United credit cards to become coupon books — is it worth keeping your card?

We’ve seen this before: An issuer increases the annual fee — and adds a bunch of statement credits. It encourages cardholders to keep their cards and put more spending on them.

American Express has been the trendsetter in doing so, turning its credit cards into coupon books and rewarding those who are on top of their credit card game (which is hopefully you, as a TPG reader).

Now, it’s Chase‘s turn in announcing a major overhaul of its six United cobranded credit cards. The changes? Higher annual fees with a slew of new credits — along with some restrictions on existing benefits.

So, is this going to be good or bad for you? Well, it depends on which card you have.

Let’s start with a quick summary of the changes below; then, dive in for more detailed information on your card later in the guide.

Summary of changes

The good

• More travel credits
• Easier to earn elite status with higher caps
• Economy Plus seat upgrades added to some cards
• Spend your way to Star Alliance lounge access on top-tier cards
• New benefits are available for all new and existing cardholders effectively immediately (except elite status boost, starting next year)

The bad

• Higher annual fees across all cards (except the no-annual-fee card; effective immediately for new cardholders; on next anniversary date from Aug. 1 for most existing cardholders; from Jan. 1 for existing Explorer cardholders)
• Limited ability to gift United Club passes
• Some credits are not useful for all
• Select perks require spending

What’s not changing

• Majority of existing perks remain, with added benefits rather than removals
• Perks like checked baggage, Premier Access and inflight discounts unaffected
• No reduction in earning rates; increase in earning rate for hotel bookings

My take

• Best for frequent United flyers and high spenders who hold top-tier cards and chase elite status
• Worse for occasional United flyers and low spenders with entry-level cards who may struggle to justify annual fee

Why is United overhauling its credit cards?

This is a common trend we’re seeing across cobranded cards. Delta led the pack, overhauling its cobranded American Express cards in early 2024.

Similarly, United is aiming to capture more spending on its cobranded cards with Chase. It wants to incentivize cardholders to put United flights, general travel and everyday expenses on its cards.

This partnership — running through 2029 and potentially longer — is critical to United, generating billions of dollars in revenue to help power the airline and its MileagePlus loyalty program.

Club Infinite and Club Business

Frequent flyers holding the airline’s top-tier personal and business cards — the United Club℠ Infinite Card and United Club℠ Business Card cards, respectively — are big winners in this overhaul.

The information for the United Club Business has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Negative changes

• Annual fee: Personal card from $525 to $695, an increase of $170 (or 32%); business card from $450 to $695, a larger increase of $245 (or 54%)
• Reduced guest allowance: The regular (“Individual”) United Club membership included with this card has lowered the adult guest allowance from two to one (with no change to admitting dependent children under 21 years old); you can now guest two adults in after spending $50,000 in a calendar year (new “All Access” membership tier).

New benefits

• Premier qualifying points boost: 1,500 PQPs applied each year; should land in your account between February and April starting 2026; can be stacked with other cards
• Increased PQP earning rate threshold: Almost doubles from 15,000 to 28,000 per calendar year; still same rate of 1 PQP for every $15 spent
• Hotel statement credit: Up to $200 on a prepaid reservation made through Renowned Hotels and Resorts (Chase’s luxury hotel booking platform for United cardholders) each anniversary year; plus the earning rate on these bookings is increasing from 3.5 and 4 miles on the personal and business card, respectively, to 5 miles per dollar spent
• Ride-hailing statement credit: Up to $12 monthly plus a bonus $6 (for a total of $18) in December; enrollment is required
• FareLock statement credit (for business card only): Up to $50 back each anniversary year to hold the price of a United flight for 3-14 days (must purchase FareLock)
• Car rental TravelBank cash: $50 each for first two Avis or Budget car rentals booked through United Cars each anniversary year
• JSX flight statement credit: Up to $200 each anniversary year when you book directly with JSX
• Instacart credit: Two $10 monthly Instacart credits plus a complimentary Instacart+ membership (ends Dec. 31, 2027)

The following benefits are given once you reach the spending threshold in a calendar year:

My take

These are overwhelmingly positive changes for Club Infinite and Club Business cardholders.

Yes, the annual fees are increasing by $170 and $245 on the personal and business cards, respectively. They’re now the same as The Platinum Card® from American Express, long seen as the ceiling for top-tier premium travel rewards cards (with an increase to its annual fee probably coming this year; see rates and fees).

However, you can more than offset these by maximizing just two of the new credits. The $200 hotel credit can be used on one stay, which will also give you elite hotel perks like daily breakfast for two, a $100 property credit and room upgrades (where available). And the ride-hailing credit is worth up to $150 annually, giving you $350 in value from those two credits alone.

The credits with Avis/Budget, JSX and Instacart are only valuable if you’re loyal to those brands. Business cardholders should be able to hold the price of at least two flights with the FareLock credit.

With United Club membership now separated into two tiers, a disappointing change is the reduction in guesting allowances from two to one adults — unless you spend $50,000 on your card in a calendar year. Once you do, you’ll unlock an All-Access membership, giving you:

• Star Alliance lounge access
• An increased adult guest allowance from one to two
• Four one-time United Club passes (guest must enter with cardholder/authorized user/employee)

Those who spend a lot on these cards will come out on top, earning status more easily and working their way toward the benefits earned at spending thresholds. You’ll be able to get the most value out of the award discounts from the personal card and the EconomyPlus seat upgrades on the business card by using them on long-haul flights. And the ability to spend your way to Star Alliance lounge access favors those who travel abroad often but don’t easily achieve status through flying.

Quest

One of the two mid-tier personal cards, the United Quest℠ Card, is getting a modest annual fee increase, minor changes to two existing benefits and a long list of new perks — making this an overall positive change.

Negative changes

• Annual fee: From $250 to $350, an increase of $100 (or 40%)

Changes to existing benefits

• United travel credit: $200 in TravelBank cash each anniversary year replaces $125 United statement credit
• Award flight discount: One 10,000-mile discount replaces two 5,000-mile discounts; can earn a second discount after spending $20,000

New benefits

• PQP boost: 1,000 PQPs applied each year; should land in your account between February and April starting 2026; can be stacked with other cards
• Increased PQP earning rate threshold: Doubling from 9,000 to 18,000 per calendar year (still same rate of 1 PQP for every $20 spent)
• Hotel statement credit: Up to $150 on a prepaid reservation made through Renowned Hotels and Resorts each anniversary year; plus the earning rate on Renowned Hotels and Resorts bookings is increasing from 4 to 5 miles per dollar spent
• Ride-hailing statement credit: Up to $8 monthly plus a bonus $4 (for a total of $12) in December; enrollment is required
• Car rental TravelBank cash: $40 each for first two Avis or Budget car rentals booked through United Cars each anniversary year
• JSX flight statement credit: Up to $150 each anniversary year when you book directly with JSX
• Instacart credit: One $10 and one $5 monthly Instacart credit plus a three-month complimentary Instacart+ membership (ends Dec. 31, 2027)

The following benefits are given once you reach the spending threshold in a calendar year:

My take

These changes are overwhelmingly positive for Quest cardholders.

The $100 increase in the annual fee is mostly offset by a $75 increase in the United travel credit, which will now come as TravelBank cash rather than a statement credit.

And the $150 hotel credit should be easy to utilize, giving you elite hotel perks like complimentary breakfast for two people, room upgrades (where available) and a $100 property credit. The $8 ride-hailing credit is annoying to keep track of, but gives you another up to $100 in value each year.

(The Avis/Budget, JSX and Instacart credits will be harder to use for those not loyal to these brands.)

The 10,000-mile award discount, which replaces the previous two 5,000-mile discounts, is best suited to those who redeem a larger amount of miles for a redemption, e.g., business class to Europe, rather than lower-priced redemptions, e.g., Saver-level domestic economy tickets.

Explorer

One of the carrier’s two mid-tier cards, the United℠ Explorer Card, is seeing a mix of positive and negative changes. Your decision will come down to how much effort you can put into maximizing the new credits.

Negative changes

• Annual fee: From $95 to $150, an increase of $55 (or 58%); new cardholders still get a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year.
• Lounge pass restrictions: Previously, the two one-time United Club passes available each anniversary year could be gifted to others; now, the guest must enter with the cardholder or an authorized user.
• No more upgrades: Upgrades on award tickets will be removed on Aug. 1.

New benefits

• Hotel statement credit: Up to $50 each for your first two prepaid reservations made through United Hotels each anniversary year; plus the earning rate on United Hotels bookings is increasing from 4 to 5 miles per dollar spent
• Ride-hailing statement credit: Up to $5 monthly; enrollment is required
• Car rental TravelBank cash: $25 each for first two Avis or Budget car rentals booked through United Cars each anniversary year
• JSX flight statement credit: Up to $100 each anniversary year when you book directly with JSX
• Instacart credit: $10 monthly Instacart credit plus a three-month complimentary Instacart+ membership (ends Dec. 31, 2027)

The following benefits are given once you reach the spending threshold in a calendar year:

My take

Overall, the Explorer changes are mixed.

While the new annual fee increase is in line with other mid-tier credit cards that have recently been refreshed, the lounge pass restriction and removal of award ticket upgrades is disappointing.

Although the $55 annual fee increase is more than offset by up to $430 in credits each year, it requires significant effort on the cardholder’s part to keep track of the monthly and annual credits.

If you check a bag on at least four one-way United flights a year, it still makes sense to keep the card for that benefit alone. And if you use your Club passes, then you should definitely still get positive value out of this card — and potentially even more now if you maximize the new credits.

However, if you fly United frequently, it’s worth looking into getting the Quest or Club Infinite card instead. And if you’re only an occasional United flyer and are questioning the value of this card, I’d recommend downgrading it to the card below (canceling this card may harm your credit score).

Gateway

The carrier’s no-annual-fee United Gateway℠ Card is suffering a negative change (along with adding a new benefit that isn’t of much use) — but it’s not worth canceling your card if you have it.

Negative change

• Special member pricing: After spending $10,000 in a calendar year

New benefit

• Two free checked bags: After spending $10,000 in a calendar year

My take

The first change is negative. I’ve kept the Gateway in my wallet for the past seven years to ensure I’ve maintained access to special award pricing for those with a cobranded United credit card. Having to spend $10,000 on this card each year to keep this benefit is disappointing — but understandable.

No one should be spending $10,000 on this card to receive two checked bags — that offers very poor value.

If you have this card, I’d recommend keeping it active to protect your credit score. If accessing special award pricing is valuable to you, consider adding one of the other cards to your wallet.

Business

Not to be confused with the higher-annual-fee United Club Business Card, the changes to the lower-tier United℠ Business Card are mostly positive for semi-frequent United business travelers.

Negative changes

• Annual fee: From $99 to $150, an increase of $51 (or 52%)
• Lounge pass restrictions: Previously, the two one-time United Club passes available each anniversary year could be gifted to others; now, the guest must enter with the cardholder or an authorized user.

Changes to existing benefits

• United travel credit: $125 in TravelBank cash after five (previously seven) United flight purchases of $100 or more each per calendar year

New benefits

• Increased PQP earning rate threshold: Quadrupling from 1,000 to 4,000 per calendar year (still same rate of 1 PQP for every $20 spent)
• Hotel statement credit: Up to $50 each for your first two prepaid reservations made through United Hotels each anniversary year; plus the earning rate on United Hotels bookings is increasing from 4 to 5 miles per dollar spent
• FareLock statement credit: Up to $25 back each anniversary year to hold the price of a United flight for 3-14 days (must purchase FareLock)
• Ride-hailing statement credit: Up to $8 monthly plus a bonus $4 (for a total of $12) in December; enrollment is required
• Car rental TravelBank cash: $25 each for first two Avis or Budget car rentals booked through United Cars each anniversary year
• JSX flight statement credit: Up to $100 each anniversary year when you book directly with JSX
• Instacart credit: $10 monthly Instacart credit plus a three-month complimentary Instacart+ membership (ends Dec. 31, 2027)

The following benefit is given once you reach the spending threshold in a calendar year:

My take

These changes are mostly positive, with a range of new credits to help offset the modest annual fee increase.

The travel credit will be easier to receive (after five rather than seven flights) and the FareLock credits will be useful for those wanting to get the best price for at least one flight. However, maximizing the other credits will require quite a lot of effort and tracking.

As a United Business cardholder, I’m happy to see the continuation of the two lounge passes benefit; however, I’m disappointed I can no longer gift them to others (like I did at a bar recently when someone I met was about to fly 17 hours from Houston to Sydney in economy). Now, I’ll need to use those two passes for myself; or one for myself and the other for someone else traveling with me.

What tips the scale toward keeping this card is the fact that I’ll receive 5,000 bonus miles each year I hold both a United personal (Gateway) and business (Business) card. They’re worth $68 (according to our March 2025 valuations), which is almost half the new annual fee on the United Business card.

Bottom line

The only constant in the world of credit cards is change.

And as far as changes go, these are overwhelmingly positive for those holding cards at the top of United’s range (the Club Infinite, Club Business and Quest).

The situation is more mixed for those with the Explorer and Business cards. You’ll want to do the numbers to make sure you are getting enough value from existing and new benefits to justify paying an annual fee.

And those with the Gateway card should keep it in their wallet to protect their credit score.

If you’re unhappy with these changes, don’t panic — you’ve already paid your most recent annual fee, so continue to enjoy the existing benefits and use the new ones, too. Then, your next (increased) annual fee will come around from Aug. 1 for most cardholders (Jan. 1 for Explorer cardholders). When that happens, ask Chase for a retention offer to sweeten the deal.

But if you are a United loyalist and have one of the top cards, the deal should be sweet enough to keep your card — even as your United credit card moonlights as a coupon book.

Related: How to pay your United credit card’s annual fee with miles

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.