The United℠ Explorer Card delivers premium travel benefits without the premium price tag, making it ideal if you fly United just a few times yearly. You’ll enjoy practical perks like free checked bags and priority boarding alongside monthly credits for ride-sharing and grocery delivery that provide value throughout the year.
This credit card review will cover everything you need to know about this card to determine if you should add this card or a different card to your wallet. Let’s dive right in.
Welcome Bonus
The United Explorer currently offers the following welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
To be eligible for this bonus, you’ll need to ensure you haven’t received a new cardmember bonus for this specific card in the past 24 months. It’s worth noting that holding other United Airlines credit cards doesn’t disqualify you from this offer, giving you flexibility in your credit card strategy.
Earning Miles with United Explorer
The United Explorer allows cardholders to earn the following points:
This card offers a straightforward rewards structure with a focus on United, travel, and dining. The 2x earning rate across these categories provides decent returns for cardholders. However, it doesn’t stand out as particularly high-earning in any single category. For everyday non-bonus spending, the 1x earning rate is standard but not exceptional.
Additionally, spending on your United Explorer card helps you earn United Premier elite status. You’ll earn 1 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) for every $20 spent (up to 1,000 PQP in a calendar year).
Annual Fee
The United Explorer charges $0 for the first year, then $150 annually thereafter, with various credits and benefits that significantly offset this cost – including free checked bags, United Club passes, and monthly credits for ride-hailing services and Instacart. The combined value of these annual credits totals over $400, making the card worthwhile if you can utilize most of the benefits.
Benefits of United Explorer
The United Explorer offers several nice benefits, including: Free Checked Bag: You and one companion on the same reservation receive your first checked bag free when purchasing United tickets with your card. This valuable benefit saves you from paying checked baggage fees on each trip, which can quickly add up when traveling frequently or with family. United Club Passes: Each year on your account anniversary, you’ll receive two one-time United Club passes that provide access to premium airport lounges with complimentary refreshments, Wi-Fi, and comfortable seating. These passes give you a taste of the premium lounge experience without committing to a more expensive card with full membership. Priority Boarding: You’ll enjoy earlier access to the aircraft when flying United, allowing you to secure overhead bin space before general boarding begins. This benefit extends to companions on the same reservation, giving your entire travel party more time to get settled before departure. Increased Award Space: Get access to additional award availability when using your United miles to book a flight potentially saving you a lot of miles when redeeming points. In-Flight Savings: Receive 25% back as an account statement credit on purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi onboard United when you pay using your card. Ride-hailing Credits: You’ll receive up to $60 in annual ride-hailing credits, disbursed as $5 per month with required yearly enrollment. Instacart Credits: You’ll enjoy up to $120 in annual Instacart credits ($10 monthly) through December 31, 2027. JSX Credits: Your card provides up to $100 in statement credits annually for JSX flights booked directly with JSX. United Hotels Credits: You’ll receive up to $100 in United Hotels credits, applied as $50 each on your first and second prepaid hotel stays booked through the United Hotels platform. Car Rental Credits: You’ll earn up to $50 in United TravelBank cash ($25 each on your first and second Avis or Budget car rentals booked through cars.united.com). Annual Spending Bonus: After spending $10,000 on purchases in a calendar year, you’ll earn $100 in United TravelBank cash. Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / Nexus Credit: Receive an application fee credit of up to $120 every four years for either TSA PreCheck (expedited airport security), Global Entry (expedited airport security and customs), or NEXUS (expedited crossing between the US and Canada)for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®. These trusted traveler programs can save you time and hassle at the airport. No Foreign Transaction Fees: You’ll save money on every purchase while traveling internationally since this card doesn’t add the typical 3% surcharge that many other cards impose. Trip Delay Insurance: When your trip is significantly delayed due to covered reasons like equipment failures or severe weather, this protection reimburses you for reasonable expenses including lodging, meals, toiletries, and medication. The coverage activates when you pay for travel with your card and extends to family members on the same itinerary, though you’ll need to seek reimbursement from the travel carrier first. Baggage Delay Insurance: Missing luggage doesn’t have to derail your trip – this coverage steps in to reimburse you for essential purchases when your checked bags are delayed by airlines, trains, or other carriers. You can grab the necessities you need, from a fresh outfit to personal care items, while waiting for your bags to arrive. Lost Luggage Reimbursement: Your checked luggage gets extra protection against loss, theft, or damage beyond the basic compensation offered by carriers when you pay for travel with this card. Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: This protection reimburses you for non-refundable, prepaid travel expenses if you need to cancel before departure or cut your trip short due to covered situations like severe illness or weather events. Coverage activates when you pay for your trip with the card, but it’s important to note that reimbursement only applies for specific covered reasons rather than any cancellation. Primary Rental Car Insurance: When you rent a car and pay with this card, you’ll receive comprehensive coverage including damage and theft protection. Simply decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver and charge the entire rental to your card to activate coverage. This insurance covers damage, theft, and valid loss-of-use charges worldwide. 120-Day Purchase Protection: Get 120 days of protection against damage, theft, and even loss of your purchases – one of the longest windows available. This premium coverage automatically applies when you pay with your card. Extended Warranty Protection: Your purchases gain an extra year of warranty protection when bought with this card, extending manufacturer warranties of three years or less without the inflated prices of store warranty plans.
Travel Benefits
Purchase Benefits
Redeeming United Miles
United MileagePlus offers numerous opportunities to redeem miles for flights on United and its extensive network of Star Alliance and other airline partners. Here are some of the best ways to use United miles: For international travel, business and first class award tickets often provide excellent value. You can fly Lufthansa first class from the U.S. to Europe for 121,000 miles one-way, experiencing one of the most sought-after premium cabins. United’s own Polaris business class to Europe starts at 80,000 miles one-way, featuring lie-flat seats with direct aisle access. United’s Excursionist Perk allows you to add a free one-way segment within a single region on round-trip international itineraries, effectively giving you a free stopover. This can be creatively used to visit multiple destinations on one award ticket. Short-haul flights under 800 miles outside the U.S. can be booked for just 8,800 miles in economy, making United miles useful for intra-region travel in places like Europe or Africa. Within the U.S., domestic flights can sometimes be found for as low as 5,000 miles one-way with United’s dynamic pricing. For long-haul travel, you can book business class to Africa on Star Alliance partners like Ethiopian Airlines or South African Airways for 88,000 miles one-way. ANA’s excellent business class to Japan, featuring “The Room” seats on some aircraft, starts at 110,000 miles. United miles can also get you to hard-to-reach places like the Galápagos Islands, with economy flights from Ecuador starting at just 8,800 miles one-way on Avianca. Caribbean destinations can be reached from 13,200 miles round-trip in economy from the U.S. Remember that United doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges for partner awards, keeping out-of-pocket costs low. While redemption rates may not always be the absolute lowest, the ease of booking online and access to extensive Star Alliance inventory make United MileagePlus a valuable program for award travelers.
Pros and Cons
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of this card:
Pros:
Free Checked Bag Benefit: Primary cardholders and one companion receive one free checked bag each when the ticket is purchased with the Explorer card, saving you a significant amount per roundtrip. This benefit alone can cover the annual fee with just one round-trip flight for two people, making it especially valuable for travelers who check bags regularly.
Travel Protections: The card includes primary rental car insurance (rather than the more common secondary coverage), trip cancellation/interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, and trip delay reimbursement. These protections can save you significant money when travel disruptions occur.
Expanded Award Availability: Cardholders get access to additional award space on United flights, potentially making it easier to use miles for desired travel dates and routes.
Lounge Passes:Cardholders receive two United Club one-time passes each year, providing access to premium airport lounges with complimentary food, beverages, and Wi-Fi.
Cons:
Limited Everyday Earning: While the bonus categories are solid, the card’s earning rates for general spending are not as competitive as some other travel cards.
Complex Benefit Structure: The card requires tracking various monthly and annual credits across different partners (ride-hailing, Instacart, JSX flights, United Hotels) that don’t roll over if unused. You’ll need to actively manage these benefits throughout the year to extract maximum value, creating an administrative burden that more straightforward cards don’t have.
Restrictive Checked Bag Requirement: Unlike some competitor airline cards, the free checked bag benefit requires using the Explorer Card for ticket purchase. This reduces your flexibility if you prefer to use a different card with better travel protection or earning rates for airfare purchases.
Modest Return on United Purchases: The 2x miles on United purchases is decent, but some many travel cards offer higher earning rates on airline spending.
Card Alternatives
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) is one of the most popular travel rewards cards because it offers nice welcome bonus and extra points on travel and dining, which can be transferred to airline and hotel partners or redeemed directly for travel at a rate of 1.25 cents per point through Chase Travel℠. The Sapphire Preferred also offers great travel and purchase protections for a card with a $95 annual fee. Welcome Bonus: bonus_miles_full Earning Rewards: 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2x points on all other travel purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Card Benefits: Ability to transfer to airline and hotel partners, 25% bonus when redeeming points through Chase Travel, $50 annual hotel stay credit via Chase Travel, 10% anniversary points bonus, no foreign transaction fees, primary rental car insurance, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty. Transfer Partners: Aer Lingus, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways, Emirates, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Hyatt, IHG, Iberia, JetBlue, Marriott, Singapore KrisFlyer, Southwest, United, and Virgin Atlantic.
United Club℠ Infinite Card
The United Club℠ Infinite Card (review) stands out as United’s most premium personal credit card offering extensive United Club lounge access and elite-style benefits. The card provides excellent value for loyal United travelers through its lounge access, free checked bags, and bonus miles on United purchases. Welcome Bonus: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months; plus 5,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user in the first 3 months. Earning Miles: 4x miles on United Airlines purchases; 2x miles on all other travel purchases (hotels, rental cars, cruises, transit, rideshare, etc.) and dining (including eligible delivery services); 1x miles on all other purchases. Card Benefits: United Club membership, free first and second checked bags for you and companion, Premier Access, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fee credit of up to $120 every four years, 25% back on United inflight and Club premium drink purchases, IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status, Avis President’s Club, No foreign transaction fees, travel insurance (trip delay, trip cancellation, baggage delay, lost luggage, and primary rental car), purchase protection, return protection, and extended warranty.
United Quest℠ Card
The United Quest℠ Card (review) delivers strong value through its combination of travel credits, checked bag benefits, and mile-earning potential on United flights. This card works best if you fly United several times per year and can take advantage of the annual United credit plus award flight rebates.
Welcome Bonus: Earn 70,000 bonus miles + 500 Premier qualifying points (PQP) after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earning Miles: 3x miles on United Airlines purchases; 2x miles on all other travel (hotels, car rentals, cruises, transit, rideshare, etc.), dining (including eligible delivery services), and select streaming; 1x miles on all other purchases. Benefits: Free first and second checked bags for you and one companion, $125 annual United purchase credit, up to 10,000 miles in award flight credits each year, priority boarding, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fee credit of up to $100 every four years, 25% back on United inflight and Club premium drink purchases, no foreign transaction fees, travel insurance (trip delay, trip cancellation, baggage delay, lost luggage, and primary rental car), purchase protection, and extended warranty.
Is the United Explorer Card Worth It?
I personally think the United Explorer can be worth it for travelers, but the value proposition has changed with the annual fee increase from $95 to $150. The card still offers solid benefits like two United Club passes and free checked bags that can offset the fee for those who fly United a few times per year.
You’ll need to actively track and use the monthly ride-hailing and Instacart credits to maximize value, as these credits don’t roll over if unused. For frequent United flyers, the card provides useful travel perks, but requires more management than cards with simpler benefit structures.
Whether this card makes sense for you depends on your willingness to monitor various credits throughout the year and your travel patterns, as the fragmented nature of benefits requires more effort to extract full value compared to the card’s previous iteration.
