United Airlines recently announced sweeping changes to how passengers earn miles for their flights with United. Essentially, it’s all about the credit cards now: since April 2nd 2026, United flyers without elite status that do not have a United MileagePlus credit card will earn 40% less miles: 3 miles/dollar, rather than the usual 5. So, in this post I want to take a look at United’s family of MileagePlus credit cards. Should you get one, and if so, which one should you get?

Note: Welcome bonuses mentioned here are available for applications in April/May 2026, and may not be available thereafter. Please check the welcome bonus available to you before applying.

1. Should you get a United MileagePlus Credit Card?
2. Overview of the United MileagePlus Credit Card Family
   1. United MileagePlus Gateway Card
   2. United MileagePlus Explorer Card
   3. United MileagePlus Quest Card
   4. United MileagePlus Club Card
3. For the United loyalists, here are my recommendations
4. The case for getting a United credit card without being a United frequent flyer: United Polaris or Ethiopian business class redemptions
5. My pick: the United Explorer card is best positioned for the casual United flyer or points enthusiast
6. Summary

Should you get a United MileagePlus Credit Card?

Let’s start with the main question at hand. As with any airline co-branded credit card, there is one question you should answer before you apply for a United MileagePlus credit card: are you willing to be loyal to United Airlines? Meaning that you fly with United almost exclusively, even if competitors have cheaper fares. This makes most sense if your main gateway is a United hub, such as San Francisco (SFO), Houston (IAH), Chicago (ORD) or Newark (EWR). That’s because the value of these cards is maximized if you use the United-bound perks the card offers. Also, any miles you accrue will be ‘stuck’ with United, and United miles simply aren’t all that valuable. So, if your answer is no, then you probably shouldn’t apply for one of these cards.

Generally, I recommend getting a credit card that is not co-branded, and accrues one of the points currencies of Chase, Capital One, Amex, Citibank, Bilt and perhaps Wells Fargo. I published a post with my favorites. These are flexible currencies that can be transferred to various airlines and hotel loyalty programs, giving you unrivaled flexibility to maximize the value of your points.

However, United’s MileagePlus cards underwent a revamp not so long ago, and hold some value to those not looking to be United loyalists, but to redeem United miles, as these cards provide a 10-15% discount on award flights, and expanded saver award access. And despite their lukewarm value, United miles can be useful for some redemptions…

Let’s dig into the various cards, and then I’ll make some suggestions on who should get which card.

Overview of the United MileagePlus Credit Card Family

United has a nice comparison chart on their website, showing the various credit cards side-by-side with some of their key benefits. As of the time of writing (April 2026), there is a nice welcome offer going on on all but the entry-level card, so this would be a good time to apply for one of these, if you’d like.

On a basic level, there are four credit cards: the entry-level, no-annual-fee Gateway has the weakest perks; the $150 Explorer is probably the sweet spot for most; the $350 Quest card is for those serious about United loyalty; and the $695 Club card includes a United Club membership.

Note: The ‘total’ miles earning rates mentioned refer to the total you will get per dollar spent if you pay for the flight with you United MileagePlus card, plus any mileage earning from the actual flight you take without having any United Premier elite status. See my previous post for more info about this.

While the table above shows all the key benefits, including the bonus categories and some relevant perks, there is more to these cards than just that. Let’s dig into the details.

United MileagePlus Gateway Card

The Gateway card is United’s entry-level card. It has no annual fee, comes with a small welcome offer, and allows you to get 5x miles/dollar on United flights, which you won’t get without the credit card. Otherwise, perks such as free checked bags and 10% off on award flights need to be earned with a spend of at least $10.000 (!) on the card.

United MileagePlus Explorer Card

The Explorer card is the ‘cheapest’ card, with an annual fee of $150. Importantly, the first year is free, so that there’s absolutely no ‘cost’ to trying this card out for a year. $150 is more expensive than the usual mid-tier co-branded airline card, as usually these card tend to be $95. It comes with free checked bags, priority boarding, and also 2 United Club passes. You get the full miles earning rate without needing to spend on the card, and there’s a slew of okay-ish credits that can help offset the annual fee. This card is probably the one suitable for most people.

United MileagePlus Quest Card

The Quest card is a higher-end card in the family, and is aimed at those flying United regularly. It comes with more free checked bags, priority boarding, but no United Club access. However, it provides an annual 10.000 mile award flight discount and credits that can go a long wya to offsetting the annual fee, including an annual $200 United travel credit.

United MileagePlus Club Card

This is United’s highest-end credit card, and is aimed at the true United frequent flyer. With a $695 annual fee, it’s expensive, and that’s predominantly because it comes with a membership towards the United Club lounge network. it also has the highest miles earning rates of all cards, priority services for all stages of your flight, many credits and a 10.000 mile award flight discount with the potential to earn two more 10.000-mile award flight discounts annually.

For the United loyalists, here are my recommendations

As I mentioned above, the first question to answer is whether you intend to be a loyal United flyer, and if that question is yes, your card choice depends on how frequent of a flyer you think you’ll be.

First of all, Nobody should bother with the United Gateway card. It’s free, but it’s value is incredibly limited. It’s only okay for accumulating United miles at the card-holder rate, but I wouldn’t get any card solely for that purpose given the limited value of United miles. If that is your goal, have a look at my recommendations for general points-earning rewards cards, especially by Chase, whose points can be transferred to United if you really want to redeem them there.

If you fly United at least 2-3 times per year, the Explorer card would be for you. With that amount of flying, the annual fee should be recouped if you check a bag every time. The United Club passes are a very nice addition to get a sense of what those are like. Admittedly 2 passes is not much, but for a $150 annual fee card it’s a nice bonus that’s usually not included at that price point. I personally wouldn’t bother with the credits, but if you can get some use out of that, it’ll make the math on the card better. I do like that the current welcome bonus comes with Premier Silver status, which provides for a 15% award flight discount (up from 10% otherwise).

If you’re flying United up to once per month, the Explorer or Quest card is a pretty good bet, depending on how much you’re willing to spend, and as long as you don’t value the United Club membership (see next paragraph about that). The thing is, I feel the value for the Quest card comes from the $200 United travel credit and the 10.000 mile flight award, which, if used well, can recoup the annual fee. However, I think the card is otherwise a little light on useful perks on United flights: it’s mostly the same as the Explorer card, hence my recommendation to stick with that one.

if you’re flying United at least 1-2 per month, or value the United Club membership, the Club card is for you. This one is quite straightforward, since one of its main selling points is the United Club memberships. I also like its Premier Access priority services, which should streamline your entire journey. Otherwise 1500 PQP head start to Premier Status is nice, but a little stingy, to be honest. The credits can help offset the annual fee, including the $200 United travel credit, while the others may require a little bit more work.

Those are my recommendations for United flyers, but what if you have no interest in being loyal to United? See below…

The case for getting a United credit card without being a United frequent flyer: United Polaris or Ethiopian business class redemptions

As I said before, I generally don’t recommend people to get co-branded airline credit cards, as they lock the points you earn into that airline’s loyalty program, and United points are not particularly valuable.

However, there is a unique angle that’s worth considering: the Explorer card can have appeal for those looking to redeem United miles, and my reasoning for that is as follows:

1. The United Explorer card is free for the first year, with the $150 annual fee only charged in the second year. So, the first year there is literally no cost to holding onto this card.
2. The card provides 10% off of award redemptions, and with the Explorer card’s current welcome bonus granting Premier Silver status after completing the required spend, that discount is elevated to 15%. The average long-haul international flight redemption with e.g. Ethiopian Airlines is 88.000 miles, so with a 10% discount you save 8000 miles, and 15% saves you 13.200 miles.
3. To me, 13.200 miles are worth at least $132, and probably more, but only if redeemed for a business class ticket. As such, that discount is enough to offset the annual fee – which is even waived for the first year!

However, keep this mind: United charges more for flight redemptions than e.g. Air Canada Aeroplan in terms of points, but less in taxes and fees. For example, IAD-HND booked through Air Canada Aeroplan may be 87.500 points and $130 in taxes and fees, whereas United will charge 110.000 points and $5.60. It’s my perception that points are more valuable than the extra ~$120 in taxes and fees, so better to book through Air Canada and use less points. However, one should always search with both loyalty programs, because United may have availability that Air Canada does not, and vice versa.

So, what are potentially good uses of United miles ?

• United Polaris business class redemptions, of which there should be more available at a saver level when you have a United MileagePlus credit card, but probably still hard to get.
• Africa destinations with Ethiopian Airlines, the flag carrier of Ethiopia with a base in Addis Ababa. I tend to see redemptions of 88.000 miles from the US to points in Africa, including Johannesburg.
• Other Star Alliance partners to Asia, including Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei and Tokyo for 110.000 miles, flying with airlines such as EVA and ANA. However, those can be sparse, especially on competitive routes such as JFK-HND.
• Note that United also has US domestic redemptions and redemptions to and within Europe, but I tend to think you’ll get better value through other programs.

My pick: the United Explorer card is best positioned for the casual United flyer or points enthusiast

So here’s my best suggestion for those flying United occasionally, or those not willing (or able) to be United loyalists: it could be worthwhile to get the United Explorer card for a year or two.

First year it’ll be free, so put in the required spend for the welcome bonus and get the Premier Silver status. Plan a roundtrip domestic (or other short to medium haul) flight, and make use of the free checked bag and the United Club access.

Important: redeem your miles for a long haul international flight while you still have your Premier Silver status as this will get you 15% off the points price of the redemption! This will bring a 88.000-mile award flights to e.g. Johannesburg down to 74.800 miles – an excellent value that will be more or less worth the annual fee of the second year.

If you like the United Club access and free checked bag, consider keeping the Explorer card a second year given that you can get those perks when flying United for a second year while having paid for only one year of card membership.

Before the third year starts, downgrade to the United Gateway card. Not because it’s a great card or anything, but because canceling a credit card is usually worse for your credit score than simply downgrading it to the ‘free’ alternative.

Summary

United’s MileagePlus credit card family is certainly a useful companion to the United frequent flyer. While the Explorer card is probably best positioned for most United loyalists, the United Club could be worth it for those flying United all the time, or those valuing United Club access. Beyond that, there is a case to be made to get the United Explorer card for up to two years, to use the benefits for that time, get the welcome bonus and redeem them at 15% off thanks to the card membership and the Premier Silver that’s part of the April 2026 welcome bonus. thanks to the first year annual fee waiver.