I’m a huge fan of collecting transferable points and miles, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards points. I love the flexibility of choosing when and where to transfer my rewards, especially when issuers offer juicy transfer bonuses.
Though I hold some airline-branded credit cards, like the underrated Aeroplan® Credit Card, I haven’t been as interested in being locked to one airline loyalty program.
I’m not a regular United Airlines flyer, and the United MileagePlus program is not my default Star Alliance program (that would be Air Canada’s terrific Aeroplan program), in part because I don’t live close to a United hub. Therefore, applying for a United credit card and investing in the MileagePlus program has never been at the top of my list … until now.
In addition to this card’s benefits, the United Quest℠ Card (see rates and fees) is currently offering its best-ever welcome bonus. For the first time, I now want a United-branded credit card.
Here’s why.
United Quest Card best-ever welcome offer
New applicants of the United Quest Card can earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 Premier qualifying points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months their account is open. Based on TPG’s July 2025 valuations, the bonus miles are worth $1,300.
This generous welcome bonus of 100,000 United miles is one that I could easily use for great value (more on that in a bit).
I don’t have United Premier (or any Star Alliance) elite status, so 3,000 PQPs in my account would be a great head start since that’s 50% of the requirement for Premier Silver status (a total of 6,000 PQPs or 5,000 PQPs plus 15 Premier qualifying flights is needed to secure Silver status).
Note that to qualify for United status, you must take four United or United Express flights, even if you hit the PQP threshold.
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This card also earns up to 18,000 PQPs per calendar year (1 PQP for every $20 spent on purchases can be applied toward your Premier status qualification, up to the Premier 1K level).
Premier Silver has a handful of perks, like bonus miles and access to Economy Plus seating at check-in.
The perks really level up when you reach Premier Gold status, as members also qualify for Star Alliance Gold membership. For example, since I regularly fly on Star Alliance airlines, I could enjoy lounge access at over 1,000 lounges worldwide before a Star Alliance flight.
Since Premier Gold status requires 12,000 PQPs or 10,000 PQPs plus 30 PQFs, I’d be a fraction of the way there.
Related: 22 cards currently offering welcome bonuses of 100,000 points or more
Bonus miles for adding a United card authorized user
My husband isn’t nearly as obsessed with earning points and miles as I am, so he isn’t interested in applying for his own card and having to navigate his own accounts and earning-and-redemption strategy.
Instead, he would much rather be an authorized user on my cards. I can manage the earning-and-redemption strategy, and we can both enjoy the benefits, like luxury vacations.
The United Quest Card card offers 10,000 bonus miles if you add an authorized user to your account in the first three months after the account is open.
Not only is this an easy way to maximize earnings on the card through everyday spending, but it is also an easy way to add 10,000 miles to my account.
Credits to offset the annual fee
I expected a card with a 100,000-mile welcome bonus to come with a high annual fee. The United Quest Card instead features a midrange $350 annual fee, similar to the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which only offers a 75,000-mile welcome bonus after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Still, if I’m paying a $350 annual fee each year, I’m looking to get real value from the card beyond the one-off welcome bonus. I’m impressed to see that even without taking into account the value of the miles earned, this card still has plenty of ways to offset the fee each year:
- $200 credit: After account opening and each anniversary year, cardholders will receive $200 in United TravelBank cash.
- Up to 20,000 miles in award flight discounts: Automatically get a 10,000-mile discount each cardholder anniversary (beginning with your first anniversary). You can then earn another 10,000-mile discount after spending $20,000 in a calendar year.
- Hotel credit: Receive up to $150 in credits for Renowned Hotels and Resorts.
- Airline credit: Receive up to $150 in JSX credits.
- Rental car credit: Receive up to $40 each in United TravelBank cash for the first two Avis or Budget car rentals booked through United Cars each account anniversary year.
- Ride-hailing credit: Receive up to $8 in monthly statement credits for ride-hailing services, plus a bonus of $4 (for a total of $12) in December (yearly opt-in required).
- Seat upgrades: Earn two global Economy Plus upgrades after spending $40,000 on purchases with your card each calendar year.
- Instacart credit: Receive one $10 and one $5 monthly Instacart credit, plus a three-month complimentary Instacart+ membership (ends Dec. 31, 2027).
- Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit: Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years.
- Inflight purchases: Receive 25% back on United inflight purchases (includes Wi-Fi, food and beverages).
Now, I doubt I would use every credit offered by the card. For example, I’ve never flown JSX and probably never will, and thanks to a statement credit from another card, I’ve already secured Global Entry.
However, even with one weekend away, I could see myself easily recouping the cost of the annual fee by:
- Booking a $200 round-trip flight on United or United Express to use the United TravelBank cash credit
- Receiving 25% back on United inflight purchases by paying with the card
- Staying at a Renowned Hotels and Resorts property at my destination and paying with the card to use the (up to) $150 hotel credit
- Booking an Avis or Budget car rental at my destination to receive (up to) $40 in United TravelBank cash
Free checked bags on United
I don’t fly United very often, but if I book a United or United Express flight on this card, my traveling companion and I will receive our first and second checked bags for free.
Given that United increased its checked bag fees to $40 for the first bag and $50 for the second bag, this card perk can save me money.
MileagePlus miles are more valuable and easier to use than you might think
Since United retired its award charts and switched to dynamic pricing, I’ve been wary of transferring my Chase Ultimate Rewards points to MileagePlus, fearing there wouldn’t be good redemption opportunities.
However, since I spend hours a week searching for good points and miles deals, I’ve noticed MileagePlus continues to offer excellent award rates and availability. I have found plenty of U.S. flights starting at just 5,000 miles plus $5.60 in fees and taxes.
I’ve been especially pleased about this summer’s Polaris business-class award availability to Europe for just 80,000 miles. There are hundreds of flights you can book for this price from various United hubs to Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, Germany, the U.K. and the Netherlands, among other destinations. I expect I would have no trouble finding an 80,000-mile flight to Europe either later this year or even next summer.
Related: Book United Polaris business class to Europe for just 80,000 miles: Fly to Italy, London and 8 other destinations
This card isn’t perfect
While this card has many attractive features, I wouldn’t say it’s perfect. Given the midrange annual fee, I would love to see a couple of single-use United Club lounge passes thrown in each year, which would make that weekend away to recoup the cost of the annual fee I mentioned above even sweeter.
I consider the 10,000-mile award flight discount if I spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year to be like earning an additional 0.5 miles per dollar spent on the first $20,000 per year. Given that I can earn much better multipliers on most categories on my transferable credit cards, this is not a feature I’ll likely use.
There are also two upgrade certificates for Economy Plus after spending $40,000 or more with the card in a calendar year. Given that Economy Plus is just a normal economy seat with extra legroom, this is an exceptionally weak perk for putting so much spend on the card across an entire year. If the perk was instead an upgrade to Premium Plus, United’s premium economy offering, I might consider going for it. However, I’m not going to spend $40,000 on a card just to get an extra-legroom seat.
As this card is issued by Chase, there’s also Chase’s 5/24 rule to keep in mind.
Bottom line
I never thought I would be considering a United-branded credit card, as it’s never been a program on my radar. I’ve been very happy with Star Alliance partner Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, even redeeming Aeroplan points to fly on United in the past.
Given that I was recently approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees), I’m not really in the market for another card. But since the United Quest Card is offering a best-ever offer that I could benefit from, I may apply for it.
The welcome bonus is huge, and there are so many statement credits that I could easily recoup the cost of the annual fee in a long weekend.
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