United℠ Explorer Card Review

For those who fly United Airlines, even only occasionally, the United℠ Explorer Card can be easily worth its annual fee. Cardholders enjoy perks such as a free checked bag on United flights, priority boarding, annual United Club passes and a credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus. Add in solid travel protections, including primary rental car collision coverage, and you have a card that justifies its $95 annual fee.

The United℠ Explorer Card offers decent earning rates for United Airlines, dining and hotel purchases. However, you can do better with other cards, especially on everyday spending. A 2% cash back card like the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card outperforms the United℠ Explorer Card in terms of ongoing return.

Ultimately, the card is one you get for its perks, not its earning potential. If you fly United Airlines at all, it’s worth considering for your wallet.

• Valuable sign-up bonus

  While it is not the best-ever sign-up bonus that we’ve seen for the card, the current United℠ Explorer Card offer is solid. You can limited-time Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. This is usually enough for two domestic round-trip economy tickets, or a one-way economy ticket anywhere in United’s network.

  Using an approximate value of 1.3 cent per United mile — an estimation based on real-world data — the sign-up bonus is worth approximately $650. This bonus can be enough to score you a couple domestic round-trip flights or even a round trip international flight in economy.

• Earn miles on dining, hotels and United purchases

  As you’d expect, the United℠ Explorer Card offers elevated earning on United Airlines purchases. However, the card offers a couple other bonus categories as well: 2x miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays. 1x mile on all other purchases.

  This is a decent value for people who frequently fly United Airlines, as the bonus category doesn’t include just airfare. You also earn 2 miles per $1 on inflight food and beverages, Wi-Fi and other United incidentals. The elevated dining and hotel earning rates complement the United earning for frequent travelers. Outside of these categories, however, the card has a lackluster earning rate. You could do better with a straight cash back credit card that earns 2% on all purchases, like the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card.

• Redeem miles for a good value

  United miles are worth approximately 1.3 cents each when redeemed for award flights, which gets you the best value. However, you can get much more than this depending on the redemption.

  United makes it easy to redeem miles online at united.com. Award flights can be as cheap as 5,000 miles one way, although the typical one-way domestic economy flight is in the 10,000 to 20,000 mile range. Premium cabin flights can range from 25,000 miles for domestic first class to over 100,000 miles for international business class. Given the cost of international business class fares, however, this can still provide excellent value for your United miles.

• Free checked bags and priority boarding

  Two of the best United℠ Explorer Card perks are the priority boarding and checked bag benefits. United Explorer cardholders enjoy Group 2 boarding privileges, ahead of all economy groups.

  The free checked bag benefit can save you significantly each year. The primary cardmember and one companion on the same reservation each receive a free checked bag when you purchase your ticket using your card. This is a potential savings of $140 on a single domestic round trip for two passengers — by itself enough to justify the card’s $95 annual fee.

• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit

  Another benefit of the United℠ Explorer Card is its trusted traveler program credit. You can receive a statement credit of up to $100 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS when charged to your card. Trusted traveler programs can help you spend less time in security and customs lines. Given that these program memberships last up to five years, this is an annual value of $20.

• 2 United Club passes each year

  Every year you’ll get two one-time United Club passes. These can be used to access any participating United Club, as long as there is capacity. United sells one-time passes for $59 each, so this is an annual value of $118.

  If you want lounge access for every trip, consider the United Club℠ Infinite Card, which provides complimentary United Club and participating global Star Alliance lounge access. The annual fee is much higher, but the Club membership could be worth it if you live near a United hub airport.

• Primary car rental insurance

  The United℠ Explorer Card offers auto rental collision damage coverage, giving you peace of mind and saving you money when you use it to rent a car. The coverage is primary, which means it kicks in before any collision coverage under your personal auto insurance policy. Few other airline credit cards with an annual fee under $100 offer this benefit — it is more typical of premium travel cards.

  The card will reimburse you up to the cash value of the car in the event of theft or damage of most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. All you have to do is pay for the cost of your rental using your United℠ Explorer Card and decline the rental company’s collision coverage.

• Other good travel protections

  In addition to the primary auto rental collision damage waiver, the United℠ Explorer Card offers some other excellent travel insurance protections:

  • Baggage delay insurance: Your United℠ Explorer Card will reimburse you for essential purchases made using your card in the event your baggage is delayed for more than six hours. This benefit is capped at $100 per day for up to six days.
  • Lost luggage reimbursement: In the event your luggage is damaged or lost by a carrier, you can be reimbursed up to $3,000 per covered passenger.
  • Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance: If your trip is canceled or cut short due to a covered reason, including sickness or severe weathers, your United℠ Explorer Card reimburse you up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for prepaid, nonrefundable fares.
  • Trip delay reimbursement: In the event a trip is delayed more than 12 hours or requires you to stay overnight, you and immediate family members traveling with you can be reimbursed for unexpected expenses such as lodging and meals. This benefit has a maximum coverage of $500 per ticket.

  All of these benefits include fine print, so make sure you consult your card’s Guide to Benefits. You must pay for your travel with your United℠ Explorer Card in order to be covered.

• Rewards are limited to United

  You are locked into earning United MileagePlus miles with the United℠ Explorer Card. This could be great for some people. But for those who like more flexibility with their points, you would likely be better off with a general travel card, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card earns points that can be used to book travel on any airline, or transferred to an array of partner loyalty programs — including United Airlines.

• Annual fee

  The card does have an annual fee of $0 Intro for the First Year, then $95. However, given the card’s excellent perks, the fee is reasonable, and in line with similar airline credit cards.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

 
If you don’t fly predominantly with United — or any other airline specifically — the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card may be a better fit. The card offers greater earning in the dining category and additional bonus categories, including online groceries and streaming services. Its earning rate on general travel is the same 2X as the United Explorer card, although it will earn 5X points for any travel booked through Chase Travel^SM.

The annual fee is the same at $95. Additional perks include an annual $50 hotel credit and the ability to use your points to book travel with any airline, or transfer them to an array or partner loyalty programs – including United Airlines. Not to mention you can earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

United Quest℠ Card

 
For those who regularly fly United Airlines and are looking for an even nicer suite of benefits, consider the United Quest℠ Card. Its annual fee is steeper at $250, but the benefits can make up for it. The card provides two free checked bags for the cardholder and companion — one more than what the United℠ Explorer Card gives you. This is a potential savings of $320 on a single round-trip flight. The United Quest℠ Card also provides the same 25% back in-flight purchases, trusted traveler program credit, priority boarding and priority boarding benefits.

Beyond the additional checked bag, the card provides a $125 annual statement credit for United purchases, two 5,000-mile award flight rebates and increased earning rates. Spending on the card can also help you earn United Premier qualifying points, which can push you to a higher level of elite status. If you fly with United routinely, this card is worth having in your wallet.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

 
Similar to the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is likely a better option for those who want a general travel credit card and not one locked into a specific airline. The card’s earning structure is simple — you earn unlimited 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

You can redeem Capital One Venture miles in a variety of ways, including to directly offset the cost of travel purchases. You can also transfer your miles to more than 15 airline and hotel loyalty programs, which often yields the best value.

Like the United℠ Explorer Card, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry application fee credit and doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Its fee is equivalent — $95 per year. What it’s missing is any airline-specific benefits, making it ideal for those who are more interested in scoring award flights than airline perks.

If you’re a frequent United flyer, a card like the United℠ Explorer Card can greatly enhance your travel experience and save you significant money. The free checked bag, priority boarding, and annual United Club benefits are enough to justify its annual fee. Plus, it offers a decent sign-up bonus, and the ability to earn extra miles for spending on restaurant and hotel accommodations.

If you rarely travel with United, however, a general travel card is likely a better fit. Consider a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card, which lets you use your points in a variety of ways. It’s long been one of the best Chase credit cards for travel.

If that doesn’t sound like a fit either, there are plenty of excellent rewards credit cards available.