Every United Credit Card Got a Bigger Bonus. The Best One Is Not the Expensive One.
Chase raised the welcome offer on all four United MileagePlus personal cards on October 1, 2026. Each card also pays 10,000 extra miles for adding an authorized user in the first three months. The best value per dollar of spending is the United Explorer Card, which waives its annual fee for the first year.
The short version
United Explorer Card: 70,000 miles after $3,000 in 3 months, $0 annual fee the first year, then $150
United Quest Card: 80,000 miles plus 500 PQP after $4,000 in 3 months, $350 a year
United Club Infinite Card: 90,000 miles after $5,000 in 3 months, $695 a year
United Gateway Card: 40,000 miles after $1,000 in 3 months, no annual fee
Every one of the four adds 10,000 miles for an authorized user added within 3 months
Which United card gives the most miles per dollar spent?
The United Explorer Card wins on this measure. It pays 70,000 bonus miles after $3,000 of spending in three months, which works out to 23 miles per dollar you have to push through the card. The United Club Infinite Card pays 90,000 miles but asks for $5,000, or 18 miles per dollar. The United Gateway Card is the thinnest at 40 miles per dollar on paper, but 40,000 miles is a smaller pile to work with.
Chase states the Explorer offer plainly on its United Explorer application page: "70,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open."
Add the authorized user bonus and the picture shifts a little. All four cards pay the same flat 10,000 miles for that, so it helps the cheap cards proportionally more.
Is the $695 United Club Infinite Card worth it for 90,000 miles?
The United Club Infinite Card charges $695 a year and pays 90,000 bonus miles after $5,000 of spending in three months. That is 20,000 more miles than the Explorer for $695 instead of $0 in year one. At roughly 1.3 cents a mile, the extra 20,000 miles are worth about $260. The fee gap is $695.
The reason to take the Club Infinite is the lounge membership, not the bonus. United Club access runs $650 a year bought on its own, so the card roughly pays for itself if you were going to buy a membership anyway. If you were not, the welcome offer does not close a $695 gap.
One real perk: the card hands out 1,500 Premier Qualifying Points each year and earns 1 PQP per $15 spent, up to 28,000 PQP a year. For someone chasing Premier status with spending rather than flying, that is the most generous ratio in the lineup.
What does the United Quest Card do that the others do not?
The United Quest Card costs $350 a year and pays 80,000 bonus miles after $4,000 of spending in three months, plus 500 PQP after the first purchase. Its signature benefit is an award flight discount: 10,000 miles off an award booking on your account anniversary, and another 10,000-mile discount after you spend $20,000 in a year. United says the card carries "over $850 in credits annually," including a $200 United travel credit and up to $150 at Renowned Hotels.
Read that $850 figure the way you would read any credit stack. The $200 travel credit is easy. The $180 Instacart credit, the $80 Avis and Budget credit and the $150 JSX credit are only worth something if you already use those services. Count the credits you would spend anyway and ignore the rest.
Do these offers have a deadline?
Chase has not published an end date for the elevated United offers. It calls them limited-time, which in practice means weeks rather than months. The last comparable round of United increases ran about six weeks. There is no reason to rush an application you were not already planning, and no reason to wait either.
One rule that does bind: Chase's 5/24 restriction. If you have opened five or more personal credit cards from any issuer in the past 24 months, Chase will decline these applications regardless of the offer.
What this means for you
If you fly United once or twice a year and want miles without a fee commitment, take the Explorer, add an authorized user, and get 80,000 miles for $3,000 of spending and no first-year fee. If you fly United enough to care about lounges or Premier status, the Club Infinite and Quest earn their fees through benefits, not through the bonus. And if you want the miles without any annual fee at all, the Gateway's 40,000 after $1,000 is the lowest-effort offer on the board.
MileagePlus miles rank below flexible Chase and Amex points in our valuations, because they book United and its partners and nothing else. Our best travel credit cards guide puts the two kinds side by side, and our points valuation guide shows the work behind the 1.3-cent figure.
FAQ
How many miles do you need for a round-trip United flight?
United MileagePlus uses dynamic pricing, so there is no fixed chart. Domestic round trips commonly land between 15,000 and 30,000 miles in economy. The 70,000-mile United Explorer Card bonus covers two to four domestic round trips at those prices.
Does the United Explorer Card authorized user bonus cost extra?
No. The United Explorer Card charges no fee for authorized users, so the extra 10,000 miles are free once you add someone within the first three months. Adding a user does affect their credit report, so ask first.
Can you get more than one United card?
Yes. Chase allows multiple United personal cards at once, and each has its own welcome offer. You are limited by Chase's 5/24 rule and by its general reluctance to approve several applications in a short window.
Do United miles expire?
No. United MileagePlus miles do not expire as long as your account stays open, and there is no activity requirement. That makes it safe to earn a welcome offer now and book a trip next year.
Which United card is best for earning Premier status?
The United Club Infinite Card earns 1 PQP per $15 spent, the best ratio of the four, up to 28,000 PQP a year, plus 1,500 PQP handed out annually. The United Quest Card earns 1 PQP per $20 and gives 1,000 PQP a year.
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