TL;DR
- Annual fee is $150, but it's waived the first year
- Free checked bag for you and one companion on the same reservation
- Free carry-on with Basic Economy (United normally doesn't allow this)
- Priority boarding on all United flights
- $100/year in United Hotels credit ($50 each on your first two stays)
- 2 United Club passes per year
The Chase United Explorer Card is one of those cards that doesn't get as much attention as the Sapphire cards or the Amex travel cards. But it has a few benefits that aren't immediately obvious, and the first year annual fee is waived so there's no risk to try it.
If you fly United a couple times a year or even just once a year, this card is worth a look.
Free Carry-On with Basic Economy
This is the benefit many people don't know about.
United Basic Economy is the cheapest fare class, but it comes with restrictions. You only get a personal item (something that fits under the seat). No standard carry-on bags allowed. If you need anything bigger than a backpack, you have to pay to check it.
But if you have the United Explorer card, you get a free carry-on even on Basic Economy fares.
There's some fine print here. You need to pay for the ticket with your Explorer card, and your MileagePlus number has to be on the reservation. If both of those are true, you can bring a carry-on bag on Basic Economy flights just like everyone else on regular Economy.
This turns Basic Economy from "barely usable for anyone with luggage" into "actually a reasonable option." You get the cheaper fare without giving up your carry-on so the upside here is pretty big and beyond just the bag fee savings.
Free Checked Bag and Priority Boarding
These are the more well-known benefits, but they're still worth mentioning.
You and one companion on the same reservation get a free first checked bag. United charges $35-40 per bag per direction, so a round trip for two people saves you $140-160. The benefit works on all United and United Express flights.
You also get priority boarding, which means you board before the general boarding groups. This matters more than it sounds. If you're bringing a carry-on, boarding early means you actually get overhead bin space. Combined with the free carry-on benefit, you're pretty much set for luggage.
$100 United Hotels Credit
This one is easier to use than you might think.
You get $50 back as a statement credit on your first prepaid hotel stay booked through United Hotels (united.com). Then another $50 on your second stay. That's $100 per year.
The reason this credit is actually usable is that United Hotels portal website runs on Expedia's backend. The prices are generally the same as what you'd find on Expedia or Hotels.com directly. It's not like some airline hotel portals where the prices are inflated and you're better off booking elsewhere.
If you're taking two trips per year and need hotels anyway, this credit is straightforward to capture. You also earn 5X miles per dollar on these bookings, which is a nice bonus.
United Club Passes
You get 2 one-time United Club passes each year. Each pass lets you bring one companion, so that's potentially 4 lounge visits total.
United Club lounges are at most major hubs: Newark, Chicago O'Hare, Houston, Denver, San Francisco, LAX, and others. Not the flashiest lounges but they have food, drinks, WiFi, and comfortable seating. Nice to have if you're stuck with a long layover.
One thing to note: the passes are no longer transferrable. You have to use them yourself or your authorized user. So you can't give them to a friend or family member who's traveling without you like how it used to be.
First Year Is Free
The annual fee is $150, but it's waived the first year.
This makes the card pretty low-risk to try. You get a full year of free checked bags, free carry-ons on Basic Economy, the hotel credit, and the lounge passes without paying anything.
If you fly United at least once or twice a year, it's worth getting just to see if you use the benefits. If you don't end up using it, cancel before the second year and you've lost nothing.
If you do use it, the bag savings alone on a couple of trips will cover the $150 fee in year two.
Sources
Card benefits and terms verified from official sources:
All information current as of December 2025.