Personal United Credit Card Reviews

Chase offers 4 co-branded United Airlines personal credit cards. Each card has different benefits and earning structures. What they have in common is that they should all generally appeal to United frequent fliers. In our personal United credit card reviews we compare and review the:

• United Gateway℠ Card
• United℠ Explorer Card
• United Quest℠ Card
• United Club℠ Infinite Card

If you're a frequent United flyer, you should consider at least one of these cards for your wallet or the business version. In our United credit card reviews we will go over their offers, earning structure and card perks.

The United Gateway℠ Card‘s current offer:

• Earn 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases. 
• The ongoing regular APR is 21.99% – 28.99% Variable
• The Gateway card does not have an annual fee.
• Quite frankly, the Gateway card's welcome offer is pretty weak and not worthy of taking up a 5/24 slot.

The United℠ Explorer Card‘s current offer:

• Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• The Explorer card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee.

The United Quest℠ Card‘s current offer:

• Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. (There may be a better offer available)
• The Quest card has a $250 annual fee, which is not waived for the first year.

The United Club℠ Infinite Card‘s current offer:

• Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• The Club card has a $525 annual fee, which is not waived the first year.

Application Rules

Like other Chase cards, each of the United co-branded cards is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. This means Chase will not approve you for any of these cards if you have opened 5 or more personal credit cards with any bank during the last 24 months.

Also, you cannot open a United personal card if you already have that card open or have received a welcome offer for that card in the past 24 months. This means, for example, that you cannot open a United Quest℠ Card if you already have a Quest card or received a welcome offer for the Quest card in the last 24 months.

Earning Rates

Each of the personal United cards earn bonus miles per dollar on different categories. The cards also all earn 1x miles per dollar on all remaining eligible purchases not listed below. Here are the bonus categories for each card:

United Gateway℠ Card

• 2x on purchases from United
• 2x on gas stations
• 2x on local transit and commuting, including ride share services, taxicabs, train tickets, tolls, and mass transit

United℠ Explorer Card

• 2x on purchases from United
• 2x on dining, including eligible delivery services
• 2x on hotel stays when booked directly with the hotel

United Quest℠ Card

• 3x on purchases from United
• 2x on all other travel, including airfare, trains, local transit, cruise lines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, resorts, ride share services and tolls
• 2x dining, including eligible delivery services
• 2x on select streaming services

United Club℠ Infinite Card

• 4x on purchases from United
• 2x on all other travel, including airfare, trains, local transit, cruise lines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, resorts, ride share services and tolls
• 2x dining, including eligible delivery services

Despite the multiple bonus categories across these cards, cardholders are typically better off spending on other cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, instead of on the United cards, as we discuss below.

United Credit Card Reviews: Card Benefits

Benefits and perks vary among each of the 4 United cards. As expected, benefits differ depending on each card's annual fee. The United Gateway℠ Card offers very few perks, but has no annual fee. At the opposite end, the United Club℠ Infinite Card offers a slew of benefits. Here is a breakdown for each card.

United Gateway Benefits

The United Gateway℠ Card is pretty barebones, even for a no-annual fee card. Coupled with a small sign-up bonus, this card is not worth taking up one of your 5/24 slots. The card offers the following benefits:

• 25% back as a statement credit for United in-flight purchases including food, beverages, and WiFi purchases
• One year of complimentary DashPass
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• No foreign transaction fees
• Member FDIC

United^SM Explorer Benefits

The United℠ Explorer Card‘s benefits include:

• 2 United Club one-time passes each year
• Free first checked bag (terms apply)
• Earn 25 PQP for every $500 you spend on purchases with your Explorer Card. You can earn up to 1,000 PQP in a calendar year.
• Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck every 4 years
• Expanded award availability, similar to what is available to United MileagePlus elites
• Priority boarding (prior to general boarding) for the primary cardholders and companions on the same reservation
• Access to Chase's Luxury Hotel Collection
• Baggage delay reimbursement for essential purchases
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per ticket
• Travel accident insurance
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• One year of complimentary DashPass
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• 25% back as a statement credit for United in-flight purchases including food, beverages, and Wifi when you pay with your United card
• No foreign transaction fees
• Member FDIC

United Quest Benefits

The United Quest℠ Card‘s benefits include:

• Up to $125 in statement credits each account anniversary year as reimbursement for United purchases
• Free first and second checked bag (terms apply)
• Earn 25 PQP for every $500 you spend on purchases with your card. You can earn up to 6,000 PQP per calendar year.
• Up to 10,000 miles anniversary award flight credits each year, starting with your first anniversary. Earn them after you take a United award flight booked with your UA miles.
  • Get 5,000 miles up to 2 times every anniversary year. Terms Apply
• Expanded award availability, similar to what is available to United MileagePlus elites
• Complimentary upgrades on award tickets for Premier members: the primary cardholder who is also a MileagePlus Premier member traveling on a domestic MileagePlus award ticket will be eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades on eligible United-operated flights (when available)
• 25% back as a statement credit for United in-flight purchases
• Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry, NEXUS or TSA PreCheck every 4 years
• Priority boarding (prior to general boarding) for the primary cardholders and companions on the same reservation
• Access to Chase's Luxury Hotel Collection
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Baggage delay reimbursement for essential purchases
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Trip delay reimbursement
• One year of complimentary DashPass
• Travel accident insurance
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• No foreign transaction fees
• Member FDIC

United Club^SM Infinite Benefits

The United Club℠ Infinite Card‘s benefits include:

• United Club membership
• Earn up to 10,000 Premier qualifying points per calendar year (25 PQP for every $500 you spend on purchases).
• Premier access travel services, including priority check-in, security lanes (where available), boarding and baggage handling
• Expanded award availability, similar to what is available to United MileagePlus elites
• IHG Rewards Platinum Elite status (registration required)
• Avis President's Club membership
• Statement credit of up to $75 per year for purchases at IHG properties between January 1 and December 31, 2024
• $70 discount on CLEAR membership.
• Save 10% on United Economy Saver Awards on United flights when traveling within the continental U.S. or between the continental U.S. and Canada
• Complimentary first and second checked bag (terms apply)
• Complimentary upgrades on award tickets for Premier members: the primary cardholder who is also a MileagePlus Premier member traveling on a domestic MileagePlus award ticket will be eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades on eligible United-operated flights (when available)
• 25% back as a statement credit for United in-flight purchases
• Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry, NEXUS or TSA PreCheck every 4 years
• Access to Chase's Luxury Hotel Collection
• Emergency evacuation and transportation
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Baggage delay reimbursement for essential purchases
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Travel accident insurance
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• One year of complimentary DashPass
• Return protection
• No foreign transaction fees
• Member FDIC

United Credit Card Reviews: Our Analysis

With the exception of the no-annual fee Gateway card, each of the United personal cards more than make up for their annual fees. Generally, the cards' benefits will likely appeal more to frequent United flyers. These benefits include complimentary checked bag(s), priority boarding, and complimentary upgrades. It's interesting to see the Club^SM Infinite card offer some benefits that don't relate to United, such as complimentary status with IHG and Avis. In fact, the Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier card is the only other credit card that offers this status for free.

Since the perks vary among the 4 cards, travelers can actually benefit from holding more than one United card. Of course, we would not recommend using up multiple 5/24 slots on these cards if you have not already opened all of the UR-earning cards that you can. Here are some examples of why you may want to hold these cards:

• United Gateway℠ Card:
  • since the card has no annual fee, you can product change from one of the other UA cards to this one if you want to save on annual fees.
• United℠ Explorer Card:
  • you can give your 2 United Club one-time passes per year to family or friends. These two passes alone more than cover the card's $95 annual fee.
• United Quest℠ Card:
  • • the $125 statement credit for UA purchases slashes the card's annual fee in half. And you still earn two 5,000-mile anniversary award flight credits after you take a United award flight.
• United Club℠ Infinite Card:
  • • take your pick. Complimentary United Club membership. The ability to earn up to 4,000 PQP per year through spend. Premier access travel services. Saving 10% on United Economy Saver Awards on United flights. $70 discount on CLEAR membership.

Another consistent benefit across the cards is travel protection. The Gateway card offers only trip cancellation/interruption, which is already impressive for a no-annual fee card. But the remaining three cards offer robust travel protection. Some travel protection benefits are even comparable to that of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The trip delay reimbursement kicks in after 12 hours and covers up to $500 per ticket, just like the Sapphire Preferred (CSP). So if you don't have a CSP or a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the Explorer, Quest, or Club Infinite cards could help you with travel protection.

For spending, cardholders will generally do better by using a different credit card instead of the United cards. Chase's UR-earning cards offer equal or better earning rates than each of the United cards, with the exception of the Club^SM Infinite card. The Club Infinite card does earn 4x on United purchases, but we would still prefer earning 3x URs on United purchases with a Chase Sapphire Reserve or another card that earns transferrable currencies. Since United is a Chase transfer partner, you are better off putting your spend on the CSP or another UR-earning credit card than on the United Explorer card.

United Credit Card Reviews: ToP Thoughts

Chase's United personal cards offer solid benefits for United flyers that offset their annual fees. The extent of each card's perks is consistent with their annual fees. Frequent United flyers could even benefit from holding more than one these cards long-term. But as always, make sure to consider your own needs every time the annual fee hits.

What do you think of Chase's co-branded United personal cards? Come share your thoughts in our Facebook group!