The United Gateway℠ Card serves as a starter card for those wanting to earn United miles without paying an annual fee. While light on premium perks, it provides decent earnings on United flights and everyday transportation expenses, making it suitable for occasional United Airlines flyers.
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 for United Gateway
The United Gateway Card currently offers the following welcome bonus: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Keep in mind you’ll need to be under Chase’s 5/24 rule to be approved for this card. New cardmembers who have earned a bonus on other United co-branded cards are still eligible for this offer.
Earning Points with United Gateway
The United Gateway Card offers nice rewards for a no-annual fee card:
While the card offers decent bonus categories for a no-annual-fee product, you’ll find stronger earnings rates with premium travel cards that offer transferable points.
The 2x bonus on gas and transit purchases provides some everyday value, but the earning rate on United flights can be beaten by cards with transferable currencies such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
For casual United flyers who want a basic way to earn miles without an annual fee, this card could make sense, but frequent travelers would benefit more from a card with broader travel rewards and better earning potential.
No Annual Fee
The United Gateway Card has no annual fee. While it doesn’t offer premium travel perks, it offers valuable benefits like 25% back on United inflight purchases and no foreign transaction fees, making it a solid choice for people who only fly United a few times per year.
Benefits of the Chase United Gateway Card
Below are the benefits of the United Gateway card: 25% In-Flight Discount: The United Gateway offers 25% back in the form of an account statement credit on purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi, onboard United when you pay using your card. 0% Intro APR: The United Gateway card offers 0% intro APR for the first 12 months from account opening on purchases. After that, a reg_apr,reg_apr_type APR. 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. Secondary Rental Car Insurance: This card provides backup protection for rental car damage or theft when you charge the full rental to your 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. Extended Warranty Protection: You’ll receive an additional year of coverage on eligible purchases that come with a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty of three years or less. This benefit can help protect your business investments beyond the standard warranty period. 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.
Redeeming United Airlines 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
Before you make a decision on whether you should get the United Gateway Card, it’s worth taking a quick peek at the pros and cons.
Pros
No Annual Fee: You’ll never pay an annual fee for this card, making it a great entry point into the United MileagePlus program.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: You’ll save money when traveling internationally, which is unusual for a no-annual-fee card.
Purchase Protection Benefits: The card includes useful protections like secondary car rental insurance, trip cancellation coverage, and purchase protection against damage and theft.
Cons
Limited United Benefits: You won’t receive premium perks like free checked bags or priority boarding that come with higher-tier United cards.
Small Welcome Bonus: The sign-up bonus is relatively modest compared to other United credit cards in the portfolio.
Opportunity Cost: This card takes up a valuable Chase 5/24 slot that could be used for a more premium card with better benefits.
Alternatives to the United Gateway Card
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
United℠ Explorer Card
The United℠ Explorer Card (review) 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. Welcome Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earning Miles: 2x miles on United Airlines purchases, dining (including eligible delivery services), hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel; 1x miles on all other purchases. Card Benefits: Free first checked bag for you and one companion, 2 United Club one-time passes each year, $120 Instacart credit, $100 JSX credit, $60 ridesharing credit, $100 United Hotels credit, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fee credit, 25% back on United inflight and Club premium drink purchases, no foreign transaction fees, travel insurance (primary rental car, trip delay, trip cancellation, lost luggage, and baggage delay), purchase protection, and extended warranty.
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.
Is the United Gateway Card Worth It?
If you’re just starting your journey into travel rewards and fly United occasionally, the United Gateway Card could be a solid choice for your wallet. You’ll pay no annual fee while still earning extra miles on United purchases, gas stations, and transit, making it easier to build up your MileagePlus balance through everyday spending.
The card’s welcome bonus provides good initial value, though you won’t get premium perks like free checked bags or lounge access that come with United’s higher-tier cards. You’ll appreciate practical benefits like no foreign transaction fees and 25% savings on United inflight purchases, which can help offset some travel costs.
However, if you fly United more regularly, you may want to consider the United℠ Explorer Card (review) instead, as its additional benefits can easily outweigh its annual fee, even though it’s not free the first year.
Learn How to Apply: United Gateway℠ Card.
