The United Quest Card costs $350 a year and gives back a $200 United travel credit, free first and second checked bags for you and a companion, and 1 Premier qualifying point (PQP) for every $20 you spend, up to 18,000 PQP a year. The United Quest card page has the current details.
That mix makes the Quest a status card as much as a miles card. United is also changing how Premier status works on January 1, 2027, and if you hold an eligible United card by December 31, 2026 and qualify for 2027 status, United gives you a PQP head start. Below: what the card earns, which credits are worth counting, and where the Explorer or the United Club Card fits better.
What the Quest Costs and What It Earns
- Annual fee: $350.
- Welcome offer (Chase's card page, read October 14, 2026): up to 90,000 bonus miles plus 500 PQP. That's 80,000 miles after $4,000 in purchases in the first three months, 500 PQP after your first purchase, and 10,000 miles for adding an authorized user in the first three months. Chase labels it a limited-time offer.
- Who can get it: Chase says the card is available if you don't have it and haven't received a new cardmember bonus for it in the past 24 months.
- United flights: 10X total miles, made up of 6X as a MileagePlus member plus 4X from the card. Chase notes that earning differs for Basic Economy and base option tickets.
- Other United purchases: 4X.
- Prepaid stays at Renowned Hotels and Resorts, booked directly: 5X.
- Other travel, dining and select streaming: 2X.
- Everything else: 1X.
- Foreign transaction fees: none.
Spending outside United, travel and dining earns 1X, so the Quest is the card for those three, and your groceries and gas belong on something else.
How the Quest Earns Premier Status
Chase says the Quest earns 1 PQP for every $20 you spend, up to 18,000 PQP in a calendar year, and that card PQP count toward Premier status up to and including Premier 1K. On top of that, a 1,000-PQP Card Bonus posts each year within eight weeks of February 1, starting in the calendar year after you open the account. The card has to be open on December 31 of the prior year and still open when the PQP are applied. The 500 PQP in the welcome offer is a separate, one-time item.
Say you put $30,000 on the card in a year. That's 1,500 PQP from spend plus the 1,000-PQP Card Bonus, so 2,500 PQP toward Silver before you fly.
United posted its 2027 changes on October 13, 2026, and our article on the changes has the full list. The parts that touch this card:
Premier qualifying flights (PQF) end on January 1, 2027. Until December 31, 2026, status can still come from fewer points plus flights: 5,000 PQP with 15 PQF for Silver, 10,000 with 30 for Gold, 15,000 with 45 for Platinum and 22,000 with 60 for 1K. From January 1, status is points only: 6,000 PQP for Silver, 12,000 for Gold, 18,000 for Platinum and 32,000 for 1K. You still need at least four United or United Express flights in 2027.
If you hold an eligible United card by December 31, 2026 and qualify for 2027 Premier status, United says you'll get a head start equal to 5% of the PQP needed for your earned level. Its table lists 300 PQP for Silver, 600 for Gold and 900 for Platinum. United's post shows the Quest earning up to 18,000 PQP, which United equates with Premier Platinum. United's word is "eligible" card, so check eligibility with United before you count on the head start.
Credits That Offset the Fee
Chase counts over $850 in annual credits on the Quest. Several need enrollment or a specific merchant, so count only the ones you'd use anyway.
$200 United travel credit. Chase deposits $200 in United TravelBank cash after account opening and on each account anniversary, for a future United or United Express flight.
Up to $150 at Renowned Hotels and Resorts. The statement credit comes each anniversary year when you prepay a stay directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts with the card.
Up to $100 on rideshare. Chase pays up to $8 a month from January through November and up to $12 in December, as a statement credit. A yearly opt-in is required.
Up to $80 on Avis or Budget. You get $40 in TravelBank cash for each of your first and second rentals each anniversary year, booked directly through mileageplustravel.united.com and paid for with the card.
Up to $180 on Instacart. A $10 credit and a $5 credit each month, on purchases made directly through Instacart. Chase says the Instacart benefits end December 31, 2027.
Up to $150 on JSX. The credit comes each anniversary year when you book flights directly with JSX using the card.
Up to $120 for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS. Chase reimburses the application fee, once every four years.
25% back on United inflight and Club premium drink purchases. That covers food, drinks and Wi-Fi on board United-operated flights, as a statement credit.
Bags, Award Discounts and Other Benefits
The primary cardmember and one companion on the same reservation each get their first and second standard checked bags free on United-operated flights. Chase puts the saving at up to $50 for the first bag and $60 for the second, each way, and up to $440 per roundtrip. You need to include your MileagePlus number and buy the tickets with the card, though Chase waives that for flights within 90 days of opening the account.
On award travel, Chase lists a 10% or more discount when you book United flights with miles. You also get a 10,000-mile discount toward an eligible award flight on each anniversary, and another after you spend $20,000 on purchases in a calendar year. Spend $40,000 in a calendar year and you earn two global Economy Plus seat upgrades. These discounts only matter if you book United awards.
Two smaller items: Group 2 priority boarding for you and companions on the same reservation, and Pay Yourself Back, which lets you use 25,000 miles for a $350 statement credit within 90 days of the annual fee posting. MileagePlus miles don't expire.
The card also carries primary auto rental coverage up to $60,000, trip cancellation and interruption coverage of up to $1,500 per traveler and $6,000 per trip, trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per traveler after a delay of more than 12 hours or an overnight stay, and lost luggage reimbursement of up to $3,000 per traveler. Chase's Guide to Benefits has the exclusions.
What the Math Looks Like
Say you and a companion fly United on two round trips a year, and each of you checks one bag. The $200 credit goes toward a fare, and the free first bag saves up to $50 each way per Chase's figures, up to $400 across the two trips. Against the $350 fee, you can come out ahead before the welcome offer, any PQP or the award discounts.
Now say it's one round trip a year, solo, with one bag. The $200 credit plus up to $100 in bag savings no longer covers the fee, and the case rests on the other credits you'd use or on the status math. With no United flights at all, the TravelBank credit sits unused and the bag benefit does nothing.
Where the Quest Falls Short
The fee is real, and the card pays back mostly to people who fly United. The 1X rate on everything outside United, travel and dining means it can't be your only card. The 10,000-mile award discounts help only if you book awards, the $20,000 discount needs steady spend, and the Renowned Hotels credit is narrow.
How the Quest Compares
Quest vs. the United Explorer Card ($0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150). The Explorer earns 3X on United purchases, 2X on dining and on hotel stays booked directly with the hotel, and 1X on everything else. It includes a free first checked bag for you and a companion, two United Club one-time passes a year and up to 1,000 PQP a year, also at 1 PQP per $20. If status doesn't matter to you and you want a cheaper United card with a bag benefit, it's the better fit. The Quest adds the second free bag, a bigger travel credit and a much higher PQP ceiling.
Quest vs. the United Club Card ($695). The Club Card includes unlimited United Club access for you and a guest, 5X on United purchases and 2X on dining and other travel, plus Premier Access travel services. It earns PQP faster, at 1 PQP per $15 instead of $20, with a 1,500-PQP Card Bonus. Chase's page and United's October 13 post give different yearly PQP caps for the Club Card, 28,000 and 32,000, so check which applies to your year. If you'd use the lounges often, the Club Card can carry its own fee. If you wouldn't, the Quest gets you most of the status help for less.
Quest vs. the Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95). The Sapphire Preferred earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which transfer to United and nine other airline programs, plus four hotel programs, per Chase's page. If you want flexibility beyond United, it's the better card. If you've already decided on United and want PQP from spend, that's the Quest's job. Our guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards covers the trade-off.
Who Should Get the Quest
Apply if you fly United several times a year, have a companion who checks bags, and want help reaching Silver or Gold. It also suits flyers aiming for 2027 Premier status who'll hold the card by December 31, 2026 and will use the $200 credit on real flights. Skip it if you fly United rarely, already hold the United Club Card, or want points you can move across several airlines.
If that sounds like you, apply for the United Quest Card here, and check the offer on Chase's page first, since welcome offers change.
Updated October 19, 2026: United Quest Card.
