A Complete Guide to the United MileagePlus Credit Cards 2024

by Daniel | Last Updated May 19th, 2024

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If you’re considering getting one of the United MileagePlus Credit Cards, or already have one and are looking to upgrade your current card, then this article is for you.

Basically what I’m going to do is talk you through how all 4 of these credit card differ in terms of benefits and perks, and then at the end of the video I’ll give you my opinion on which card is the best option for you.

https://youtu.be/xhUA1LCzKng

So Who Are These Cards Good For?

Well generally speaking, all four of these credit cards are specifically designed for people who fly with United on a regular basis.
And this is because a majority of the benefits that are on offer with each card are directly related to United.

Then depending on how much you travel each year and what benefits you want will determine which card will be the best fit for you.

As you will see in the next section of the article there is quite a broad range of benefits and perks available from each card.

With the entry level United Gateway Credit Card offering a relatively small sign up bonus and a couple of benefits all the way uptown the most premium card the United Club Infinite Card offers quite a large signup bonus and a wide range of different benefits and perks.

Things to Know 

Now before I get in to the finer details about each card, It’s worth noting that when you earn United Miles with any of these cards, you will be able to use these miles on any of the 42 different Star Alliance member airlines.

Along with this, if you make a booking and fly with any of the Star Alliance Airlines, you will also earn points to your United MileagePlus account.

United Gateway Credit Card

Although I must say, unlike all of the other United credit cards, it doesn’t provide for your first checked bag free.
And even if you only travel on one return trip a year with a checked bag, United will actually charge you $35 to check your first bag for each trip, which means you will be paying $70 for one round trip per person.

Sign-up bonus

So at the time of making this video, it is possible to earn 20,000 bonus miles after you spend just $1,000 on the card over the first 3 month period.
This works out to be around $83 a week over 3 months, which shouldn’t be too hard to achieve. 
Now United Miles are worth around 1.2 cents per miles, which means the 20,000 signup bonus is worth about $240.

Benefits 

Now in terms of benefits, the United Gateway card really doesn’t offer much at all, and this can sometimes be the case with entry level cards that have no annual fee. 

So the first benefit available with this card is the ability to receive 25% back for food, beverages and Wi-Fi purchase that are made on United flights.

Then there is a one more partner benefit included with this card, which is a complimentary 12 month DashPass

So as you can see, the United Gateway doesn’t really provide you with much value at all.
But again, it is the entry level card so its not unusual.

Earning Miles 

Now when it comes to earning miles, the United Gateway card actually provides a reasonable selections of options for earning miles from.

So there are 3 categories that provides 2x miles earning, which are:

• Purchases made at gas stations
• Purchases from United
• And then from local transit

Everything else will earn you 1 mile per dollar spent.

So whilst the United Gateway card doesn’t offer a very high level of miles earnings potential, at least there are a few options to choose from.

But like I said before, I don’t like the fact that this card doesn’t provide you with your first checked bag free of charge like all of the other United card.

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United Explorer Card

Basically, the United Explorer Card is essentially free for the first year of card ownership, then each year thereafter will cost you $95.
So this card is a good choice if you travel with United on a somewhat regular basis and want to get more benefits and perks than what the entry level United Gateway Card offers.

Sign-up bonus

Now the signup bonus that is currently available with the United Explorer Card is substantially more than what the United Gateway card is offering.

At the time of making this video, it impossible to earn 50,000 bonus miles if you are able to spend $3,000 on the card within the first 3 months of opening the account.

Now whilst this is 3x the spend requirement that the United Gateway card requires, it is worth quite a bit more.
Seeing that United miles are worth around 1.2 cents per mile means the 50,000 mile sign up bonus is worth about $600.

That around $360 more value then the sign up bonus of the Gateway card.
So if you can manage to spend $250 a week on the card over the first 3 months of card ownership, you will most certainly benefit from the increased signup bonus.

I think this is a pretty good sign-up bonus for a card that is free for the first year and then only $95 per year after that.

Benefits

So like I mentioned before, this card offers quite a few more benefits than the entry level Gateway card, so let’s take a look at what they are.

The first benefit, that I think is really quite valuable if you travel frequently is the ability to get your first checked bag free of charge, and this includes one companion that is traveling with you.

And this is because United charges $35 per person for the first checked bag on economy flights.

So this is something to really consider if you are thinking about getting the entry level Gateway card, as just one return trip with a checked bag for you and one companion will cost you $140, which is $45 more than the annual fee of this card.

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Now another nice benefit that comes with this card is 2 complimentary United Club one-time passes each and every year.
And with access to the United club costing $59 per person, this benefit is valued at $118.

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The next benefit that comes with this card is a $100 credit that can be used for either Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS.

Now from my experience using both TSA Pre Check and Global Entry over that past few years, it has become almost as crowded as the regular security check points at the airport.
So whilst it may save you 1 or 2 mins in waiting time, it’s nothing to  get too excited about. 

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There is then Priority boarding which a nice benefit to have.
Basically this allows you to board the plane before general boarding, which is always nice as it allows you the freedom to actually stow your overhead bags before space runs out.

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Then another added benefit that this card has is Premier upgrades on award tickets.
And how this works is quite simple, if you have MileagePlus Premier status and then bookan award ticket, both you and one travel companion that is traveling on the same reservation as you will be eligible for an upgrade assuming there is availability.

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So just like the United Explorer card you will also benefit from 25% back for food, beverages and Wi-Fi purchase that are made on United flights.

And there is also the same complimentary 12 month DashPass.

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Now this card also allows you to earn Premier qualifying points or (PQP’s)
And this will basically help to bring you closer to earning MileagePlus Premier status.
Basically you will earn 25 PQPs for every $500 you spend on th ecard, with a maximum earning of 1,000 PQPs each year.

Earning Miles 

Now when it comes to earning miles, the United Explorer card doesn’t offer a higher miles earning potential than the entry level Gateway card, the main difference is that the earring categories are slightly different.
So make sure to consider where you spend a majority of your money, as this will effect how much value you receive from the card through your everyday spending.

So just like the Gateway card there are 3 categories that provides 2x miles earning, which are:

• Dining purchases, which includes delivery services
• Purchases from United
• And then hotel accommodation that is booked directly with the hotel

Everything else will earn you 1 mile per dollar spent.  

So in terms of value, this card has a lot more on offer than the entry level United Gateway card.

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United Quest Card

Sign-up bonus

Now the signup bonus with the United Quest card is not that much more than the United Explorer card.
Currently it is possible to earn 60,000 bonus miles if you can manage to spend $4,000 on the card within the first 3 months of opening the account.

Thats a spend of just over $1,300 a month for 3 months, which is not too bad.
And with United Miles being valued at around 1.2 cents per mile, the 60,000 mile bonus is worth about $720.

Now along with this, assuming you meet the spend requirement you will also receive 500 Premier qualifying points or (PQP).
This will essentially bring that little bit closer to receiving Premier status.  

Benefits

Now the United Quest card actually comes with quite a lot more benefits than both the United Gateway and Explorer card come with.
And whilst it does cost a fair amount more on annual basis than both of those cards, if you can just make use of a few of these benefits, you will receive quite a lot more value. 

So the additional benefits that are offered with the United Quest card are as follows:

A $125 annual United purchase credit.
With this you will basically receive $125 in statement credits each account anniversary year for purchases that are made through United.
So assuming you do fly with United, this will bring the annual fee down to just $125.

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There is then the ability to earn back up to 10,000 miles in award flight credits each year.
This is available from your first account anniversary and will be award to you in 5,000 mile blocks for any award flights that are  booked with your own miles.

So off you book two award flights from your first account anniversary with your own miles, you will receive 10,000 miles back into your MileagePlus account.
And with miles being worth 1.2 miles per mile, this in itself is valued at around $120.

So that brings the annual fee down to just $5, so if you can make use of just these two benefits alone, you will getting some pretty good value.

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Now with the United Quest card you will get both your first and second checked bags free of charge for you and one companion traveling with you on the same reservation.
So if you travel on economy with quite a lot of luggage and know you will need to check at least 2 bags, this can save you quite a lot of money, as United charges $35 for your first checked bag and then $45 for a second bag (per person).

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Now just like the United Explorer card you will get the following benefits:

• A $100 credit that can be used for either Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS.
• Priority boarding
• Premier upgrades on award tickets

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You will also be able to earn Premier qualifying points or (PQP’s) at that same rate as the United Explorer card, which is 25 PQPs for every $500 that you spend.
The main difference is that you can earn unto 6,000 PQPs in a calendar year, compared to the Explorer cards limit of just 1,000 PQPs.

So the only thing this card lacks is the absence of access to the United Club which is a bit of a bummer.

Earning Miles 

Now when it comes to earning miles the United Quest card does actually offer a slight elevated miles earning potential than the United Explorer card.

Basically it is possible to earn 3x miles for United purchases.

Then it I possible to earn 2x miles from the following categories:

• All travel purchses 
• Dining out, including delivery services 
• Select streaming services

Then everything else will earn you 1 miles per dollar spent. 

So as you can see, the United Quest card has a pretty broad range of categories to earn miles from. 

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United Club Infinite Card

Sign-up bonus

So at the time of making this video it is possible to earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on the card within the first 3 months of opening the account.

This sign-up bonus is worth around $960 based on miles being worth 1.2 cents per mile.

Benefits

So the most valuable benefit that the United Club Infinite card offers is a United Club membership, and this is valued at $650.

Basically this will provide you with complimentary access for you and two guests that are flying on the same flight to over 45 United Club locations worldwide.
You will also have access the six different United Polaris lounges, although you will need yo be flying business class to access these lounges. 

So if having lounge access is something you really value, the United Club Infinite card is the only card on this list that provides unlimited lounge access for you and two companions.

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There is then are a few more benefits that are exclusive to this card which are:

• Premier Access travel service, this basically provides you with enhanced check in and security screening.
  So it should make your travel a little bit easier.   
• IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status, with this you will receive $75 in statement credits each year that can be used at IHG hotels.
  Along with this you are eligible for room upgrades late checkouts times when they ar available. 
• It also possible to receive a 10% discount on United Economy Saver Award flights that are from within the continental U.S. and Canada.
  So this is only valid on fare classes X and XN.
  And to receive the 10% discount, the booking must be made by the primary Cardmember using there own United miles.
• Then finally you will receive access to Avis President’s Club, this essentially allows you to enjoy a few extra perks from Avis if and when you use their service

I personally just use Turo to hire cars as I find there is a larger choice of cars and it more affordable 

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Then just like the United Quest card you get the following benefits:

•  A $100 credit that can be used for either Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS.
• 25% back on United inflight and Club premium drink purchases
• Your first and second checked bags free of charge for you and one companion traveling with you on the same reservation. 
• Premier upgrades on award tickets.

Then finally, you can also earn Premier qualifying points or (PQP’s) at a rate of 25 PQPs for every $500 that you spend.
The main difference with this card  is that you can earn unto 10,000 PQPs in a calendar year.

Earning Miles 

Now seeing that this is the most expensive and excluding card that is offered by United you would expect it to have the best miles earning potential, and thankfully it does.

For all United purchases you can earn 4x miles.
All other travel related purchases will earn you 2x miles
Dinning out at restaurants or getting delivery will also earn you 2x miles.

Then everything else will earn you 1 mile per dollar spent.

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Final Thoughts 

Ok so that covers pretty much everything you need to know about all 4 of the United MileagePlus Credit Cards

And as you can see the more expensive cards do offer more benefits than the cheaper ones, the question you should ask yourself is what benefits do you want and will you actually use them. 

To some degree, the annual fee you are paying for any of these cards is essential paying up front for the benefits you are receiveing.

The most important thing in my opinion is the cards Miles earning ability, as this will over time provide you with a ton of value.

Obviously having your first checked bag free is also worth considering, as if you fly more than a few times a year with United and do tend to check in at least one bag, this will save you a ton of money over time.

If I had to choose just one card I would probably take the United Club Infinite Card, and this is mainly because I travel a few times every month, which means I would be able to make good use of the United Lounge.
And as I always check at least one bag, having the ability to check two bags free of charges would really benefit me.

If I didn’t travel as much I currently do, I would be more than happy with the United Quest card.
First of all because it has a pretty good miles earning potential which would allow me to earn a decent amount of value from my everyday spending.
And although it does cost $250 a year for the annual fee, this is quite easily offset by the $125 annual United purchase credit, and the ability to earn back up to 10,000 miles in award flight credits each calendar year.

Now if you’re still considering which airline credit card is the best choice for you, make sure to check out one of my latest articles where I review all 4 of the American Express Delta SkyMiles credit cards.