By Eric Rosen
Feb 26, 2021
Courtesy of United
Earning bonus miles from one of these cards could be your ticket to a United business-class seat on your next trip.
United’s credit cards are offering some of their highest bonuses ever along with plenty of perks.
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It seems like every week another exciting travel credit card bonus launches. Earlier this month, three of Southwest’s credit cards offered the chance to earn a Companion Pass. Now, the United℠ Explorer Card, the United Club℠ Infinite Card, and the United Gateway℠ Card have just debuted some of their highest-ever introductory offers, with the chance to earn up to 75,000 bonus miles on the United Club Infinite, in particular.
Even if you’re not planning to travel anytime soon, signing up for one of these cards could be the right opportunity to rack up the miles you’ll need for trips when are you are ready to venture out into the world again. However, there are plenty of other good reasons to apply for one of United’s credit cards right now.
Each of these three cards offers its own set of advantages. Choosing the right one will depend on which bonus is most attractive to you, which annual fee is within your budget, and what kinds of purchases you tend to make from day to day.
This middle-of-the-road mainstay is probably the best choice for most travelers given its moderate annual fee and outsized benefits.
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This current introductory bonus is 25,000 more miles than usual and is also one of the best offers this credit card has ever extended. The miles you can earn by completing the spending requirement would be enough for over a dozen one-way economy tickets on short hops within the United States, or a round-trip ticket in economy from the U.S. to Europe or many cities in Asia. Apart from that, the United Explorer is a strong earner thanks to its dining and hotel bonus categories, and it is one of the few airline cards with an annual fee under $100 that includes a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck benefit. And the annual fee is waived the first year, so it’s basically a no-risk chance to earn a lot of United miles.
Want some more premium perks? This card comes with United Club membership, among other advantages.
United Club membership might not have the same allure as usual at the moment if you’re not flying frequently. However, if you’re a regular United passenger and don’t currently have lounge access, or you usually purchase membership anyway, you might as well get this card and enjoy the facilities thanks to it. United Club membership usually costs $550–$650 depending on your elite status tier, so even with a $525 annual fee, you’re saving money. You can also expect a few elite perks like Premier Access and free checked bags thrown in. Not only that, but for a long time, this card was simply waiving the first year’s annual fee as its welcome offer, so the chance to earn a bonanza of bonus miles should be attractive to a lot of United loyalists.
Just note that this card won’t get you into the airline’s swanky Polaris Clubs, but it will get you into its serviceable United Clubs, as well as into most of its Star Alliance airline partners’ business-class lounges around the world.
Although its initial bonus is lower than the others, the fact that this card has no annual fee is a major selling point.
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Thinking about an airline credit card, but aren’t sure you want to commit to an annual fee? This starter card is the perfect choice whether you’re just getting into travel rewards or you simply want another way to boost your mileage account. Not only can you carry it year after year without being charged to do so, but it also has great earning potential built in thanks to its everyday bonus categories of gas and, for a limited time, groceries. Sure, you won’t enjoy the same day-of-travel perks like free checked bags that you would with the United Explorer or United Club Infinite. But if you are a budget-minded traveler and want to save up miles for your next trip, the United Gateway Card is an excellent option.
There are plenty of opportunities to redeem United miles beyond flying, including cashing them in for merchandise, gift cards, charitable donations, United Club memberships, and even cruises, among other possibilities. However, you don’t tend to get great value from your miles when doing so.
Instead, the best use of United MileagePlus miles is for award travel on the airline and its partners, such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and Turkish Airlines. In general, you’ll need fewer miles for United’s own flights, especially for long-haul travel in premium classes. The airline has also been posting some flash sales on tickets with prices as low as 3,000 miles each way on short routes, such as from Boston to Washington, D.C., Houston to New Orleans, or Los Angeles to San Francisco. At those prices, the United Club Infinite’s sign-up bonus could net you 25 one-way flights. Typically, though, 75,000 miles should be enough for a round trip between North America and Asia in economy on United or partners such as ANA and EVA, or a one-way business-class award seat from the U.S. to South America or Europe on United’s own flights.
Even under normal circumstances, United boasts some of the best airline credit cards around thanks to lucrative mileage earning opportunities and day-of-travel benefits such as free checked bags and priority boarding. Now that all three of the airline’s personal credit cards—the United Explorer, the United Club Infinite, and the United Gateway—are offering some of their highest bonuses ever, it could be the right time to apply and sock away those miles for a future trip.
While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they are subject to change at any time, and may have changed or may no longer be available.
>> Next: Southwest Credit Cards Offering Rare Opportunity to Earn a Valuable Companion Pass
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