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Another day, another round of credit card fee hikes. This time, United and Chase are shaking things up, rolling out sweeping changes across their entire family of co-branded cards. The updates include higher annual fees, paired with a range of new benefits intended to offset the added cost.
In line with trends we've seen from American Express in recent years, Chase has added a variety of statement credits and United TravelBank credits to its suite of United cards — effectively transforming them into coupon books dressed up as premium perks. Unfortunately, these kinds of structured benefits can be difficult to maximize if you are not diligent in keeping track of them.
Is it still worth hanging onto your United card? Which changes may actually be beneficial? Here's my take on the new United cobranded cards.
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What Are The Positive Changes of United's Card Overhaul?
Tons of new credits and perks
The most obvious positive changes to United's card overhaul are the slew of new benefits added to each card in the portfolio. For a full breakdown of the overhaul, check out our post on the massive changes that dropped this week. But here's an overview of the perks that have been added or enhanced:
| Card | New and Enhanced Benefits |
|---|---|
| The New United℠ Explorer Card | Rideshare and Instacart credits Ability to earn a $100 TravelBank credit Ability to earn a 10K mile award travel discount |
| The New United Quest℠ Card | Rideshare and Instacart credits Annual TravelBank credit increased from $125 to $200 10K mile award travel discount (rather than two 5,000 mile discount) after first anniversary Ability to earn up to 18,000 PQPs with spend Various statement credits with Instacart, rideshare, United Hotels etc. |
| The New United Club℠ Card | Rideshare and Instacart credits Earn Up to 20K-mile award discounts (10K per $20K spend, up to twice) Ability to earn up to Premier 1K status (28,000 PQP) at a rate of 1 PQP per $15 spent Instacart+ membership, rideshare credits and various other statement credits for booking travel with Avis, Budget, Renowned Hotels and Resorts, JSX etc. |
| The New United℠ Business Card | Rideshare and Instacart credits Earn up to 4,000 PQP at a rate of 1 per $20 spent Earn $125 in TravelBank credit after make 5 eligible United flight purchases Earn 2 domestic (continental) Economy Plus seat upgrades after spending $25K on the card Statement credits earned with Instacart, rideshare, FareLock, United Hotels, Avis/Budget, JSX jet service |
| United Club℠ Business Card | Rideshare and Instacart credits Earn 2 global Economy Plus upgrades after $40K spend Receive 5,000 better-together anniversary bonus if you have a personal card as well Complimentary Instacart+ membership Ability to earn up to Premier 1K status (28,000 PQP) at a rate of 1 PQP per $15 spent Various other partner credits for booking travel with Avis, Budget, JSX, Renowned Hotels and Resorts etc. |
Members retain most existing benefits
If you are worried that you will be losing important benefits that were already in place, rest assured there aren't very many perks being removed. These unchanged key benefits include free checked bags and expanded award availability.
New PQP benefits for 2026
Premium United cardholders will begin to receive a key benefit for anyone chasing United status, in the form of a Premier Qualifying Point jumpstart.
United Mileage Plus members with The New United Quest℠ Card will get a boost of 1,000 PQPs. Members who hold The New United Club℠ Card or United Club℠ Business Card will get a 1,500 PQP boost. This can be quite a valuable perk for anyone who is trying to earn Premier status with United.
Downsides of United's Card Overhaul
Higher annual fees
As mentioned annual fees for new applicants have jumped dramatically, effective immediately. They have increased as follows:
- The New United℠ Explorer Card increased from $95 to $150 annually (58% increase)
- United Quest Card increased from $250 to $350 annually (40% increase)
- United Club increased from $525 to $695 annually (32% increase)
- The New United℠ Business Card increased from $99 to $150 annually, after a $0 intro annual fee for the first year (52% increase)
- United Club Business Card increased from $450 to $695 annually (54% increase)
Reduced United Club access
United Club and United Club Business Card cardholders may be the most unhappy with the changes. In addition to the price hike, these cardholders will be losing some lounge access benefits that they previously had. United has now split its United Club membership into two different tiers:
- Standard Membership which includes United Club access with one adult guest and any dependant children (under 21)
- All-Access Membership which includes United and Star Alliance lounges with up to two adult guests
Before these changes, cardholders had access to both United and Star Alliance lounges with up to two adult guests included with their annual fee. Now, however, cardholders will need to spend a whopping $50,000 in a calendar year to receive All Access Membership.
But, the Club-labeled cards aren't the only ones getting reduced club access. United Explorer Card cardholders may be disappointed to learn that their one-time United Club passes may no longer be gifted to others. Now guests may only enter if the cardholder is present. I see many more unused one-time passes going to waste.
Who Might Benefit From These Changes
For some people, these updates may prove to be a lucrative change. Here's who might come out ahead:
Status chasers
United loyalists who are looking to earn or keep their Premier status will definitely benefit from the increased opportunities to earn PQPs through credit card spend. Cardholders will now be able to spend all the way up to Premier 1K if they have the United Club or United Club Business Card, or up to Premier Platinum with the United Quest Card.
Furthermore, the PQP jumpstart perk that will roll out in 2026 is a nice bonus with significant value that will lower the amount you need to spend to earn that status.
Big spenders
Additionally, high spenders can benefit from the perks United has added to reward larger purchases. These include the additional mileage discounts on award redemptions and the earnable TravelBank credits.
That said, there are plenty of other cards with much better earning potential that I’d personally prefer to use for my spending. I certainly wouldn't increase my spending on one of these cards to earn an Economy Plus seat upgrade.
Quest cardholders
In general, I think the added benefits to the United Quest Card outweigh the increased fee. As a cardholder myself, I am happy to see the consolidation of the two 5,000-mile award discounts into one 10,000-mile discount. That makes this perk much easier to use.
Additionally, the increased TravelBank credit makes up for a good portion of the annual fee increase. (And if you're wondering why this credit is no longer a statement credit, United had already announced earlier this year that they were moving these credits to TravelBank instead of statement credits.)
The new statement credit opportunities could definitely be worth more than the annual fee if you can take advantage of them. However, for some, the hassle of tracking and chasing each deal may not be worth it. Plus some of the perks are just not available to everyone (I'm looking at you, $100 credit for booking through JSX — a hop-on semi-private jet service from select cities.)
Current cardholders
One of the best pieces of news, at least for now, is that these new benefits are available immediately to current cardholders. That means you’ll start enjoying the added perks right away, even if you’ve already paid the previous, lower annual fee. Your annual fee won’t increase until your first renewal after August 1, 2025 — or your first renewal after January 1, 2026 for United Explorer Card cardholders.
So, if you already have a United credit card, start taking advantage of the increased perks!
Potential new cardholders
While existing cardholders get these new benefits for the existing rate, it's also a great time to get a United credit card. That's because Chase is launching these revamped United cards with significantly increased welcome offers.
Here are the revamped offers on the consumer United cards:
- 2X miles per $1 spent on purchases from United®
- 2X miles per $1 spent on dining and hotel stays when booked with the hotel
- 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 5 miles per $1 spent at Renowned Hotels and Resorts
- 3 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases
- 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel
- 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants
- 2 miles per $1 spent on select streaming services
- 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Earn 4 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
Meanwhile, the United Business Card is offering an even higher 75,000 bonus miles and 2,000 PQP-mile bonus:
My Take
Overall, even with the increased annual fees, these changes aren’t exactly tragic, but they mostly cater to specific groups — big spenders, United Quest Card cardholders, and those focused on chasing status. For some people, the benefits may not outweigh the effort of tracking the various credits and perks, and honestly, I’d rather keep my money in my pocket than pay for a curated list of coupons.
That said, I’m still holding on to my card because I think I can squeeze enough value out of it to offset the annual fee, especially with the right strategy. It’s not a game-changer, but it’s still worth keeping in the mix for me.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees), The New United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees), The New United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and The New United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees)
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