United Explorer Card
Best for: United flyers who will use the Instacart and travel credits
Pros
- New credits can outweigh the fee increase
- First-year fee waived
- United Club passes retained (non-transferable)
Cons
- Fee up from $95 to $150
- Elite award-upgrade benefit removed Aug 2025
- Club passes no longer shareable
Rates and offers change. Confirm today's terms on the issuer's official site before applying. Independent comparison — not financial advice.
This card was recently refreshed (March 24, 2025). Part of Chase's March 2025 United card overhaul. The Explorer fee went from $95 to $150 (from Jan 1, 2026 for existing cardholders), Quest from $250 to $350, and Club from $450/$525 to $695, with new credits on each.
United Explorer Card at a glance
| Issuer | JPMorgan Chase |
| Card network | Visa |
| Annual fee | $150 |
| Rewards rate | United MileagePlus miles; see issuer for current category rates |
| Welcome bonus | None announced |
| Intro APR | None |
| Regular APR | See issuer |
| Foreign transaction fee | None |
| Credit needed | Good to Excellent (typical; not issuer-stated) |
| Best for | United flyers who will use the Instacart and travel credits |
Key features
- $0 intro annual fee first year, then $150
- Up to $120/yr Instacart+ credits
- $100 United travel credit after $10,000 annual spend
- 10,000-mile award discount after $20,000 annual spend
- Issuer cites up to $530 in annual credits
Pros
- New credits can outweigh the fee increase
- First-year fee waived
- United Club passes retained (non-transferable)
Cons
- Fee up from $95 to $150
- Elite award-upgrade benefit removed Aug 2025
- Club passes no longer shareable
Before you apply: terms for new cards change quickly. Confirm the current annual fee, rates, rewards and welcome offer on the issuer's official site. CreditCardCompare is an independent comparison resource, not the card issuer, and this is not financial advice.
Sources: upgradedpoints.com · cnbc.com
How it compares with similar USA cards
| Card | Annual fee | Rewards | Intro APR | Foreign fee | Credit needed | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPMorgan ChaseUnited Explorer 4531 8392 1614 3004 VALID THRU 12/28CASEY BROOKS United Explorer CardUnited flyers who will use the Instacart and travel credits |
$150/yr | United MileagePlus miles; see issuer for current category rates | None | None | Good to Excellent (typical; no… | — |
Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite MastercardAA flyers who check a bag a few times a year |
$99/yr | 2x miles on American Airlines, gas & restaurants, 1x on everything els… | None | None | Good to Excellent (700+) | |
Barclays USJetBlue Plus 5595 7066 0920 7540 VALID THRU 05/32TAYLOR REED JetBlue Plus CardJetBlue flyers who check bags, especially families |
$99/yr | 6x points on JetBlue purchases, 2x at restaurants and grocery stores,… | 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months | None | Good to Excellent (700+) | |
Barclays USAAdvantage Aviator Red Worl… 5279 9163 3053 8211 VALID THRU 06/29ALEX MORGAN AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MastercardOccasional AA flyers who want an easy bonus and a free bag |
$99/yr | 2x AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, 1x on eve… | None | None | Good to Excellent (700+) |
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