Why is the United℠ Explorer Card the best card for United basic economy flights?
TLDR: Normally on a United basic economy flight, you don’t get any free bags. However, with the United℠ Explorer Card, you can get a free carry-on and a free checked bag.
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Paying for a bag on your flight is always a pain and another annoying added cost. But with the United℠ Explorer Card, you can avoid this on your next United basic economy flight. There are many airline cards with free bags on flights as a benefit. It is an often overlooked perk but it can be well worth it for a lot of folks.
What is the intro offer on the United℠ Explorer Card?
With the United℠ Explorer Card, you’ll get a limited time offer of 70,000 United miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months from your account opening. Quite a nice sum of United miles to have in your account.
Additionally, earn 10,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first 3 months your account is open. If you do both steps, you can get a total of 80,000 United miles!
What are the main features of the United℠ Explorer Card card?
The United℠ Explorer Card has a lot of neat benefits and credits. Here are some of the most relevant/useful ones:
- Free first checked bag (on United flights)
- 2 United Club one-time passes
- Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months
- $10 Instacart credit monthly (up to $120 total per year) for purchases made directly with Instacart using this card
- Up to $120 credit on Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS
The free bags on United basic economy flights is by far the best feature on the United℠ Explorer Card. One of my favorite features that’s available on a lot of Chase credit cards is the complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months. This knocks out the delivery fee on Instacart orders. And with Instacart+ you will get complimentary access to Peacock and a free year to New York Times Cooking.
What are the other credits offered on the United℠ Explorer Card?
The United℠ Explorer Card comes with a ton of cool miscellaneous credits on the card.
- $100 in TravelBank cash after spending $10,000
- Up to $100 United Hotels Statement Credit: Maximum amount of $100 annually split into 2 $50 credits biannually when you book directly through United hotels
- $60 Rideshare credit: Earn $5 back monthly when you pay for rideshare purchases using this card
- Up to $50 Avis or Budget credit: Earn $25 in TravelBank cash on your first Avis or Budget purchase. Earn another $25 in TravelBank cash on your second Avis or Budget purchase
- $100 JSX credit
Frankly, most of these credits are pretty annoying to use. Many of them require spending a lot up front just to get a small amount of credit back. I don’t plan on using any of these credits (maybe the rideshare one?). The ones listed beforehand (eg Instacart, Global Entry) are much more valuable to me.
Does this card have foreign transaction fees?
Nope. You can use the United℠ Explorer Card abroad with no worries :)
Does the United℠ Explorer Card have an annual fee?
The United℠ Explorer Card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, and then $150 every year afterwards.
Why is the United℠ Explorer Card great for United basic economy flights?
The United℠ Explorer Card is an awesome card for United basic economy flights because you can get a free checked bag that would otherwise come at a big cost. Paying for a checked bag on a United basic economy flight would start at $35. Checked bag prices can increase when you do this last-second at the airport.
Can I get a free carry-on with the United℠ Explorer Card?
According to United’s site, you can get a free carry-on even on Basic Economy flights if you have this card:
If you’re a MileagePlus members with Premier status, traveling with a Premier member, are the primary card member of a qualifying* MileagePlus credit card or a Star Alliance Gold member you can bring one free carry-on bag.
From personal experience, when you book with the Explorer, you’ll be into Boarding Group 2. This boarding group lets you bring a carry on bag.
On basic economy, can you get both a carry on and checked bag with the Explorer?
This is not totally clear. In theory you can, but we’re not sure how it would play out.
Since you get a free checked bag and that mechanism is explicit within the United check in process, you’ll definitely get the free checked bag, no matter what fare class you’re in. A checked bag with a basic economy fare within the US normally costs $35. A pretty awesome deal.
In theory, since you’re in Boarding Group 2 with your Explorer, you should also be able to get a carry on.
The United℠ Explorer Card also has the lowest annual fee out of the United cards that offer free bags. The United Quest℠ Card is the next step up that comes at a $350 annual fee. This is quite the difference from the United℠ Explorer Card because there is not an annual fee in the first year and then $150 every year after the first.
United Basic Economy overview
If you are booking a United basic economy flight without a United℠ Explorer Card, there are some important things to know.
- Bag rules
- Free personal item that can fit under the seat
- Carry-on bag fee starts at $35
- At least a $35 fee for every checked bag
- Seat rules
- United chooses your seat and it is assigned before boarding
- Boarding group
- Boarding group 6
- Flight changes + cancellations
- The only way to make a change to the flight is cancel and rebook
- You can only cancel for a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours of purchase
What business cards give free bags on United basic economy?
The United Club℠ Business Card and United℠ Business Card are the two business cards that can get you free carry-on bags on a domestic round-trip United basic economy flight.
The United℠ Business Card has a $150 annual fee which is similar to the United℠ Explorer Card except that the fee is not waived for the first year. The United Club℠ Business Card is a much more premium business card at a $695 annual fee but you do get two free checked bags and a carry-on with basic economy bookings.
Final Thoughts
The United℠ Explorer Card is for a specific traveler that flies United regularly but not enough to get the more premium United cards like the United Quest℠ Card or United Club℠ Card. You’ll save a lot on bag fees and have solid mileage earning rates when you book United flights. There’s also some miscellaneous credits that you may or may not get to use since some of them require a lot of spend to trigger. If you’re looking for an all-around travel card with a similar annual fee, I would recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. But if you are a United flier who frequently books basic economy fares, the United℠ Explorer Card might be the card for you.