United Quest Card Review: A High-Value Airline Credit Card

The United Quest℠ Card is great for collecting miles, as it offers a huge introductory offer, several bonus categories, and a miles bonus on award flights. The annual fee isn't cheap, but you can get a large portion of that back with an annual spending credit and free checked bags. Learn whether this airline card is the one for you in our full United Quest℠ Card review.

This credit card is a good fit for: Frequent United flyers who want to save money and upgrade their travel experience. Those who book award flights often will benefit from this card's bonus miles.

Top perks

There are quite a few benefits to carrying the United Quest℠ Card.

Sign-up bonus

New cardholders can earn United MileagePlus Miles and 500 PQP after spending $4,000 on qualifying purchases in the first 3 months of opening an account, plus annual fee waived.

With a sizable bonus for a reasonable amount of spending, the United Quest℠ Card compares well to the best sign-up bonus credit cards. You could book multiple domestic or international flights with United miles. The value of United miles depends on how you use them, but you can generally get $0.01 to $0.015 per mile. Based on that, the sign-up bonus can be worth $600 to $900.

$125 annual United purchase credit

Each account anniversary year, you can get up to $125 in statement credits toward United purchases charged to your United Quest℠ Card. The credit covers most types of purchases made with United, including tickets, upgrades, baggage charges, other fees, and in-flight services. Travelers who fly with United should have no trouble using this spending credit.

Rewards

The United Quest℠ Card earns miles on purchases. Here are the rates it offers:

• 3 miles per dollar on United purchases
• 2 miles per dollar on other eligible travel purchases
• 2 miles per dollar on dining, including eligible delivery services
• 2 miles per dollar on select streaming services
• 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases

You can earn plenty of extra miles with bonus rewards on United, travel, and restaurant spending. And select streaming services are a valuable bonus category that isn't offered by many travel rewards cards.

Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit

Every four years, you can get a statement credit of up to $100 toward a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership fee. All you need to do is charge the fee to your United Quest℠ Card. Each of these trusted traveler programs let you pass through expedited airport security. Global Entry offers faster security screening when entering the United States. TSA PreCheck has its own security lanes at U.S. airports.

Between the two options, Global Entry is the best choice. A Global Entry membership includes a TSA PreCheck membership, so you get to use both programs. If you sign up for TSA PreCheck, you'll only get the benefits of that program.

Free checked bags

On United-operated flights, you and one travel companion on the same reservation can each check up to two bags for free. United's standard baggage charges are $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second. If you normally check one or two bags, then you'll save on every flight. You must purchase tickets with the United Quest℠ Card to qualify for this benefit.

Two annual 5,000-mile award flight credits

After completing an eligible award flight with United, you'll receive a 5,000-mile credit to your frequent flyer account. You can get this credit up to twice per account anniversary year, for a total of 10,000 miles.

Priority boarding

You and any travel companions on the same reservation will be eligible for priority boarding on United flights. To qualify, you must include your MileagePlus number in the reservation. Priority boarding gets you on the plane before the general boarding group, but after MileagePlus® Premier® members, travelers with Premier Access®, and those who need special assistance.

25% back on United in-flight purchases

If you purchase food, beverages, or wifi on United-operated flights using your United Quest℠ Card, you'll receive 25% back as a statement credit.

Hotel and resort benefits

On stays booked through The Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection, you get complimentary benefits courtesy of your United card. These benefits may include room upgrades, complimentary daily breakfast for two, early check-in and late check-out (if available), and more.

Read more: Best Hotel Credit Cards

Travel protections

Eligible travel purchases paid for with your United Quest℠ Card qualify for the following travel protections:

• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Baggage delay insurance
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Auto rental damage collision waiver

Purchase protections

Many of the best credit cards offer complimentary protections while you shop, and this one is no exception. Here's what it offers on eligible spending:

• Purchase protection for damage or theft
• Extended warranty coverage

No foreign transaction fees

If you do any traveling outside the United States, then you need a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. This card fits the bill, as you won't accumulate any extra charges on international purchases.

What could be improved

This card has a couple flaws you should know about before applying.

Annual fee

There's a $250 annual fee for the United Quest℠ Card, making it one of the more expensive airline credit cards. It does have more than enough benefits to justify the cost, assuming you can use them.

The card's $125 annual credit on United purchases effectively cuts the annual fee in half. Free checked bags, a high rewards rate, and up to 10,000 miles in award flight credits per year are also valuable perks. And the bonus miles you can earn as a new cardholder can save you thousands in airfare.

No airport lounge access

If there's one area where the United Quest℠ Card falls short, it's the lack of free airport lounge access. You won't get any sort of lounge access as a cardmember. This card is best for travelers who fly often but don't spend much time waiting around at the airport.

The United Quest℠ Card is aimed at consumers with good credit, or a FICO^® Score of at least 670. Keep in mind that your credit score isn't the only factor involved. Credit card companies also look at other details, including your income and debt, when deciding whether to approve you for a card.

Since Chase is the bank that issues this credit card, there's also an application rule you need to know about. It's called Chase's 5/24 rule. Chase will almost always deny an application if the consumer has opened five or more credit cards in the previous 24 months. To avoid an automatic denial, you'll need to be below that number.

This card is a great fit if you fly with United several times per year and you're the type of traveler who goes straight from security to the boarding area.

With its long list of benefits, the United Quest℠ Card can save you money every time you fly with the airline. You can check up to two bags for free, save on United purchases, and earn miles that can be redeemed for free flights. The only notable drawback is that this card doesn't have airport lounge access. If you don't need that, then this United Airlines credit card is an excellent choice.

Our credit card methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.