Chase United Explorer Credit Card: Sign-Up Bonus of $500 + 35,000/60,000-75,000 Miles + First-Year Annual Fee Waived

Now there’s a new signup bonus: $500 + 25,000 + 10,000 for an authorized user. Compared with that, if you think UA miles can get you 2c/p of value, such as business or first class between China and the U.S., then the 60,000 offer is better. If you can’t get that kind of value out of the miles, or you only want to fly economy or travel within the U.S., then the $500 bonus is the better choice.

• Chase UA $500+25,000+10,000 bonus

This card’s signup bonus is 50,000 + 10,000, and the first year’s annual fee is waived. The 10,000 bonus requires you to add one authorized user within three months. This is a pretty solid starter mileage card, and UA miles can be redeemed entirely online, which is very convenient. Benefits include priority boarding, a free checked bag, and two UA Club passes every year for free food and drinks. Overall, it’s a pretty decent airline credit card. The first year’s annual fee is waived, and in the second year, if you find it isn’t useful, you can either cancel the card or downgrade to the no-annual-fee UA card.

• Chase UA 60,000 application link

This signup bonus is very good, and we’ve added it to our signup bonus rankings!

• U.S. credit card signup bonus rankings (personal cards)

The 75,000 offer below is an inflight signup bonus that requires 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 directly. Someone online posted a code, UATV6V, so you can try that. I still recommend asking via chat, since that’s safer. Of course, if you don’t want to bother, you can just use the link above.

• UA 75,000 application link

Chase United Explorer credit card overview

Highlights

• UR points transfer to UA: Chase’s UR points can be transferred to UA miles through the Chase CSP credit card. By earning points through the Chase Freedom credit card’s quarterly 5x categories and the Chase CSP’s 2x travel earnings, you can quickly build up UR points. Then transfer everything to UA points, and combine them with this UA card’s signup bonus to book award tickets for multiple people.
• UA flight-related benefits: priority boarding, one free checked bag on U.S. domestic flights, and two UA Club passes every year
• $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
• 25% off UA in-flight purchases, including snacks, drinks, and Wi-Fi
• XN award space: cardholders can see award availability that ordinary people cannot (XN inventory), which is especially useful during peak travel seasons
• Rental car insurance
• MPX can earn an extra 25% mileage bonus
• More analysis: hidden benefits of the UA credit card

The following new reimbursement benefits have been added:

• Instacart+ Membership: $10 per month, $120 total per year
• $100 Renowned Hotels and Resorts hotel credit: this is similar to AMEX’s FHR and is mostly for higher-end hotels. If you book through this program, you may get free breakfast for two, hotel credits, and other perks, depending on the hotel. Official introduction
• $60 rideshare credit: $5 per month
• Avis or Budget car rental rebate: up to $50 in United travel credits per year. You need to book through windowcars.united.com. The first and second bookings each year, when paid with this card, can earn $25 back.
• $100 JSX ticket reimbursement: pay with this card and get $100 reimbursed per year

Drawbacks

• The miles are fairly average in terms of redemption value. UA miles generally require more miles for first class and business class awards, and there are no fancy tricks like hopscotch-style routings to play with.

Using UA miles

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

• Introduction to United Airlines (UA) membership and miles

Applying:

• This card definitely 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 for them all and still receive the bonuses.

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: