Review: United MileagePlus Explorer Credit Card

With all the bad rap United has been getting the past few months, I don't blame you if you don't have the best opinion of them.  After all, recent incidents of dragging people off of planes and denying emotional support peacocks among others aren't the best examples of offering a good customer experience.

Putting that aside, I wanted to use this post to review the United MileagePlus Explorer Credit Card, which was my first travel card that I opened!  We'll cover the card basics, perks, and then weigh the pros and cons to see if you should get this card for yourself.

Who wouldn't like to fly to Oregon for free?

Let's get on with the basics.
The United MileagePlus Explorer Card is operated by Chase and offers a pretty standard earning rate, varying signup bonuses, and annual fee.

• Earning Rate:
• Purchase ticket from United - 2x miles per $1
• Purchase anything else - 1x miles per $1

• Signup Bonus:
• Ranges from 30,000 - 50,000 miles when you spend $2,000 - $3,000 within the first 3 months of opening the account

• Annual Fee:
• $0 the first year then $95 annually

We'll start with the earning rate.  When it comes to using this card for everyday spending, you're not going to get the best earning rates.  At 1x miles per $1, it'll take a good amount of time to rack up enough to redeem for a flight.

Now onto the signup bonus.  I would NOT sign up for this card for anything less than 50,000 miles.  Given that you will have to shift $2-3k of everyday spending over to this card to get the bonus, you'll most likely end up with the bonus plus 3,000 miles after the first 3 months.  But if that number is 53,000 miles, you get a pretty good value.

United offers saver award economy flights within the US (excluding Hawaii) that go for 12.5k miles one way.  A signup bonus of 50k miles would essentially get you 2 round trip flights.  Cross country US flights usually cost around $400 - $500, so the signup bonus equates to about $800 of value.  Keep in mind that the value is based on the ticket prices and what you choose to redeem.

Ok now tell me about the perks!

As I mentioned earlier, the annual fee for this card is $95 after the first year.  Thankfully, your $95 doesn't go to waste and gives you a total of 4 perks.  I'll list them out from lowest to highest value.

• Perk 1: Priority Group 2 Boarding
• Nothing too special here.  You get to board the plane after first class.  If you have a carry on, you'll never have to stress about overhead compartment room on United flights again.

• Perk 2: 2 United Club passes per year
• These one time passes have a value of $59 each and are pretty handy if you ever get stuck at an airport with a United Club.  The quality of clubs vary by airport but you can expect a quiet lounge area, abundance of electrical outlets, an open bar, and simple snacks.  Definitely won't blow you away but it's nice to have in your back pocket.  These passes work with any valid boarding pass so you don't have to be flying United to use it.

• Perk 3: First free checked bag for you and one travel companion
• Essentially a $100 value per trip ($25 per bag for 4 flights on a round trip if you have a travel companion).  It's pretty nice to just check your bag and travel light.  Then you can feel free to board whenever you want and spend the least amount of time in a plane.  Technically doing this negates Perk 1 but I'll take it.  This perk is applicable for roundtrip and one way flights.

• Perk 4: Increased saver award availability
• This is the perk that I find the most valuable.  Having this card opens up additional saver award flights where you can maximize your miles to get more discounted award flight options.  Without the card, there is often limited availability when redeeming United miles and you are left spending 25k miles for a one way flight.

Worn but trustworthy award option!

Ok so should I get this card?

Well let's recap.

• Pros:
• Good signup bonus worth ~$800, no annual fee the first year, increased saver award flight availability, free checked bags, 2 United club passes annually, priority boarding

• Cons:
• Mediocre ability to earn miles, $95 annual fee after first year

In order to make this decision for yourself, you need to decide if you want to commit to United.  Marrying yourself to this airlines for award flights is not necessarily a bad option with great award options and a multitude of routes.  I personally get a lot of value from this card.  We frequently fly to visit family in Oregon so it's definitely been nice to never pay for those cross country flights.  In regards to its mediocre earning ability, this card pairs excellently with the Chase Sapphire Preferred so you can earn miles at a better rate.

Thanks for reading! Get ready for next week where I review the Chase Sapphire Preferred!  Feel free to connect with me by leaving a comment below or on Facebook!