Chase United Explorer Credit Card: 60,000-75,000 Mile Welcome Bonus + First-Year Annual Fee Waived

The sign-up bonus on this card is 50,000+10,000, and the annual fee is waived for the first year. The extra 10,000 can be earned by adding an authorized user within three months. This is a solid beginner miles card: UA mileage redemptions can be done entirely online, which is very convenient. Benefits include priority boarding, free checked baggage, and two UA Club one-time passes each year for complimentary food and drinks. Overall, it is an airline credit card with pretty decent perks. The annual fee is waived for the first year; in the second year, if you do not find it useful, you can either close the card or downgrade it to a no-annual-fee UA card.

• Chase UA 60,000 application link

This sign-up bonus is very good, so we have added it to our sign-up bonus ranking!

• Best U.S. Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus Ranking (Personal Cards)

The 75,000 offer below is an inflight sign-up bonus that requires entering an agent code. Some people have tried using the online chat function on UA’s official website to ask an agent for a code, then entering it to apply. Someone online shared the code UATV6V, so you can give it a try. I still recommend getting one through chat to be safer. Of course, if you do not want to deal with the extra hassle, you can simply use the link above.

• UA 75,000 application link

Chase United Explorer Credit Card Overview

Highlights

• Transfer UR points to UA: Chase UR points can be transferred to UA miles through the Chase CSP credit card. You can quickly accumulate UR points by earning 5x in rotating quarterly categories with the Chase Freedom credit card, plus 2x on travel with the Chase CSP. Then transfer those points to UA, and combined with the sign-up bonus from this UA card, you can redeem mileage tickets for multiple people.
• UA flight-related benefits: priority boarding, first checked bag free on domestic U.S. flights, and 2 UA Club passes each year.
• $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
• Additional 25% off UA in-flight purchases, including snacks, drinks, and Wi-Fi
• XN award fare class: cardholders can see award seats that regular users cannot see (XN fare class), which is especially useful during peak travel seasons.
• Built-in rental car insurance
• MPX can earn an additional 25% mileage bonus
• More analysis: Hidden benefits of UA credit cards

Newly added statement credit benefits include:

• Instacart+ Membership: one $10 credit each month, for a total of $120 per year.
• $100 Renowned Hotels and Resorts hotel credit: this is similar to AMEX FHR. Most properties are on the higher-end side, and booking through this program can get you benefits such as free breakfast for two, hotel credits, and more. Details vary by hotel. Official introduction
• $60 rideshare credit: $5 credit each month.
• Avis or Budget rental car cash back: up to $50 back per year in United travel credits. You need to book through windowcars.united.com. For your first and second bookings each year, if you pay with this card, you can get $25 back.
• $100 JSX airfare credit: pay with this card and receive $100 in statement credits each year.

Drawbacks

• Mileage usage is fairly average. UA miles require a relatively large number of miles for first class and business class, and there are not many clever routing tricks to play with.

Using UA Miles

UA’s biggest strength is its extensive international route network, which makes its miles more convenient to use. United is one of the founding members of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance, with 25 member airlines. United also has many non-alliance partners, making MileagePlus one of the most versatile currencies for booking award tickets. To emphasize: UA miles can be used not only for award tickets operated by UA itself, but also for Star Alliance partner-operated award tickets and other partner award tickets, so they are very flexible. You can book domestic U.S. flights, flights from the U.S. to China, Europe, and the Americas, and even flights from China to Japan and Europe.

• United Airlines (UA) membership and mileage guide

Application:

• This card requires a credit limit above $5,000, so if your income is too low or your credit history is too short, you may not be approved.
• This is a United co-branded credit card. When applying, you can enter your UA membership number; if you leave it blank, the system will automatically assign you a new one.
• This card does not conflict with other UA co-branded cards, so you can apply and receive the bonus.

Chase Credit Card Application Guide

• Chase application status check link (login required). Or call: 888-338-2586
• The 5/24 rule: if you have opened more than 5 new cards in the past 2 years (including cards from other banks), you will not be approved for a new Chase card
• You can be approved for at most two Chase credit cards within every 30 days
• If you have received the welcome bonus on this card within the past 24 months (48 months for the Sapphire family), your application will be automatically denied
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-453-9719) to expedite card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• Having a Chase Checking account can help with getting approved for a credit card
• More on applying for Chase credit cards

Application Link: