by Daniel | Last Updated July 22nd, 2021
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So today I am going to review the four different Visa United MileagePlus credit cards and then I’ll go over some of the benefits and rewards that they offer and then decide if each card is worth it.
The four different cards that are currently available start with the United Gateway card which has no annual fee and is the only card on this list that is free on an annual basis.
The next card is the United Explorer card which has no fee for the first year and then it is $95 per year.
Next up is the United Quest card which has an annual fee of $250 and then finally the most expensive and exclusive card on offer is the United Club Infinite card which has the highest annual fee on this list which is currently $525 per year.
1. United Gateway
*Annual Fee – $0
*Earn up to 30,000 bonus miles after you have spent $3,000 within the first 6 months of opening the account
So the first card on this list is the United Gateway credit card and it is a great option for anybody new to credit cards as it has no annual fee but still has some nice perks that you can take advantage of.
Sign-up Bonus
So for new cardmembers, you can earn a total of 30,000 bonus miles.
The initial amount of 15,000 miles can be earned after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening the account, and then you can earn an additional 15,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in total on purchases within the first 6 months of opening you account.
And these miles are worth approximately 1.2 cents per mile so 30,000 miles would equate to approximately $360 in value.
And you can use these miles for a wide range of different things such as travel, shopping, and gifts cards just to name a few.
Earning Miles
When using the credit card you will also be rewarded with bonus miles depending on what you purchase.
To begin with, you will earn 2x miles when you make purchases on United Airlines for the following: airline tickets, seat upgrades, inflight food and beverages, Wi-Fi, baggage service charges, or other United fees.
You will also receive 2x miles for purchases from gas stations and 2x miles for local transit such as taxis, trains, and ride-sharing services.
Any other purchases will receive 1 mile per dollar spent.
Redeeming Miles
Now if you want to redeem the miles you have accrued over time you have quite a few options.
First of all, you can use these miles to upgrade on United flights or Star Alliance flights.
Also by using the website https://www.mileageplusawards.com/ you can use points for a wide variety of different products.
You can also book hotels through the website https://hotels.united.com/ for a large range of hotels worldwide.
Then you can save on cars rentals by using your miles at the website https://cars.mileageplus.com/
There is also https://cruises.mileageplus.com/ where you can use miles for cruises.
There are a few more options for miles usage available, so it’s safe to say you have a lot of options when redeeming your miles
Other Perks
So a few other perks that are worth mentioning are:
Any purchases made on a United flight will receive 25% back in statement credits, and this includes things such as food, beverages, and onboard WiFi.
You will receive a 12-month DashPass from DoorDash that is valued at approximately $120.
And this will entitle you to free delivery on orders that are over $12 and 5% back on eligible pickup orders.
There is also Auto rental collision damage waiver that covers theft and collision damage for most cars in both the US and abroad.
With the coverage being secondary to your personal insurance.
You will also receive trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance.
And this will cover up to $1500 per person and up to $6000 per pre-paid trip, this covers things such as a trip being canceled due to sickness or injury.
There is Purchase protection that gives you 120 days on new purchases and covers against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and up to $50,000 per account.
You also get extended warranty protection that gives you an extra year of warranty on a US manufacturer’s warranty that is three years or less.
And finally, you can use the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection which gives you access to over 1,000 different properties worldwide and provides the following benefits:
daily breakfast for 2, a credit of up to $100 that can be used on things such as dining or spa credit, a free room upgrade if available, and early check-in and late check-out if available.
Also, there are no foreign transaction fees, so you can use any of the cards on this list overseas without the worry of hidden credit card fees.
Is It Worth It?
Considering there is no annual fee and you have to ability to earn miles just by using the card I think it is a great credit card to consider, especially if you are new to credit cards.
2. United Explorer
*Annual Fee – $0 for the first year then $95
*Earn up to 70,000 bonus miles after you have spent $6,000 within the first 6 months of opening the account
The second card on the list is the United Explorer credit card.
And this card offers the first year of card ownership for free and then for any following year there will be an annual fee of $95.
Sign-up Bonus
The sign-up bonus with the United Explorer card currently offers up to 70,000 bonus miles.
To earn the first 60,000 miles you will need to spend $3,000 in the first 6 months of card ownership, then you can earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you spend a total of $6,000 within the first 6 months of opening the account.
And these miles are worth approximately 1.2 cents per mile so 70,000 miles would equate to approximately $840 in value.
Earning Miles
You will receive similar bonus miles to the Gateway card when spending, but it also includes extra miles on dining and hotels.
So you will receive the same 2x miles for purchases made on United Airlines.
The difference is that you will 2x miles on hotels that are booked with the hotel, and 2x miles on dining and eligible food delivery services.
But you will not receive the 2x miles at gas stations or local transit as the previous card does.
All other purchases with the card will receive 1x miles per dollar spent.
Redeeming Miles
Similar to the Gateway card you will be able to redeem miles on all of the same benefits.
Other Perks
As with the Gateway card, you will receive 25% back from trips booked on United and be reimbursed in statement credits, and this includes things such as food, beverages, and onboard WiFi.
You also get the same 12-month DashPass as the Gateway card that provides you with free delivery on orders over $12 that is valued at approximately $120.
Additional perks that come with this card and not the previous Gateway card are:
Priority boarding for cardmembers and companions on the same reservation of a United-operated flight, and this gives you the option to board the plane before general boarding starts.
You and one companion traveling on the same united operated flight will also each get the first checked bag free up to $35 in value each way.
There is also a $100 statement credit for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every 4 years.
You will also receive 2 United Club one-time passes valued at up to $100.
And these can be used at more than 45 different United club locations, Copa Club Locations, and participating Star Alliance airport clubs worldwide.
In these clubs, you can expect access to free food and beverages including wine and spirits.
You will also get complimentary upgrades on award tickets on United flights when available.
And finally, you can earn up to 1,000 Premier qualifying points, and these points can help you to achieve MileagePlus Premier status.
Premier status has 4 different tiers and each level provides you with different benefits, the lowest tier offer 7x miles earned on each United flight whereas the top tier offers 11x points on every United flight, there is also increased baggage allowance on the upper tier levels.
You get the same Trip cancellation and Trip interruption insurance as the Gateway card which covers $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip.
You also get the same Auto Rental collision Damage waiver as the Gateway card which provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the car whether it be from theft or collision damage.
Then you get Purchases protection which has a higher limit per claim than the Gateway card.
The protection is for the same 120 days for damage or theft on new purchases but the per claim limit is lifted from $500 from the Gateway card to $10,000 per claim with this card, and the maximum per year is the same at $50,000.
You also get the same Extended warranty that the Gateway card offers which provides you with an additional year of warranty on eligible US warranties that are three years or less.
A few other benefits that are unique to this card is that you get Baggage delay insurance which will reimburse you for essentials such as toiletries and clothing if your baggage is damaged or lost by the carrier, and this provides you up to $100 a day for a total of 3 days.
There is also Lost luggage insurance that covers both the cardholder or an immediate family member for both check or carry-on luggage that is damaged or lost by the carrier and covers a total of $3,000 per passenger.
Another nice benefit that comes with this card is Trip delay reimbursement, so this will cover you up to $500 per ticket if your flight is delayed more than 12 hours or you require an overnight stay. This is for expenses such as food and lodging.
And finally, you get the same access to the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection as the Gateway card which provides you with:
Daily breakfast for 2, up to a $100 credit that can be used on either dining or spa facilities, a room upgrade if available and early check-in and late check-out if available.
Is It Worth It?
As the Explorer card is free for the first year I think it is definitely worth giving it a try and taking advantage of the benefits it has.
As you can see it has quite a bit more value than the Gateway card.
And If for any reason you don’t want to pay to $95 annual fee you can just cancel the card before the full year of card ownership is up, or you can just downgrade to the Gateway card which has no annual fee.
3. United Quest
*Annual Fee – $250
*Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles after you have spent $10,000 within the first 6 months of opening the account, you can also earn a $125 annual credit for United purchases made with the card.
Coming in third on this list is the United Quest credit card.
And this card has an annual fee of $250 which is more than twice as much as the Explorer card but it does offer more benefits and the opportunity to easily cover the cost of the annual fee and then some.
Sign-up Bonus
So to begin with the Quest card is offering the ability to earn 100,000 bonus miles.
The first 80,000 bonus miles can be earn after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months of opening the account, and then you can earn an extra 20,000 bonus miles after you spend a total of $10,000 within the first 6 months of opening the account.
And as with the other cards, these miles are worth approximately 1.2 cents per mile so 100,000 miles would equate to approximately $1,200 in value.
And a nice benefit that comes with this card is the ability to earn a $125 annual credit for United purchases, so assuming you do travel a fair bit, this will half your annual fee if you travel on United and use the credit card to pay for either the trip or other purchases made on a United flight.
Earning Miles
With the Quest card, you will earn 3x miles on all United purchases, which is 1 mile per dollar more than the 2 previous cards.
Next, you will earn 2x miles on all other travel such as airfares, hotels, car rentals, cruise lines, and rideshare services.
You will also earn 2x miles on dining and eligible delivery services, and select streaming services.
All other purchases will receive 1 mile per dollar spent.
So this card definitely has a higher miles earning structure than the previous two cards.
Redeeming Miles
Similar to both of the other cards you will be able to redeem miles on all of the same benefits.
Other Perks
With the Quest card, you will get some extra benefits that the previous two cards do not offer.
As I mentioned before you will get a $125 annual credit for United purchases that are charged to your card.
You will also have the opportunity to receive two 5,000 mile anniversary award flight credits for an award flight that is booked on United or United Express,(so this would equal 10,000 bonus miles if you take advantage of it).
Another nice benefit is that the primary cardholder and one companion that travels on the same flight will receive both their first and second checked bags for free. This works out to a total of $35 for the first bag and a total of $45 for the second bag – just note that this is only valid for United-operated flights in which you include your MileagePlus number to your reservation.
As with the Previous card (the Explorer card) you will also get priority boarding on United-operated flights.
Up to $100 credit for either Global Entry or TSA Precheck, 25% back in way of a statement credit for onboard purchases made on United flights including food, beverages, and WiFi.
And Premier upgrades on award tickets on any United flights if and when available.
One thing that you don’t get with the more expensive Quest card is the DoorDash credit that comes with the cheaper Explorer card.
You can, however, receive 3x more Premier qualifying points, 3,000 to be exact, to earn points it will cost $12,000 in purchases made on the card to earn 500 PQP’s, so to receive the 3,000 points you will need to spend $36,000 over the course of the year.
All of the insurance-related benefits and Luxury Hotel & Resort benefits are the same as the Explorer card.
Is It Worth It?
So the Quest card is $250 per year with the opportunity to earn back $125 each year in statement credits for purchases made on United Flights.
If you do fly often, and with United, this will bring your annual fee down to $125.
You also get a second checked bag for free which is a nice bonus if you do travel a lot.
In my option it is worth it if you do travel enough to make use of the extra checked bag, higher points earning and the potential to earn 3x more Premier qualifying points.
However if you don’t travel that much, I would recommend sticking to the Explorer card.
4. United Club Infinite
*Annual Fee – $525
*Earn up to 75,000 bonus miles after you have spent $3,000 within the first 3 months of opening the account.
The final card on this list is the United Infinite card and this is the most exclusive card on this list and the most expensive with an annual fee of $525.
Sign-up Bonus
So to begin with the Infinite card is offering the ability to earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of opening your account, and these miles are worth approximately 1.2 cents per mile so the 75,000 miles are worth approximately $900.
Interestingly enough this is 25,000 bonus miles less than the Quest card offers but the spend requirement is substantially less, with the Quest card you first need to spend $5,000 to receive the first 80,000 bonus miles within the first 3 months and then another $5000 in the following 3 months to receive the full 100,000 bonus miles.
So simply put it is easier the receive the bonus miles with the Club Infinite card.
Earning Miles
With the Infinite card, you will earn 4x miles on all United purchases which is 1 mile more per dollar than the Quest card.
You will also earn 4x miles on all purchases made through ‘United Card Events’, basically this is an exclusive feature for United MileagePlus cardmembers where you can book tickets to special events where there will be special guest speakers.
You will get the same 2x miles as the Quest card on both dining and travel.
And all other purchases will earn 1 mile per dollar spent.
So this card definitely has the best and highest miles earning structure of all of the other cards.
Redeeming Miles
Similar to all of the other cards you will be able to redeem miles on all of the same benefits.
Other Perks
A couple of perks that are exclusive to the Infinite card are,
A free United Club Membership that is valued at up to $650 per year.
And this gives you and 2 companions access to over 45 different United Club locations and participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges worldwide, (this benefit alone more than covers the annual fee of the card)
Another exclusive benefit for this card is Premier Access travel services which is basically preferential treatment at the airport such as priority check-in, security screening if available, boarding and baggage handling privileges.
You also get access to the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program called the Presidents circle which gives you a 50% bonus on all Hertz gold points, upgrades, exclusive offers, and more.
As with the Quest card you also get the same first and second checked bags free, a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, 25% back on in-flight United purchases, Premier upgrades on award tickets, and up to 3,000 Premier qualifying points.
Most of the insurance-related benefits with this card are the same as the Quest card exact for the Trip Cancellation and trip interruption insurance.
With the Infinite card, you get a much higher claim limit of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip, whereas the Quest card just offers $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip.
So a noticeable difference if you were to book an expensive flight and actually need to use this benefit.
The Luxury Hotel & Resort benefits are the same as the Explorer card.
Is It Worth It?
With the Infinite card coming in at $525 per year it is not a cheap card and more than twice the price of the Quest card.
if you travel extensively each year and know you will make use of all of the benefits it has to offer I think it is totally worth the annual fee of $525 as you can quite easily make back that amount and more from just the signup bonus and the United Club Membership that is worth $650 per year.
If you don’t travel that much I would personally stick with the Quest card as it is substantially cheaper at $250 per year with the option to earn back $125 in credit for purchases on United which essentially brings the annual fee down to $125 per year, and it still offers a whole range of useful benefits
So that my review of all of the Visa United MileagePlus credit cards.
I’d love to know which card you would choose? And which one do you think is the best value?
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