Big Changes to Chase’s United Airlines Personal Credit Cards: New Perks, Higher Annual Fees

The United Airlines co-branded credit card lineup is going to look different going forward.

Chase seems to be taking a page out of the American Express playbook by adding numerous spending credits to its United Airlines credit cards. Some of them are related to travel, but others aren’t.

The cards are gaining interesting perks like seat upgrades, increased spending capacity toward elite status, award discounts, and more. However, those additional perks come with increased annual fees. To soften the blow, these cards have some fantastic welcome bonuses available for a limited time.

Additionally, United’s card portfolio is also debuting a new advertising campaign with Emmy-winning actor Ty Burrell.

There’s a lot to cover here. Let’s jump in.

Limited-Time Welcome Bonuses on United’s Credit Cards

To accompany the changes to these cards, Chase and United are offering limited-time, elevated welcome bonuses on several credit cards, available from March 24 to May 7, 2025:

• The New United Gateway℠ Card: Earn 30,000 miles after spending $1,000 on qualifying purchases in the first 3 months, with 0% APR for the first 12 months.
• The New United℠ Explorer Card: Earn 80,000 miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• The New United Quest℠ Card: Earn 90,000 miles and 500 PQP after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• The New United Club℠ Card: Earn 95,000 miles after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months.
• The New United℠ Business Card: Earn 125,000 miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• The New United Club℠ Business Card: Earn 125,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

Hot Tip:

We value United miles at 1.2 cents apiece. That makes a bonus of 30,000 miles worth $375, while a bonus of 95,000 miles is worth $1,140.

What’s Changing With Chase’s United Airlines Credit Cards?

There’s a large portfolio of United Airlines credit cards, all of which are issued by Chase in the U.S. Not all of those cards are still open to applications, and not all of United’s co-branded credit cards are getting changes.

Today’s announcement applies to the United Gateway card, United Explorer card, United Quest card, United Club card, United Business card, and United Club Business card. No other cards are affected. Because there’s so much to cover, we are discussing the changes to United’s small business credit cards in another post.

The changes to these cards are wide-ranging. All cards that charge an annual fee will see that cost go up. In return, the cards are gaining new benefits — everything from Economy Plus upgrades and award flight discounts to bonus Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) and spending credits with non-travel partners.

Cardholders will also be able to gain a premium United Club lounge membership called All Access, allowing for an additional adult guest.

Let’s take a quick look at the changes overall before diving into the specifics of each card.

United Personal Credit Card Changes — Overview

Any existing cardholder benefits not discussed in this chart aren’t changing, and only 1 card is losing a benefit (the United Explorer card). Here’s an overview of what’s happening with each card:

When Will the New Benefits Take Effect?

The new benefits are in effect now — for both existing cardholders and new applicants.

When Will the New Annual Fees Take Effect?

These new annual fees are in effect today, March 24, 2025, for new applicants.

For existing cardholders, annual fee increases will take effect after August 1, 2025. The next time your annual fee is due after this, you’ll see the increased price. The exception to this is the United Explorer card, as the annual fee won’t increase until your next renewal date on or after January 1, 2026.

Details of Each Card’s Changes

United Gateway Card

The United Gateway card is keeping its annual fee at $0, which is good news. It’s undergoing a few modifications, though.

Cardholders will be able to earn 2 checked bags after spending $10,000 on the card in a calendar year. Additionally, cardholders will get access to preferred award pricing after spending $10,000 on purchases with their card in a calendar year.

United Explorer Card

The fan-favorite United Explorer card will see its annual fee increase by nearly 58% — a big jump. In exchange, the card is gaining multiple benefits. United-related benefits include earning an annual 10,000-mile award flight discount (after $20,000 of purchases on your card in a calendar year) and earning an annual $100 United travel credit (after $10,000 of purchases in a calendar year).

Other travel-related perks include earning 5x total miles per $1 spent with United Hotels (previously 4x), which breaks down as 2x miles for being a MileagePlus member, 2x from spending on the card, and 1x from United when you prepay through United Hotels. You also can earn $100 in credits from spending with United Hotels annually (available as 2 separate $50 credits) and $50 in United TravelBank credits annually from spending with Avis or Budget through cars.united.com (available as 2 separate $25 credits).

The card is also gaining multiple spending credits with the following annual maximums: up to $60 in ride-share credits (available as $5 monthly, and annual enrollment is required), up to $100 in credits from JSX purchases, and up to $120 in Instacart credits (available as $10 per month). Cardmembers can also get a 3-month complimentary Instacart+ membership; after the 3-month period, cardholders get 25% off an annual membership.

This card is also losing 1 benefit: Premier upgrades on award tickets will end on August 1, 2025. Additionally, there will be a new restriction that the primary cardholder must be present when redeeming the card’s 1-time passes to the United Club.

United Quest Card

This mid-tier United Quest card‘s annual fee is increasing by 40%. Additional United-related benefits include an annual 10,000-mile award flight discount, the ability to earn a second 10,000-mile award discount (after spending $20,000 on your card in a calendar year), a $200 annual United travel credit on each account anniversary (and upon account opening), and the ability to earn 2 global Economy Plus upgrades each year — though this requires $40,000 of purchases on your card in a calendar year.

Cardmembers will also see an increased cap on PQP earning. The earning rate remains 1 PQP for each $20 spent on the card, but the annual maximum is increasing from 9,000 to 18,000 — enough for Premier Platinum status, the second-highest tier. Cardholders will also receive 1,000 bonus PQP annually, starting in 2026.

Cardholders will also earn 5x total miles per $1 spent with Renowned Hotels and Resorts, up to $150 in Renowned Hotels and Resorts credits, up to $100 in ride-share credits (available as $8 per month, and $12 in December; annual enrollment is required), up to $150 in JSX credits, and up to $80 in United TravelBank credits from Avis or Budget spending via cars.united.com (available as 2 separate $40 credits). Cardholders will also get up to $180 in annual Instacart credits (available as a $10 and a $5 credit per month), as well as a complimentary 3-month Instacart+ membership; after the 3-month period, cardholders get 50% off an annual membership.

United Club Card

The United Club card will still offer its headline benefit, which is an annual United Club membership valued at up to $750, but the annual fee is going up by 54%. Cardholders will be able to unlock a United Club All Access membership after reaching Premier Gold status with United or by spending at least $50,000 on card purchases annually. The All Access membership allows you to bring 2 adult guests (previously, this was limited to 1) to United Clubs and also visit Star Alliance lounges.

Each year after your card anniversary (starting after the first year), you can earn 4 United Club 1-time passes if you have an All Access membership and an authorized user on your account.

Cardholders get up to 20,000 miles in award discounts annually, 1,500 bonus PQPs, and can earn up to 28,000 PQPs through spending on the card — enough for Premier 1K elite status. The card is also adding a 5x earning category with Renowned Hotels and Resorts.

Additional benefits include these annual maximums from spending credits: up to $200 with Renowned Hotels and Resorts, up to $150 on rideshare spending (available as $12 monthly, and $18 in December; annual enrollment is required), up to $100 in United credits for Avis or Budget spending (available as 2 separate $50 credits), up to $200 with JSX, and up to $240 with Instacart (available as 2 separate $10 credits per month). Cardholders can also get a complimentary Instacart+ membership.

Hot Tip:

Cardholders will continue to enjoy a United Club membership that allows them to bring 1 adult guest and dependent children under age 18 into the lounge with them. Additionally, United has announced changes to its lounge membership, including the addition of a new “All Access” membership tier.

What To Make of These Changes

This is the first major overhaul to Chase’s United credit card portfolio. When speaking about these changes, Chris Cracchiolo, president of co-branded cards at Chase, said the “cards now provide more value than they ever have in history” and that holding one of them is a “no-brainer.”

However, value is subjective. How much value will these new benefits bring to you?

You should carefully consider these perks and assign a dollar value relative to your own situation. Do you buy from Instacart or rent cars with Avis regularly? Do you pay for seat upgrades to Economy Plus? If so, these benefits can provide tangible savings. If you’re just using the new perks because they’re on your card — but wouldn’t use them otherwise — you aren’t saving money.

Plus, several of the credits are broken into installments, making them more complicated to use. That’s not customer-friendly — nor is the requirement to enroll in the ride-share benefit every year you hold the card. This will likely create breakage, which is a term for intentionally creating a situation in which cardholders fail to maximize the value of the benefits.

Bottom Line:

A spokesperson for United said that the airline listened to customer feedback when crafting these credits — including the decision to allocate some of them in pieces. It’s difficult to believe customers would express a desire for benefits to be complicated and issued in small pieces. You’ll need to take that into account as you value these new benefits.

Final Thoughts

United and Chase are increasing the annual fees on multiple credit cards and adding benefits across the card portfolio. Those come in the form of award flight discounts, lounge perks, seat upgrades, and more. The benefits also include spending credits with non-travel partners, and cardholders may not find value in all of these — especially those that seem complicated to use.

The key will be determining which benefits you’ll use — and which provide true value, rather than using them just because they’re available — and comparing that to the increased annual fees. If the math makes sense for you, applying for or continuing to hold one of these cards can make sense. Otherwise, it may not.