Card benefits change often, and this page may be out of date by the time you read it. Always check the bank’s page and your card’s guide to benefits for the current terms before you rely on a benefit.
The United Gateway is Chase’s no-annual-fee United card: 2x on United purchases, gas stations and local transit, 25% back on United inflight purchases, and a set of United perks (two checked bag certificates, an award discount and 8x on United flights) that only unlock after $10,000 of spending in a calendar year.
It’s mostly useful as a way to keep a United card open for free, either as a downgrade from the Explorer or Quest or as a first United card. Below is how it earns, what the spend unlocks take, the protections in Chase’s own numbers, and my verdict.
United Gateway at a glance
- Annual fee: $0; no fee for authorized users
- Current public offer: 40,000 miles after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months, plus 10,000 miles for adding an authorized user in the first 3 months (as of October 14, 2026, per Frequent Miler)
- Is it the best ever?: Yes, as far as I can tell this matches the best this card has offered.
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Best for: United flyers who want a United card with no annual fee, and Explorer or Quest holders who want to downgrade instead of closing.
- Skip it if: You’re close to 5/24. A slot is worth more on a card with a bigger bonus, and the Explorer’s first-year fee is also $0.
- Bank’s page: United Gateway Card on chase.com
Jump to: Highlights · Earning · United perks · Insurance · Application rules · My take · The catch · Keep it? · Offer history · Quick Answers
The highlights
- 2x on United purchases (5x total on United flights with MileagePlus member miles), 2x gas stations and local transit (rideshare, taxis, trains, tolls, mass transit), 1x elsewhere
- After $10,000 in spend in a calendar year: two first-checked-bag certificates, at least 10% off United award prices, and 8x total on United flights
- 25% back on United inflight food, drinks and Wi-Fi and United Club premium drinks
- Use miles as a statement credit toward United tickets; miles don’t expire
- Trip cancellation and interruption, secondary rental car coverage, purchase protection and extended warranty; no annual fee; no foreign transaction fees
How it earns
| Category | Rate | Caps and fine print |
|---|---|---|
| United flights | 2x from the card (5x total) | The other 3x is from MileagePlus on the fare; after $10,000 in a calendar year, member miles rise to 6x for 8x total. Basic Economy earns less. |
| Other United purchases | 2x | Seat upgrades, Economy Plus, inflight purchases, bag and other United fees. United Cruises, MileagePlus X, DIRECTV and merchandise awards excluded. |
| Gas stations | 2x | — |
| Local transit and commuting | 2x | Rideshare, taxis, train tickets, tolls and mass transit. |
| Everything else | 1x | Including dining and other travel. |
Miles post to your United MileagePlus account and don’t expire. They don’t transfer anywhere, so they’re only worth collecting if you’ll redeem on United or its Star Alliance partners. Unlike the Explorer and Quest, this card doesn’t earn Premier qualifying points.
United perks and how they work
- Two first-checked-bag certificates a year after you spend $10,000 in a calendar year. You apply them at checkout while logged into your MileagePlus account, they work only on United and United Express-operated flights, and each expires 12 months after it’s issued. Unlike the Explorer’s bag benefit, these aren’t automatic and don’t cover a companion on every trip, only two bags in total.
- Cardmember award pricing: after $10,000 in a calendar year, at least 10% fewer miles on United award flights (15% with Premier status), valid for the rest of that year and the next, for the primary cardmember’s own account. Not for partner flights or Money + Miles.
- 8x total on United flights after $10,000 in a calendar year (the MileagePlus part goes from 3x to 6x).
- 25% back as a statement credit on United inflight food, drinks and Wi-Fi (including Wi-Fi subscriptions) and premium drinks in United Clubs. No lounge access or priority boarding.
- Visa Signature Concierge, available 24 hours a day.
Insurance and protections
| Benefit | What the bank says |
|---|---|
| Auto rental collision damage waiver | Up to $60,000 for theft and collision damage per the guide to benefits; secondary to your own insurance in the U.S., primary outside the U.S. or if you have no other insurance |
| Trip cancellation / interruption | Up to $1,500 per covered traveler and $6,000 per trip for prepaid, non-refundable fares One-way and award tickets: Yes to both: the guide covers round-trip or one-way fares paid all or in part with the card or with rewards, so an award ticket with the taxes on the card counts, and rewards are reimbursed in dollars. |
| Trip delay | None |
| Baggage delay and lost luggage | None (the guide only includes a lost luggage locator service, not reimbursement) |
| Purchase protection | 120 days, up to $500 per item (90 days for New York residents) |
| Extended warranty | Adds one year to U.S. warranties of three years or less |
Amounts are from Chase’s card page; the rental car limit and the one-way and award ticket rules come from Chase’s Guide to Benefits for the United Gateway (effective 10/01/24).
For how this compares with other cards, see my card travel benefits comparison.
Application rules for this card
- The card isn’t available if you have it now, or if you received a new cardmember bonus on this card in the last 24 months (Chase’s offer terms, checked October 14, 2026). The rule is per card, so the Explorer or Quest doesn’t block the Gateway bonus.
- Chase’s 5/24 rule applies: you’ll be denied if you’ve opened 5 or more personal cards from any bank in the last 24 months, and this card uses one of those slots like any other.
- Chase may claw back the bonus miles if you close the account within six months.
The full rules for every bank are in my credit card application rules guide.
My take
There’s no fee, so there’s no fee math: the real fee is $0. The question is whether 40,000 miles is worth one of your five Chase slots, and in my eyes it usually isn’t when the Explorer has its first year free and a bigger bonus.
Where it makes sense is as a downgrade target: if the Explorer or Quest no longer earns its fee, moving to the Gateway keeps your Chase history and a United card open for free, and the 2x on gas and transit is decent for a no-fee airline card.
The perks people want from a United card (the bags and the award discount) are locked behind $10,000 of spend a year, and even then you only get two bag certificates, which is less than the Explorer gives on a single round trip for two.
The catch
Most of the United perks need $10,000 in a calendar year on a card that earns 1x on most spending, which is a lot of spending to unlock two bags and a 10% discount. There’s no priority boarding, no club access and no trip delay or baggage insurance.
Rental car coverage is secondary in the U.S., so you’d claim on your own insurance first, and United miles don’t transfer to anything else.
Keep it after year one?
The fee is $0, so it costs nothing to keep. Keep it open for your credit history and as a free place to park a United relationship, and use a different card for everyday spending unless you’ll actually reach $10,000 a year on it.
Offer history
Quick Answers
No. The United Gateway has no annual fee as of October 2026, and no foreign transaction fees.
As of October 14, 2026 the public offer is 40,000 miles after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months, plus 10,000 miles for adding an authorized user in the first 3 months.
Only after you spend $10,000 in a calendar year, and then you get two first-checked-bag certificates that expire 12 months after they’re issued. It isn’t an automatic benefit like on the Explorer.
Chase usually allows product changes between United cards. You keep your account open with no fee, but you lose the Explorer’s bags, club passes and award discount.
Last checked: October 14, 2026. Card terms change often, so confirm on the bank’s page before you apply. There are no affiliate or referral links on this site, ever; links go to the bank’s own page.