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United Airlines, Chase Unveil Revamped Credit Card Line Up
United Airlines has announced new benefits (and increased annual fees) for its co-branded credit cards issued by Chase.
About the Card Updates:
Today, United and Chase revealed updates for the United Explorer Card, United Quest Card, and United Club Card.
First, the United Explorer Card will now include up to $60 in rideshare credits annually. This perk is divided up into $5 monthly increments. Another new credit is up to $10 per month ($120 per year) for Instacart as well as a complimentary three-month membership for Instacart+. Plus, should cardholders decide to continue their membership, they’ll enjoy 25% off.
While these benefits will be available to all cardholders immediately, other benefits won’t kick in until their cardholder anniversary. These include up to $100 in credits for prepaid bookings on United Hotels ($50 for the first and second bookings) and up to $50 per year in United TravelBank cash for making Avis or Budget purchases ($25 per booking up to two per year). Interestingly, the card also includes a credit for flying JSX, with cardholders earning up to $100 in statement credits for JSX bookings made with their card. Again, this perk is available after your first cardholder anniversary.
Moving onto the United Quest card, it also adds a rideshare credit. In this case, it totals $100, including $8 per month plus $12 in December. Next, the card earns up to $15 per month in Instacart credits, with the first purchase each month earning a $10 credit and the second earning $5. Like with the Explorer card, Quest card customers can also enjoy three complimentary months of Instacart+, although they can then take advantage of a 50% discount on an annual membership.
Beyond those new credits, the Quest card is also seeing an update to a previous credit. Now, rather than earning a statement credit of up to $125 per year on United purchases, cardholders can earn up to $200 per year on United purchases — but in the form of United TravelBank cash.
Once again, the United Quest card also features some benefits that become available after a cardholder’s anniversary. These include a $150 statement credit for JSX bookings and up to $150 in statement credits for prepaid hotel bookings made via Renowned Hotels and Resorts. Additionally, cardholders can earn up to $80 per year ($40 per booking) in United TravelBank cash on Avid and Budget rental cars.
Finally, the United Club card is also seeing some changes. Like the other cards, the Club Card will gain credits for ridesharing ($150 per year – $12 per month plus a total of $18 in December), Instacart (complimentary Instacart+ and $240 per year – $10 per order up to twice per month), JSX (up to $200 back each anniversary year), Renowned Hotels and Resorts ($200 in statement credits each anniversary year), and Avis/Budget (up to $100 in TravelBank cash each anniversary year – $50 per booking).
With these updated perks, United’s slate of cards will see an annual fee hike. Here’s how much each card will now cost (compared to the previous fee):
- The United Explorer Card: $150 (was $95) – waived for the first year
- The United Quest Card: $350 (was $250)
- The United Club Card: $695 (was $525)
While these new fees are now in effect for new cardholders, current Quest and Club cardholders will see the new fee starting with their first renewal on or after August 1st, while existing Explorer card customers will see the increased fee with their next renewal on or after January 1st, 2026.
Accompanying the launch of the updated cards, Chase and United are also offering special welcome bonuses. For the Explorer card, new cardholders can earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months. Meanwhile, new Quest card customers can earn 90,000 bonus miles as well as 500 Premier Qualifying Points after spending $4,000 on the card in their first three months. Lastly, the United Club card is offering 95,000 bonus miles to new cardholders who spend at least $5,000 within their first three months.
What They’re Saying:
Announcing the updated cards, MileagePlus CEO Richard Nunn stated, “Having one of our cards means you’ll have an enhanced travel experience when you fly United. We designed these cards to meet a variety of needs and travel styles – and as a result, the suite of benefits the cards offer for United customers is simply unparalleled. The easiest way to experience the best of what MileagePlus has to offer is by having a United Card.”
Meanwhile, Chase’s President of Co-Brand Credit Cards Chris Cracchiolo said, “Our newly enhanced card portfolio is designed to deliver unmatched value and support United fliers at every step of their travel journey. By adding perks like thoughtful travel credits, a faster pathway to Premier status and exclusive partner offers, we’re rewarding Cardmembers before, during and after their trip.”
My Thoughts:
First, if you’re wondering why Ty Burrell is in the featured image for this article, it’s because United has also launched a new ad campaign for the cards that star the Modern Family alum.
With that out of the way, these updates speak to a growing trend in the rewards credit card space — and one that had previously been most attributable to American Express. As we’ve seen with other card products, adding credits to a card while increasing the annual fee has proven successful. After all, the card can boast that it provided $XX in value for only an $X fee. On that note, some of these perks seem particularly confusing as they include different earning amounts each month, are broken down into sub-monthly actions, and/or don’t apply until after your first year. From that aspect, while I suspect that some flyers will be able to get actual value from them, I could see others being annoyed by them.
I’ll also point out that, while I focused on the new credits in this post, there are some other changes to how frequent flyers earn points with these cards. So, if you’re a United loyalist curious about those aspects, I’d recommend taking a closer look at these cards to see if they make sense for you.
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