The United Explorer credit card offers many benefits including 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months.
We rate cards based on value, cost, and perks.
Our ratings for this card are:
Annual fee waived the first year
There is an annual fee of $95 which is waived the first year. The Quest and Infinite cards with higher annual fees are not waived yet do not give so many more bonus miles. The Explorer card with 50,000 bonus miles is the best card if your main objective is to get a lot of bonus miles at minimal cost. We value United miles at $0.01 each, so a 50,000 mile bonus is worth $500. This card has the highest first year net value (value of bonus miles minus the annual fee). Even if you did not make use of any of the other benefits, this card is worth having for a year. You need to cancel before the 1 year anniversary in order to avoid paying the $95 annual fee.
Lounge access & companion certificate
This card gives you 2 United club one-time passes per year. If you want more frequent lounge access, then pay the higher annual fee on the Infinite card. This card doesn't give you any companion certificates. Unlike other airlines, United does not offer companion certificates as a benefit of its credit card program.
2x miles earned on United purchases
If you spend a lot on United flights, the 2x miles earned per dollar is a nice perk. That's like earning 2% back on United flights. The Quest card earns 3x and the Infinite card earns 4x per dollar on United, so get the higher level cards if you want to earn more miles. The Gateway card also earns 2x miles per dollar on United, so switch to that card after the first year if you want to avoid an annual fee.
Priority boarding & other savings
This card gives you priority boarding and 25% in-flight purchase discounts like the higher level Quest card. There is no need to pay a higher annual fee for these benefits.
