver upon spending $25,000.
Perhaps best of all, cardholders get access to expanded saver award availability.
Additional benefits:
- $100 annual United travel credit after 7 United purchases over $100
- Receive 5,000 bonus miles each card anniversary if you have both the United Business card and a personal United credit card
- Get 25% back on United inflight purchases
Need to Know: The calculations for this card assume that your "airfare" spend is on United only. If a portion of your airline spend is on other airlines, your reward values will be slightly lower than stated.
Also, if you used our rewards optimizer tool and are seeing this in your results, "Other Travel" refers to local transit and commuting - including taxis, mass transit, tolls, and ride share services.
Bonus Eligibility:
This card has replaced the United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card and is considered a new / different card for purposes of the bonus. If you have/had the United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card, you can still get this bonus.
Per the Chase website: This new Cardmember bonus offer is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of this business credit card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of this business credit card who received a new Cardmember bonus for this business credit card within the last 24 months.
Also Note: You will only be approved for a Chase card if you have applied for fewer than 5 personal credit cards within the last 24 months from any issuer. (Business cards do not count against the total, except for Capital One and Discover, but are subject to the policy). Learn more about the 5/24 rule here.
Annual Fee:
$0
Close X
This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$360
Annual Fee:
$0
Close X
This is the Estimated Value that you can expect to earn from the Bonus Offer this card. It represents an average value based on you knowing a bit about the rewards program and the best ways to use the points. The value is based on our miles and points values, explained in detail here. It is not the minimum possible value nor a guaranteed return. You can also click the calculator icon to see how the values for this card are calculated.$360
- 2 miles per dollar on United Airlines purchases and earn 25% back on United inflight purchases
- 2 miles per dollar at gas stations, and on local transit and commuting charges
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
Note that in calculating your rewards on this card, we are counting all airfare as 2X miles since we don't capture your spend by airline. However, please note that the 2X multiplier on airfare will only apply to United flights.
Chase Ink Preferred
Here’s how we calculated your Rewards Value:
Point Value X Multiplier = Rewards Value
X =
Here’s how we calculated your Bonus Value:
Point Value X Bonus = Bonus Value
X =
Meet Dave
Dave’s spent the last 15 years traveling the world in first class using his miles and points. After analyzing the unique credit card spending habits of thousands of MilesTalk readers over the years, he developed YourBestCreditCards.com.
