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February 3, 2025: We’ve completely reworked and updated our article and included the recent improvements to how you earn PQPs with the United credit cards.
United Airlines offers six credit cards in partnership with Chase. These United cards offer a host of benefits, from increased rewards for United purchases, to free bags, to access to United’s 45 United Club locations. In this post, we’ve collected all of the information you need to compare these cards to find the one that is right for you.
All information about the United Club℠ Business Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
In this article…
Our recommendations: Find the best United credit card for you
We created this post to help you easily compare United credit card benefits, mileage earnings, and perks. But if you want our quick expert recommendations, here they are:
 United Gateway℠ Card Annual fee: annual_fees | In most cases, you’ll get better rewards and benefits with a no-annual-fee cash back rewards card, but if you hold the United℠ Business Card, you can activate that card’s 5,000 point “Better Together” anniversary point bonus by holding this card. Sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply. |
 United℠ Explorer Card Annual fee: annual_fees | You’re an occasional United Airlines traveler without elite status and you want a free checked bag for you and a companion when flying United, plus two United Club one-time passes each year. Sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply. |
 United Quest℠ Card Annual fee: annual_fees | You travel on United a few times a year, using a mix of cash tickets and award travel. You don’t want to pay for lounge access and, if you don’t have United MileagePlus Premier status, you fly frequently with a companion and check bags. Sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply. |
 United Club℠ Infinite Card Annual fee: annual_fees | You want a United Club℠ membership, you somewhat frequently book United Economy award tickets at the saver level, and you have the ability to charge your United tickets to your personal credit card. Sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply. |
United℠ Business Card Annual fee: annual_fees | You book seven or more United tickets per year and you want a free checked bag for you and a companion when flying United, plus two United Club one-time passes each year. Sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply. |
 United Club℠ Business Card Annual fee: $450 | You want the least expensive United Club℠ membership and you’re looking to spend your way to United Premier Status using non-category purchases. Sign-up bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles + 1,000 Premier qualifying points (PQP) after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Learn how to apply. |
What to look for in an airline credit card
When you get an airline credit card, you’re essentially buying a subscription to a suite of benefits, most of which are related to flying on the airline. Here are some of the benefits you can get with United credit cards:
- Free checked bags
- United one-time lounge access passes or United Club membership.
- Earning Premier Qualifying Points toward United Premier status.
- Discounts on award travel, or United travel credits.
- Unlocking Premier upgrades on award tickets.
Don’t use an airline card for spending.
Airline credit cards typically offer lower rewards for spending than other cards, making airline cards a poor choice to use for most purchases. Even if you want to use a card for spending to achieve a higher level of elite status, understand that using an airline card for purchases has an opportunity cost—you usually could be earning more rewards with another card.
As an example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a card with no annual fee that earns more points on dining and more points on general purchases than most of the United credit cards. It can even earn more points on United flights than the United cards, provided you book your flights through Chase Travel℠. Further, if you hold a premium Ultimate Rewards® card, you can transfer the points you earn to United, meaning the non-United card can get you more points on most purchases than even the most premium United cards.
Airline benefits: Perks when flying on United Airlines
Here’s a comparison of the perks you’ll get with each card when flying on United Airlines.
| | | |  | |
| United Gateway℠ Card | United℠ Explorer Card | United Quest℠ Card | United Club℠ Infinite Card | United℠ Business Card | United Club℠ Business Card |
| Free checked bags For primary cardmember and one companion. | |||||
| – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Priority Boarding | |||||
| – | |||||
| Premier Access | |||||
| – | – | – | – | ||
| United Club℠ one-time passes (per calendar year) | |||||
| – | 2 | – | – | 2 | – |
| United Club℠ membership | |||||
| – | – | – | – | ||
| Premier upgrades on award tickets | |||||
| – | |||||
| 25% back on United inflight and club premium drink purchases | |||||
| Earn Premier qualifying points (PQP) PQP earning rate and maximum PQP earned on the card in a year. | |||||
| – | 1 PQP per $20 spent Up to 1,000 | 1 PQP per $20 spent Up to 9,000 | 1 PQP per $15 spent Up to 15,000 | 1 PQP per $20 spent Up to 1,000 | 1 PQP per $15 spent Up to 15,000 |
Additional unique benefits when flying on United
In addition to the benefits above, some of the United credit cards offer unique benefits, specific to that card:
United Quest℠ Card offers up to $125 in statement credits each year for United purchases charged to your card. You’ll also receive 5,000 miles credit back to your MileagePlus® account after you take an eligible award flight booked with your miles, up to two times per year, starting after your first cardmember anniversary.- United Club℠ Infinite Card will get you a 10% discount on United Economy Saver Awards within the continental United States and Canada.
- United℠ Business Card incentivizes you to have a personal United card in addition to the United Business card. If you do, you’ll receive 5,000 “better-together” anniversary bonus miles each year.
United Quest℠ Card offers up to $125 in statement credits each year for United purchases charged to your card. You’ll also receive 5,000 miles credit back to your MileagePlus® account after you take an eligible award flight booked with your miles, up to two times per year, starting after your first cardmember anniversary.
United Club℠ Infinite Card will get you a 10% discount on United Economy Saver Awards within the continental United States and Canada.
United℠ Business Card incentivizes you to have a personal United card in addition to the United Business card. If you do, you’ll receive 5,000 “better-together” anniversary bonus miles each year.Rewards: Earn MileagePlus miles for purchases
All of United’s co-branded credit cards earn MileagePlus miles. Here’s what each card earns:
| | | | | |
| United Gateway℠ Card | United℠ Explorer Card | United Quest℠ Card | United Club℠ Infinite Card | United℠ Business Card | United Club℠ Business Card |
| United purchases | |||||
| 2x | 2x | 3x | 4x | 2x | 2x |
| Dining | |||||
| – | 2x | 2x | 2x | 2x | – |
| Hotel stays | |||||
| – | 2x | (See “all other travel”) | (See “all other travel”) | – | – |
| All other travel | |||||
| – | – | 2x | 2x | – | – |
| Gas stations | |||||
| 2x | – | – | – | 2x | – |
| Local transit and commuting | |||||
| 2x | – | (See “all other travel”) | (See “all other travel”) | 2x | – |
| Select streaming services | |||||
| – | – | 2x | – | – | – |
| Office supply stores | |||||
| – | – | – | – | 2x | – |
| All other purchases | |||||
| 1x | 1x | 1x | 1x | 1x | 1.5x |
Other travel benefits: Travel insurance and more
Some of the travel benefits provided by United Airlines credit cards are useful whenever you’re traveling, be it on United, another air carrier, or even by ship, train, or bus. Here are the general travel benefits of United credit cards.
| | | | | |
| United Gateway℠ Card | United℠ Explorer Card | United Quest℠ Card | United Club℠ Infinite Card | United℠ Business Card | United Club℠ Business Card |
| $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee credit | |||||
| – | |||||
| Auto rental collision damage waiver insurance May provide primary or secondary coverage in the U.S., or primary coverage when renting for business. | |||||
| Trip cancellation/interruption insurance Coverage limits per person, per trip. May cover prepaid passenger fares, prepaid tours, or prepaid hotels. | |||||
| $1.5k $6k | $1.5k $6k | $1.5k $6k | $10k $20k | $1.5k $6k | $10k $20k |
| Baggage delay insurance | |||||
| – | |||||
| Lost luggage reimbursement | |||||
| – | |||||
| Trip delay reimbursement | |||||
| – | |||||
| Travel accident insurance | |||||
| – | – | – | – | – | |
| Avis President’s Club | |||||
| – | – | – | – | ||
| No foreign transaction fees | |||||
Consumer insurance benefits: Protection for the things you buy
Consumer insurance benefits like extended warranty and purchase protection cover the things you buy with the card. Here’s what’s offered with each United credit card:
| | | | | |
| United Gateway℠ Card | United℠ Explorer Card | United Quest℠ Card | United Club℠ Infinite Card | United℠ Business Card | United Club℠ Business Card |
| Purchase protection | |||||
| Extended warranty protection | |||||
| Return protection | |||||
| – | – | – | – | ||
| Price protection | |||||
| – | – | – | – | – | |
| Roadside assistance | |||||
| – | – | – | – | – | |
Sign-up bonuses: Earn MileagePlus miles when getting a new card
We have an entire article dedicated to covering the best United credit card welcome bonuses. But here are the current welcome bonuses on the United Airlines credit cards:
- United Gateway℠ Card: bonus_miles_full (Regular APR: reg_apr,reg_apr_type) Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: annual_fees - United℠ Explorer Card: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: annual_fees - United Quest℠ Card: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: annual_fees - United Club℠ Infinite Card: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: annual_fees - United℠ Business Card: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: annual_fees 
United Club℠ Business Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles + 1,000 Premier qualifying points (PQP) after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
United Club℠ Business Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles + 1,000 Premier qualifying points (PQP) after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.Recent changes: Updates to the United Airlines credit cards
Chase and United occasionally make changes to the United Airlines credit cards. Here’s our take on the most recent changes:
More opportunities to earn PQPs
On January 31, 2025, Chase made changes to how PQPs are earned with the United Club℠ Infinite Card and United Quest℠ Card. The Club card now allows you to earn up to 15,000 PQPs per year (up from 10,000) and the United Quest card now allows you to earn up to 9,000 PQPs per year. But that wasn’t the only change to PQP earning
The United Quest card previously awarded 25 PQPs for every $500 you spend on the card, but now it now awards 1 PQP for every $20 you spend. If you do the math, you’re earning the same number of PQPs per $500 you spend, you you’ll now earn them in smaller increments.
With the United Club card, it gets even better—you’ll now earn 1 PQP for every $15 you spend, rather than 25 PQPs per $500 spent. This change means that, not only are you earning PQPs in smaller increments, but you’re earning more PQPs—at least 33% more—than before the change.
Our take: These changes are all good, with little downside for current cardmembers. The only possible downside is that easier-to-earn PQPs could mean inflated numbers of elite members, possibly incentivizing United to increase requirements for elite status in the future.
Bottom line: Easy ways to buy the benefits you want
Whether you’re a road-warrior traveler looking for a less-expensive way to buy a Untied Club membership and boost your Premier status level or an occasional traveler who wants to save some money on checked bag fees, if you fly on United more than a few times a year, chances are one of the United credit cards can save you money.
Frequently asked questions
What are the benefits of having a United credit card?
All of the United credit cards come with a suite of benefits. Benefits of United cards include free checked bags, lounge access, United travel credits, discounts on award tickets, and more. Benefits vary by card.
How can I earn the most United miles on my United flights?
You can earn more United points by booking your United flights with a card that earns Ultimate Rewards® and transferring those points to United. For example, you can earn 3 points per dollar when you book your United flight with either the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (on up to $150k of travel purchases per year). If you book your United flights through Chase Travel℠ using most Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards, you can earn 5 points per dollar spent.
Do United cards include Chase Trip Delay protection?
All of the United credit cards that carry an annual fee include trip delay reimbursement, lost luggage reimbursement, and baggage delay insurance.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
