Link: Apply now for the United Gateway℠ Card
Chase and United offer a suite of co-branded credit cards, and that portfolio has recently been refreshed. In this post, I want to take a look at The New United Gateway℠ Card, which is the no annual fee card that’s part of this portfolio. Airline credit cards are largely worth getting for the perks, so can a no annual fee airline card offer value?
In this post:
United Airlines Gateway Card Basics For April 2025
The United Gateway Card is one of the better no annual fee airline credit cards out there, both in terms of the bonus and the rewards structure. Let’s look at the card in more detail, including the welcome bonus, return on spending, perks, and more.
United Gateway Card No Annual Fee
As I’ve already mentioned, the United Gateway Card has no annual fee. This applies both to the primary cardmember and any additional cardmembers. Back in the day, there weren’t many airline credit cards without annual fees, so it’s nice to see airlines increasingly offering this kind of product.
United Gateway Card Welcome Bonus Of 30K Miles
For applications through July 16, 2025, the United Gateway Card has a limited time welcome bonus of 30,000 MileagePlus miles after spending $1,000 within the first three months. I value MileagePlus miles at 1.1 cents each, so to me, the bonus alone is worth $330, which is decent for a no annual fee card.
Eligibility for the United Gateway Card welcome bonus is unrelated to any other Chase or United credit card bonuses, so you are eligible even if you have other co-branded United cards. The standard Chase application rules apply, including the 5/24 rule (though there are increasingly reports of this no longer being consistently enforced).
United Gateway Card Earns Up To 2x Miles
The United Gateway Card has a solid rewards structure for a no annual fee card, as it offers:
- 2x MileagePlus miles on United purchases
- 2x MileagePlus miles on gas station purchases
- 2x MileagePlus miles on local transit and commuting, including rideshare services, taxis, train tickets, tolls, and mass transit
Best of all, the United Gateway Card has no foreign transaction fees, so this can be a great card to use abroad. There aren’t all that many no annual fee cards with decent rewards structures that also have no foreign transaction fees, so the card is pretty awesome in that sense.
United Gateway Card Free Checked Bags With Spending
As an incentive for spending, the United Gateway Card offers two standard checked bag certificates after spending $10,000 on the card in a calendar year. United ordinarily charges $40 for a first checked bag, so that’s a value of up to $80.
It’s nice to have some incentive for spending, though it’s not worth spending $10,000 on the card annually just to receive that perk. Note that United’s more premium cards offer free checked bags as part of the standard card perks, with no spending required.
United Gateway Card Benefits & Perks
Generally speaking, one of the main reasons to consider picking up an airline credit card is for the perks that it offers. As you’d expect, United Airlines’ no annual fee credit card has the fewest perks of any card in the portfolio. That being said, the United Gateway Card does offer some benefits, as follows:
- 25% savings on United inflight purchases, including purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi
- Travel and purchase coverage, including auto collision damage waiver, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, purchase protection, and more
Is The United Gateway Card Worth It?
For a no annual fee airline card, it doesn’t get much better than the United Gateway Card. The card offers a respectable welcome bonus, 2x miles on select purchases with no foreign transaction fees, savings on inflight purchases, and more. If you absolutely want a no annual fee United card, then this is obviously the card to go with.
That being said, I want to talk about why it could make sense to pick up another United credit card, and also compare it to the no annual fee cards offered by other airlines.
Why You Should Get The United Explorer Card Instead
If you’re considering picking up a United Airlines credit card, I’d apply for The New United℠ Explorer Card (review) over the United Gateway Card. Why?
- The United Explorer Card offers a much bigger welcome bonus, which gets you significantly more value upfront
- The United Explorer Card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
- If you decide after a year that you don’t want the United Explorer Card, you should be able to downgrade it to the no annual fee United Gateway Card
- The United Explorer Card offers all kinds of valuable incremental perks, like two United Club passes annually, a free first checked bag, priority boarding, rideshare credits, and much more
There’s simply no reason not to at least give the United Explorer Card a try, given the much better bonus and waived annual fee the first year.
How Do Other No Annual Fee Airline Cards Compare?
All of the “big three” carriers in the United States have no annual fee cards, so how does the United Gateway Card compare to the credit cards issued by American and Delta?
The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® (review) offers:
- 15,000 American AAdvantage miles after spending $500 within the first three months
- 2x AAdvantage miles for American Airlines and grocery store purchases
- 25% savings on inflight American Airlines purchases
- The card does have foreign transaction fees
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card (review) (Rates & Fees) offers:
- 10,000 Delta SkyMiles after spending $1,000 within the first six months
- 2x SkyMiles for Delta and restaurant purchases
- 20% savings on inflight Delta Air Lines purchases in the form of a statement credit
- The card doesn’t have foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees)
As you can see, there are pros and cons to each product, though I’d say that the United Gateway Card might just be the most lucrative of the bunch. The card offers the best welcome bonus, the best spending bonuses (all with no foreign transaction fees), 25% savings on inflight purchases, and good purchase and travel protection. So for a no annual fee airline card, it doesn’t get much better than that, if you ask me.
Bottom Line
The United Gateway Card is United Airlines’ no annual fee personal credit card. The card has no foreign transaction fees and offers 2x miles in select bonus categories. On top of that, the card offers 25% savings on inflight purchases, as well as useful purchase and travel protection. If you want a no annual fee airline credit card, this is as good as it gets.
I think the better strategy is to pick up the United Explorer Card, which offers a much better welcome bonus, an annual fee waived the first year, and valuable perks. If you decide after a year that you don’t want the card, you can always downgrade it.
What do you make of the United Gateway Card?
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card (Rates & Fees).
Agree that you should apply for a bigger-bonus, annual-fee card first, and then downgrade to this one.
Or if, like me, you are a United fan and already have this card, keep it as a cameo - but don't place any spend on this beyond having it as your "credit card on file" for United in-flight purchases.
I have this card but I'm dumping it. I had it for several years because there was no fees but I could claim ual member rates on award redemption. But now they won't offer that perk unless you spend $10k. Ditto with checked bags. I used to get 1 free check bag but now I get certificates of I spend $10k. So that makes this date completely pointless. Which is fine since that frees up one chase card slot for me.
Ben I’ve heard that a United 1k member was denied entry to United Club for a flight to Canada with the agent saying “your flying domestic, the 51st state”. Curious to see how the company is going to respond to this complaint…
Ben,
With all of the changes to the Chase/UA collections of cards - including many that are undesirable (increased annual fee) and questionable (junk coupons and credits) - what are your thoughts on the 5/24 rules and cycling of cards to get SUB and most collective bang-for-buck approach over several years?
thanks
You now lose access to cardmember award redemption pricing unless you spend 10k a year. That was previously the reason to have this card.
@ Peter -- I'm curious, I don't see that in the marketing bullets or terms, regarding getting this for $10K of spending. Is there something I'm missing?
Peter is right, this was emailed out with the recent changes. The card is gaining the checked bags for $10k spend, but is now restricted to only getting the card award flight availability after spending $10k as well. This change will take place starting in August.
Does a Premier Silver member get the same mileage ticket discount as a United Explorers card member ?
From the email-
Other card changes
Beginning August 1, 2025, Cardmember pricing on award travel redemption will only be available after spending $10,000 in purchases each calendar year.
If you have not yet met the $10,000 spend goal in 2025, your 2024 spend could also earn the benefit for 2025. Once you reach the yearly spend goal, you will receive the benefit for both the current year and the following year.