The United Quest Card from Chase is United’s middle-tier personal card. It costs more than the Explorer but far less than the United Club Card. The Quest is for people who fly United often enough to use its credits and status help, but who don’t need lounge access.
Here is what the card offers as of late October 2026, and how to tell if it fits your travel.
Annual Fee and Welcome Offer
The Quest has a $350 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
The current welcome offer has three parts:
- 80,000 bonus miles once your purchases reach $4,000 within 3 months of opening the account.
- 10,000 more miles for adding your first authorized user in the first 3 months.
- 500 PQP after your first purchase, made within the first 12 months.
You can’t get the bonus if you have this card now, or if you got its new cardmember bonus in the past 24 months. Chase says miles and PQP usually post 6 to 8 weeks after you qualify. Offers change, so check the official United Quest page before you apply.
How the Card Earns Miles
- 10x total miles on eligible United flights. That is 6x as a MileagePlus member plus 4x from the card. Basic Economy fares earn differently.
- 5x on prepaid stays booked through Renowned Hotels and Resorts for United Cardmembers.
- 4x on other United purchases, such as Economy Plus, seat upgrades, inflight food and Wi-Fi, and bag fees.
- 2x on other travel, dining (including eligible delivery), and select streaming services.
- 1x on everything else.
Annual Credits
Much of the Quest’s value comes from credits. Each one has its own rules, so only count the ones you will really use.
- $200 United travel credit: Added as TravelBank cash when you open the account and again each anniversary. It works on United and United Express flights and expires 12 months after it is issued.
- Up to $150 Renowned Hotels and Resorts credit: For prepaid “Pay Now” stays booked through that program.
- Up to $150 JSX credit: For flights booked directly with JSX, once each anniversary year.
- Up to $100 rideshare credit: You have to opt in each year. It pays up to $8 a month from January through November and up to $12 in December.
- Up to $80 Avis or Budget credit: $40 in TravelBank cash on each of your first two rentals of at least two days, booked through United’s travel site and paid with the card.
- Up to $180 Instacart credit: Monthly credits that need an active Instacart+ membership. This benefit ends 12/31/27.
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS: A credit of up to $120 every 4 years for the application fee.
- 25% back on United inflight food, drinks and Wi-Fi, and on premium drinks in United Clubs.
Award Discounts and Anniversary Perks
Starting with your first card anniversary, you get a 10,000-mile award flight discount each year. It applies to awards that cost more than 10,000 miles and include at least one United or United Express flight. It expires 12 months after it is issued.
If you spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year, you can earn a second 10,000-mile discount, limited to one per year.
Primary cardmembers also pay fewer miles on United awards. You save at least 10% off the base price without Premier status, and at least 15% with it. Spend $40,000 in a calendar year and you also get two Economy Plus upgrades.
Help With Premier Status
For many people, status help is the main reason to get the Quest.
- 1,000 Card Bonus PQP each year. They post within 8 weeks of February 1, starting the year after you open the card, as long as the account was open on December 31.
- 1 PQP for every $20 you spend, up to 18,000 PQP a calendar year.
- The 500 welcome PQP don’t count toward that 18,000 cap.
Chase says card PQP count toward Premier status tiers up to and including Premier 1K. That is far more room than the Explorer’s 1,000 PQP cap. Check United’s current Premier requirements, since status also depends on your flying.
Checked Bags and Boarding
The first and second standard checked bags are free for you and one companion on the same reservation. You need to buy the ticket with the card and add your MileagePlus number. Chase waives the card purchase rule for flights in the first 90 days after you open the account. This applies only on United and United Express.
You and your companions on the same reservation also get Group 2 priority boarding.
Quest vs. Explorer vs. Club
| Explorer | Quest | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 first year, then $150 | $350 | $695 |
| Free checked bags | First bag | First and second | First and second |
| Boarding | Group 2 | Group 2 | Premier Access |
| Lounge access | Two one-time passes a year | None | United Club membership |
| Spend-based PQP | 1 per $20, up to 1,000 | 1 per $20, up to 18,000 | 1 per $15, up to 28,000 |
| Yearly Card Bonus PQP | None | 1,000 | 1,500 |
| United flight earning | 9x total | 10x total | 11x total |
The Explorer is the low-cost option if you take a few United trips a year. The Club Card makes sense if you would use the lounges often. The Quest sits in between, with a second free bag, real status help and a larger set of credits, but no lounge access.
Is the United Quest Card Right for You?
Good fit if you:
- Fly United several times a year and will use the $200 travel credit.
- Often check two bags, or fly with a companion who does.
- Want to reach or keep Premier status partly through card spending.
- Book United awards and can use a yearly 10,000-mile discount.
- Will actually use some of the partner credits, like rideshare, JSX or Instacart.
Skip it if you:
- Fly United only once or twice a year. The Explorer probably covers you for less.
- Want lounge access. Only the Club Card includes United Club membership.
- Don’t fly from a United hub or rarely choose United.
- Know you won’t keep track of opt-ins and credit rules, which a lot of this card’s value depends on.
