United Explorer Business Card Review 2020

The United Explorer Business credit card is a joint venture of Chase and United Airlines. It’s a travel card meant to reward business travelers who fly frequently with United Airlines.

When you sign up for Chase’s United Explorer Business card, you’ll get 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. When it comes to earning miles, the card doesn’t just reward you for booking United Airlines flights. You’ll earn two miles for every $1 you spend on United Airlines purchases and on purchases at restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores. All other purchases will earn you one mile per dollar spent. There are no limits to the number of miles you can earn at either the 2X or the 1X rate, and your miles will never expire as long as your account is open.

Additionally, you’ll earn 10,000 bonus miles each year by spending $25,000 annually on purchases. (Offer expired.) When you go to use your miles, you’ll be able to use them for travel and not just with United Airlines but with United’s Star Alliance airline partners as well. Unfortunately, the card carries a $95 annual fee after the first year.

Keep reading our United Explorer Business credit card review to get a sense of how well this business travel card compares with the competition.

The information related to UnitedSM Explorer Business Card has been collected by Merchant Maverick and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.

United Explorer Business Card At A Glance

Eligibility

Business applicants must have good to excellent credit to be approved for the United Explorer Business card.

Rewards & Fees

• Earn two miles for every $1 spent on:
  • United Airlines purchases
  • Restaurants
  • Gas stations
  • Office supply stores
• Earn one mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
• Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $25,000 on purchases each calendar year
• Your points never expire and there are no limits on how many you can earn
• $95 annual fee after the initial free year
• No foreign transaction fee
• Balance transfers carry a fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
• Cash advances carry a fee of either $15 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater
• The late payment fee is $39
• The welcome offer of 50,000 miles is worth $500, assuming a mile value of one cent

If you have a financial, moral, or existential objection to annual fees, the United Explorer Business card isn’t for you (though the fee is waived for the first year). Likewise, there is no introductory 0% APR period, so this isn’t the card to use if you need to immediately rack up substantial charges and want to avoid interest payments. However, if your business purchases total over $25,000 each year, the 10,000 bonus miles you’ll earn should more than cover the cost of the annual fee.

The 50,000-mile bonus offer, while not out of line with what competing cards offer, is a nice inducement for the business ready to spend $3K on purchases within the first three months. And while other travel cards may have higher top earning rates for miles/points, this Chase United business card imposes no limits on the number of miles you can earn at the 2X rate (or the 1X rate for that matter), so businesses spending lots of money with United Airlines and at restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores won’t have to be mindful of any earning limits on their miles.

Redeeming Rewards

When it comes to redeeming your hard-earned miles, United Airlines states the following:

You can use miles to book award travel on Star Alliance™ and other partner airlines. Or use them to enhance your travel with upgrades, inflight Wi-Fi, hotel stays, and car rentals. Miles can also be used for merchandise, gift cards, and once-in-a-lifetime events.

You can use your award miles to fly on any Star Alliance network airline. Which airlines are Star Network airlines, you ask?

• ADRIA Airways
• Aegean Airlines
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air India
• Air New Zealand
• ANA
• Asiana
• Austrian
• Avianca
• Avianca in Brazil
• Brussels Airlines
• Copa Airlines
• Croatia Airlines
• EgyptAir
• Ethiopian Airlines
• EVA Airways
• Juneyao Airlines
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• SAS
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• SWISS
• TAP Portugal
• THAI
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines

Through the MileagePlus X app (available for iOS and Android), you can use your miles for purchases at restaurants and at retailers both offline and online. Further details can be found on United’s award miles page.

Benefits

The United Explorer Business credit card comes with the following benefits:

• No blackout dates for travel booked with award miles
• Free first checked bag — save up to $120 per roundtrip
• Priority boarding
• Two United Club one-time passes each anniversary — over $100 in value
• Premier upgrades on award tickets
• No foreign transaction fee
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Baggage delay insurance
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Extended warranty protection
• Purchase protection
• Get employee cards at no additional cost

Personally, I find one of the worst aspects of air travel to be the time spent waiting to board your plane as the higher-priority boarding groups shuffle onboard ahead of you and consume all the luggage space in the overhead bins. With priority boarding, you can spare yourself this unnecessary torment.

United Explorer Business VS Chase Ink Business Preferred

If it’s fair to compare a co-branded card like the United Explorer Business with a more general purpose travel rewards credit card, let’s compare key features of this card with Chase’s Ink Business Preferred card.

Both cards come saddled with a $95 annual fee, though unlike Chase’s United rewards card, Ink Business Preferred doesn’t waive the fee for the first year. However, Ink Business Preferred’s bonus offer of 80,000 bonus points — worth $1,000 for travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards — beats the bonus offer of the United Explorer Business card by a decent margin.

As for earning rewards, the Ink Business Preferred lets you earn three points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent annually in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, and advertising on social media. Compare this to the United Explorer Business card, which offers unlimited 2X miles on purchases made in its high-earning categories. While 3X rewards is better than 2X rewards, the $150,000 cap on the spending that gets you 3X points with the Ink card means that the business spending over $262,500 annually in each card’s highest-earning categories will earn more rewards with the United Explorer Business while the business spending less than $262,500 annually in the high-earning categories will earn more points with the Chase Ink Business Preferred.

Final Verdict

The United Explorer Business credit card isn’t the most exciting co-branded travel rewards card around, but it delivers solid value in the form of unlimited 2X award miles earning in selected spending categories and in useful perks that help make your travel experience less stressful. Let’s hear it for priority boarding!

The lack of an introductory 0% APR period is unfortunate, but for the business owner who flies with United Airlines with any frequency, this card will reward you nicely for the spending you’re already doing anyway.

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Ramp offers a free corporate card for virtually any business. Start earning rewards with your corporate spending today. Get your free card.