Credit card couponificaiton continues with the new Chase United Explorer card changes that launched today. The card now offers some big spend bonuses and a number of coupons. However, the annual fee has increased and the flexibility of a key perk has changed for the worse.
New Offer & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
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80k miles ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer 80K miles after $3K spend in 3 months (Offer Expires 5/7/2025)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Decent perks such as enhanced access to United saver level economy awards makes this a keeper for some. Earning rate: 2X United ✦ 2X restaurants ✦ 2X on hotel stays Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: $100 Travel Credit after spending $10,000 in a calendar year ✦ 10,000-mile award flight discount after spending $20K ✦ Earn up to 1,000 PQPs per calendar year: 1 PQP per $20 spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ Improved economy saver award availability ✦ Free first checked bag for primary cardholder and one travel companion when you pay with the card ✦ Up to $100 in credits for United Hotels ($50 each on your first two bookings per cardmember year) ✦ Up to $60 per year in rideshare credits (up to $5 per month) when using your card to pay for rideshare services.(requires annual enrollment) ✦ Up to $50 in Travel Credit for Avis or Budget car rentals per cardmember year ✦ One $10 Instacart credit per month when you have Instacart+ membership ✦ Unlocks complimentary elite upgrades on award tickets ✦ Priority boarding ✦ No foreign exchange fees ✦ 2 United Club passes per year on you anniversary ✦ One year of complimentary Dash Pass (Must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ✦ Up to $120 Global Entry,TSA Pre-check or Nexus credit ✦ 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages and Wi-Fi on board United-operated flights and on Club premium drinks when you pay with your Explorer Card ✦ Up to $100 statement credit for purchases with JSX |
90K Miles + 500 PQPs ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer 90K miles and 500 PQPs after $4K spend in the first 3 months (Offer Expires 5/7/2025)$350 Annual Fee This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Earning rate: 5X Renowned Hotels & Resorts for United Cardmembers ✦ 3X United ✦ 2X restaurants including eligible delivery services ✦ 2X on all other travel ✦ 2X select streaming Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn up to 18,000 PQPs per calendar year: 1 PQP per $20 spend ✦ Earn an additional 10,000-mile award flight discount after $20K in purchases in a calendar year ✦ Earn 2 Economy Plus seat upgrades after $40K in purchases in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: Up to $200 in statement credits for United purchases each cardmember year - terms apply ✦ Up to $150 in statement credits per cardmember for Renowned Hotels and Resorts ✦ 10K award flight discount per cardmember year ✦ First and second checked bag free for cardholder and one companion when you purchase your tickets with the card and include your Mileage Plus number ✦ Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus reimbursement ✦ Up to $100 in rideshare credits per year (up $8 per month January to November and up to $12 in December, re-enrollment is required annually) ✦ Up to $80 in Travel Credit for Avis or Budget car rentals per cardmember year ✦ One $10 and one $5 Instacart credit per month when you have Instacart+ membership ✦ Up to $150 statement credit for purchases with JSX ✦ 25% back on United inflight or Club Premium drink purchases |
What’s new and changing?
At a high level:
- Changes:
- Annual fee increased to $150 (was $95)
- 2 United Club passes awarded annually will now require the primary cardmember or an authorized user to be present when redeemed
- Big spend bonuses:
- One $100 Travel Credit after spending $10,000 in a calendar year (details below)
- One 10,000-mile award flight discount after spending $20K in a calendar year (details below)
- Coupon-like credits:
- Up to $100 in statement credits for United Hotels ($50 each on your first two bookings per cardmember year)
- Up to $60 per year in rideshare credits (up to $5 per month) when using your card to pay for rideshare services. You must enroll in this benefit and re-enroll annually to receive the credits.
- Up to $50 in Travel Credit for Avis or Budget car rentals per cardmember year. This is up to $25 on your first and second rentals of a minimum of 2 days booked through cars.united.com and paid for with your MileagePlus Explorer card.
- One $10 Instacart credit per month when you have Instacart+ membership
- Up to $100 statement credit for purchases with JSX each cardmember year
Analysis of the changes
The long-term annual fee is increasing to $150. Whether the card is worth an additional $55 per year over the old fee likely comes down to whether you can make use of the new coupon credits and how badly the change to United Club passes hurts your use case.
Unfortunately, the card’s 2 annual United Club passes are becoming more restrictive. Whereas they were previously giftable, they will now only be able to be used when the primary cardmember or an authorized user is traveling (the primary cardholder or an authorized user must be present when they are redeemed). This means that, for example, if your spouse is not an authorized user, they would not be able to use one of your United Club passes unless you are traveling together. That change is obviously meant to increase breakage by making the passes slightly more difficult to use.
In terms of coupon credits, United MileagePlus explorer cardholders can now earn a $100 United Travel Credit that gets awarded as a TravelBank credit after spending $10,000 within a calendar year. This Travel Credit will be valid for 12 months from the date of issue and can not be combined with future flight credit or other travel certificates, but it can be used in conjunction with other TravelBank credit. That’s obviously not quite as good as cash, but at full face value it would represent an additional 1% in return on spend. However, given that the credit is only valid for United purchases (keep in mind that TravelBank credits can not be used for award travel taxes or for travel on partner airlines) and it is only valid for 12 months, you should value this based on how much you’d be willing to pay for a restrictive United credit rather than its full face value.
The United Hotels credits could be useful for those who don’t mind booking through an online travel agency, just keep in mind that bookings made through United Hotels likely will not qualify for elite benefits / credits nor will they likely earn hotel points. Furthermore, corporate discount codes, AAA discounts, etc, are usually not applicable through online travel agencies.
Cardholders who continue spending on the card can now earn an annual 10,000-mile award flight discount after spending $20,000 on purchases within a calendar year. That could certainly be useful if you know you’ll be redeeming miles.
The other numerous coupony credits are kind of annoying.
The rideshare credit requires re-enrollment annually, which means that after enrolling and receiving the credits for the rest of this year, you’ll need to remember to re-enroll in January or you won’t receive credits next year. That seems designed to maximize breakage.
The Travel Credit for Avis or Budget purchases require a minimum 2-day rental and must be booked through United’s car rental engine (and then those are earned as United TravelBank credit, so keep in mind the points above about the restrictions that exist there). I’m sure that the JSX statement credit will be welcomed by those who would already consider booking with JSX, given their route network is mostly limited to the western US, many cardholders probably won’t find this useful.
I can’t say that this is a net loss over the increase in annual fee, but neither are these changes a slam dunk win. If you will easily use the hotel, rideshare, and Instacart credits, this is probably a net win. I imagine others will find that the increase in annual fee does not justify the mental gymnastics required to come out ahead.
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