There are numerous airline and travel credit cards out there ranging from cards with no annual fees to credit cards with over $500 in annual fees. Many airlines participate in credit cards including the “big 3 major airlines” as well as smaller airlines like Sun Country Airlines. For the consumer, choosing a card can be a bit overwhelming. The best bit of advice is to consider the many benefits but also to consider what airline you will be flying the most. By doing so you’ll achieve the best value for the dollar. We opted to choose the United Mileage Plus Explorer Card from Chase. This card made the most sense as we travel quite frequently from Boston to Houston on United. With Houston being a United Airlines Hub, this card and its benefits made the most sense.
Like many airline credit cards the United Mileage Plus Explorer card allows first checked bag free of charge and priority boarding. Flying frequently on United makes this a great perk and makes the $99 annual fee pay itself off. American Airlines offers a similar offering with their Aviator Red Mastercard. Delta’s offering is the gold SkyMiles card, however the Delta AMEX gold and American airlines red aviator MasterCard do not include lounge access. The United Milage Plus Explorer card does offer 2 complimentary lounge passes a year + 1 guest. We found this to be a nice perk compared to competitive cards. As a result, we got to explore the new United Club in Newark Airport making our 3-hour layover quite relaxing. Depending on the promotional offers being offered each month there may be additional miles awarded if the credit card is applied on a united flight. United flight attendants will make announcements inflight incentivizing this. When compared to competing airline credit cards in the same category, the United Mileage Plus Explorer Card is a solid choice especially if you are flying United Airlines frequently.
We were not comped this credit card and have fully applied for this card. Our opinions regarding the United Mileage Plus Explorer Card are solely our own. Stay Tuned for more credit card reviews coming soon.