United Airlines offers a suite of co-branded credit cards, from the no-annual-fee *united gateway* to the top-tier *united club*. But if you ask us, the *united explorer* is the best starting point for most travelers.
Right out of the gate, it comes with a big limited-time welcome offer: bonus_miles_full Plus, you can earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user in the first 3 months your account is open, for a grand total of 80,000 miles.
But beyond that big bonus, the Explorer Card comes with hundreds of dollars per year in statement credits, a free checked bag, a pair of one-time United Club passes each year … and perhaps most importantly, a discount of at least 10% on United award tickets, plus expanded “saver” availability.
That last part is key for anyone hoping to redeem United MileagePlus miles these days, as the airline has more or less made carrying a co-branded credit card non-negotiable.
Maybe best of all, the United Explorer Card has a annual_fees. This means you can take it for a test drive to see if the perks and benefits fit your travel style … before committing to an added out-of-pocket cost.
Keep reading for a benefit-by-benefit breakdown and more info on why we think now is the perfect time to add the United Explorer Card to your wallet.
Learn more about the *united explorer*
United℠ Explorer Card: Benefit Overview
- bonus_miles_full
- Earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user in the first 3 months your account is open.
- Earn 9x total miles per dollar spent on eligible United flights and 3x miles per dollar spent on all other eligible United purchases.
- Earn 2x miles on dining and hotels, and 1x on all other purchases.
- Save 10% on United award tickets: Cardholders get a 10% discount (15% discount with Premier status) on United flights booked with miles
- Earn a 10,000-mile award flight discount after spending $20,000 on purchases each calendar year with your United℠ Explorer Card.
- Up to $100 in United Hotel credits: Receive $50 back as a statement credit on both your first and second prepaid hotel stays purchased directly through United Hotels, up to $100 each anniversary year.
- Up to $60 in credits on rideshare purchases: Enroll (and opt-in yearly) to receive up to $5 back as a statement credit each month on rideshare purchases when you pay with your Explorer Card, up to $60 each calendar year.
- Up to $50 in United travel credits on Avis or Budget purchases: Receive $25 in United TravelBank cash, up to $50 each anniversary year, for your first and second Avis or Budget car rental booked directly through cars.united.com and paid for with your Explorer Card.
- Up to $120 in Instacart credits: Receive a $10 Instacart credit monthly, up to $120 total each calendar year, for purchases made directly through Instacart with your Explorer Card. This benefit ends on Dec. 31, 2027.
- Up to $100 in credits on JSX purchases: Get up to $100 back as a statement credit each anniversary year when you book flights directly with JSX using your Explorer Card. JSX is a hop-on jet service that offers a semiprivate flying experience at commercial fares.
- 3-Month Complimentary Instacart+ Membership: Get complimentary Instacart+ Membership for three months, including unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fees on eligible orders. After that, you’re automatically enrolled in Instacart+ at 25% off the annual rate. This benefit ends on Dec. 31, 2027.
- Up to a $120 statement credit to cover enrollment in Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS
- First checked bag free on United flights
- Get two, one-time passes to the United Club each year on your cardmember anniversary
- Annual fee: annual_fees
Full Benefit Breakdown
Sign-Up Bonus
United is currently out with a big, limited-time offer: bonus_miles_full
On top of that, you’ll get another 10,000 miles for adding an authorized user in the first three months your account is open. Do both, and you’re walking away with 80,000 United miles – one of the better offers we’ve seen on this card.
Annual Fee
The United Explorer Card comes with a annual_fees.
That $0 annual fee for the first year is a big deal because you still get the bonus, award discounts, free checked bags, and more without paying a dime. After that, you’re on the hook for $150 a year, but it’s (relatively) easy to offset that by making use of the card’s slew of statement credits and perks.
And if you get to the end of year one and decide the card isn’t the right fit, you can always downgrade to the no-annual-fee United Gateway Card instead.
Earning Miles
Here’s a look at how many miles you’ll earn with the United Explorer Card:
- Earn 9x total miles per dollar spent on eligible United flights
- Earn 3x miles per dollar spent on all other eligible United purchases
- Earn 2x miles on dining and hotels
- Earn 1x miles on all other purchases
We’ve been urging travelers to stop charging everything to their favorite airline card for years now … and the United Explorer Card is no different. The reasoning is simple: There are far more rewarding cards on the market that earn points that can be transferred directly to airlines like United, Delta, and American.
It’s not that United miles aren’t valuable (more on that next) – it’s just that you can earn far more of them with a card like the *chase sapphire preferred* instead. The reason to get the United Explorer Card is for the perks and benefits, not to use it as your everyday earner.
Related Reading: The Best Credit Card Points to Earn This Year to Fuel Your Travels
Redeeming Miles
This is where the United Explorer Card earns its keep. Forget the credits and the free bag for a second: If you want to redeem United miles without getting gouged, you need a United card in your wallet.
Here’s why.
Discounted United Awards
Since a revamp earlier this year, all primary United cardholders now get at least 10% off award tickets on United-operated flights. Have United Premier status, too? That jumps to 15% off.
That means a 15,000-mile economy award drops to 13,500 miles, while a 200,000-mile business class seat falls to 180,000. With elite status, the savings are even greater.
In a world where United’s award pricing swings wildly from one search to the next, a guaranteed discount on every redemption is nothing to sneeze at.
Expanded ‘Saver’ Availability
Arguably, the single most valuable benefit of the Explorer Card doesn’t show up anywhere on your monthly statement. It’s the access to a pool of cheaper “saver” award seats that everyday United flyers simply can’t see – especially in business class. United has been quietly carving out this inventory for cardholders and elites for years, but now it’s front and center.
Search for an award with a card linked to your MileagePlus account, and you’ll see “Cardmembers pay” banners with dramatically lower prices than the rest of the world sees.
How dramatic? We often see Polaris business class awards from Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) to London-Heathrow (LHR) for 72,000 miles with a United card … a savings of 128,000 miles over what non-cardholders were quoted.
And that 10% discount stacks on top of this cheaper inventory. Here’s how a typical Polaris business class award to Europe shakes out:
| Who's booking? | One-way business class to Europe |
|---|---|
| No United card or status | Often 200,000 miles (or more) |
| United Premier status only | 80,000 miles (access, but no discount) |
| United Explorer cardholder | 72,000 miles (access, plus 10% discount) |
| Explorer cardholder + status | 68,000 miles (access, plus 15% discount) |
The number of miles you can save just by carrying the United Explorer Card is pretty staggering – reason enough for many travelers to pick it up and hold on to it year after year.
And it’s not just Europe, either: Cardholders can fly Polaris to Asia and Australia for as low as 90,000 miles one-way. Or score a smaller (but still substantial) discount on transcontinental routes like Newark (EWR) to San Francisco (SFO).
This cardholder-only award space is the reason United Polaris has gotten borderline impossible to book through partners like Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles. United is keeping those seats for its own cardholders … and making cards like the Explorer a practical must-have.
Read more: Better Biz Class Availability for United Cardholders
Statement Credits
Like so many cards these days, the Explorer is loaded with use-them-or-lose-them credits. Max them all out and you’re looking at up to $430 in value each year – nearly triple the $150 annual fee.
Here’s the full rundown:
- Up to $100 in United Hotel credits: Receive $50 back as a statement credit on both your first and second prepaid hotel stays purchased directly through United Hotels, up to $100 each anniversary year.
- Up to $60 in credits on rideshare purchases: Enroll (and opt-in yearly) to receive up to $5 back as a statement credit each month on rideshare purchases when you pay with your Explorer Card, up to $60 each calendar year.
- Up to $50 in United travel credits on Avis or Budget purchases: Receive $25 in United TravelBank cash, up to $50 each anniversary year, for your first and second Avis or Budget car rental booked directly through cars.united.com and paid for with your Explorer Card.
- Up to $120 in Instacart credits: Receive a $10 Instacart credit monthly, up to $120 total each calendar year, for purchases made directly through Instacart with your Explorer Card. This benefit ends on Dec. 31, 2027.
- Up to $100 in credits on JSX purchases: Get up to $100 back as a statement credit each anniversary year when you book flights directly with JSX using your Explorer Card. JSX is a pseudo-charter airline that offers a semi-private flying experience at commercial fares.
- Up to a $120 statement credit to cover enrollment in Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS
But let’s be honest: Not all of these credits are created equal, and getting full value out of them is very unlikely.
In our opinion, the Instacart and rideshare credits are the easiest wins here. If you order groceries from Instacart even once a month and take the occasional Uber or Lyft, that’s $180 a year with very little effort – enough to cover the annual fee on its own.
The rest require a bit more planning and effort.
The United Hotels credit only works on prepaid stays booked through United’s own hotel portal – and be sure to compare prices before you book. The Avis and Budget credits are issued as United TravelBank cash, not as a statement credit. And unless you frequently fly one of JSX’s limited routes (primarily out West) – and typically pay up for first class – that $100 JSX credit will likely go unused.
You’ll also get a complimentary three-month Instacart+ membership (then 25% off the annual rate) through the end of 2027. Just set a reminder to cancel if you don’t want to keep paying.
Keep tabs on all these credits with our free credit card benefit tracker tool!
Extra Perks & Benefits
Beyond the miles and credits, the Explorer Card comes with a handful of travel perks that make flying United a little less painful.
Free Checked Bag
You get your first checked bag free on United flights. With United charging $45 for a first checked bag when you prepay online, that adds up fast: A couple checking a bag on a single roundtrip saves $180 with the United Explorer Card.
For plenty of travelers, this perk alone justifies the $150 annual fee.
Just know: Unlike some airlines, you actually need to pay for your flights with the Explorer Card (or apply within 90 days of travel) to get free bags.
Two United Club Passes
Each year on your card anniversary, you’ll get two one-time passes to the United Club. That’s not lounge access per se, but it’s a nice way to escape the gate area on a long layover or a delayed flight.
Just know, like most lounges these days, United Clubs can get crowded – and when they do, the airline often stops letting travelers in with these one-time passes.
If you want unlimited access (without restrictions), you’ll need to step up to the pricey *united club* instead.
Priority Boarding
Explorer cardholders get priority boarding on United flights, so you can get on before the general boarding groups and snag overhead bin space.
Travel & Purchase Protections
Like other Chase cards, the Explorer comes with a suite of protections when you use the card to pay for travel, including coverage for trip delays, cancellations, and lost or delayed bags.
You won’t pay foreign transaction fees with this card, either.
Who is This Card Right For?
The United Explorer Card makes the most sense for anyone who plans to redeem United miles – whether you’ve already got a stash of them or plan to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points over. That 10% discount and access to cardholder-only saver space can save you thousands of miles on a domestic trip … or more than 100,000 on a business class seat abroad.
If United miles are part of your travel plans, this card is practically a prerequisite.
It’s also a natural fit for casual United flyers, especially if you live near (or connect through) a hub. A couple of trips a year with a checked bag is enough to come out ahead.
But it’s not the right choice for everyone: if you like United but want unlimited lounge access, or you’re chasing United status, the *united quest* or the United Club Card will be a better bet. And if you rarely fly United, a flexible card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred will serve you even better.
Bottom Line
The United Explorer Card has gone from a nice-to-have to a near must-have for anyone who flies United or redeems MileagePlus miles.
You’ll get a limited-time bonus of up to 80,000 miles, a free checked bag, two United Club passes, and up to $430 a year in statement credits – all with a $0 annual fee the first year, then $150. But the real reason to carry this card is the discounts and expanded award availability when you redeem your miles.
Learn more about the *united explorer*
