Earn miles and enjoy perks like free checked bags and priority boarding

The New United℠ Explorer Card: Calculator & Rewards Overview

Card Value & United Miles Calculator

Fees

Earning Rates

2X miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays
1X miles on all other purchases.

Main Benefits

Over $400 in annual partner credits
First checked bag free
Priority boarding
Two United Club passes annually
Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee credit

Our Take

If you're looking to save on checked bags while also receiving a handful of solid benefits, the United Explorer Card is a great choice. If you're looking to maximize your United miles, on the other hand, you should consider United credit card partners or one of United's more premium credit cards.

Last Updated: 04-04-2025

United Explorer Card miles calculator

Use this calculator to estimate how many MileagePlus miles you can earn with the United Explorer Card. Compare travel perks like checked bag savings and priority boarding, customize fees, and analyze multi-card combos.

Quick Card Overview

Calculator Options

Add Card Categories

When On, adding a card to the calculator will add that card's bonus categories if they aren't already present.

Change Card Name

Name the card something else for your own records.

Add To Column

Edit Card Name

Set the name of the card to something of your choosing. Leave it blank to default back to normal card name.

Quick Assign

Use quick assign to quickly toggle this card on for Spend Categories in the calculator. If the card is already assigned, toggling off will set the category to No Selection.

Any currencies you add to the tool will be selectable when entering spend into the Spend Categories section of the calculator.

Do note that any foreign currencies selected will automatically be converted to the card's default currency when calculating rewards.

You can add elite status to one or more columns. This allows you to calculate the extra points you would receive from having status with that program.

If the status is already added, you can update the currency the status is based on by specifying a different currency than what the one in the calculator already has.

NOTE: Elite status is automatically added to the calculator for most credit cards that grant it.

Statuses

Add To Column

Status Value Based On

Clears all spend from a single column or all columns in the calculator. This resets the spend to 0 (zero) for each field, sets the time unit back to 'Monthly' and resets the currency to column's default.

Remove all credit card selections from a single column or all columns in the calculator.

^*NOTE: This has no impact on columns that feature only one credit card.

If you're looking to quickly assign cards to multiple categories, click on the card itself under the Credit Cards section.

Removes all categories from the Spend Categories section (for all columns).

Category:

Spend:

Select the card you will use for this category.

Do note that the order of the categories in the Category Spending section makes a difference. Spend is calculate by month in order of categories listed.

No Selection

Apply the selected card to all categories in this column.

Credit Cards

Search Cards

Search through our credit card database by keyword. This is the most basic of searches. Keywords include:

Credit card name (e.g. Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express Gold Card)
Credit card code (e.g. PLAT, CSR, VEN)
Issuing bank (e.g. American Express, Chase, U.S. Bank)
Currency (e.g. Membership Rewards Points, Altitude Points, Delta SkyMiles)
Network (e.g. Visa, Mastercard, Discover)

Enter spaces between keywords. Click on a card to view the details as well as the option to add it to the tool.

Show Unavailable Cards

When On, credit cards that are discontinued or currently unavailable will show up in the list.

Credit Card Codes

Enter credit card codes (3-13 characters each).

Use (+) plus sign to add multiple cards to the same column. (e.g. PLAT + PRG2)
Use (,) comma to start a new column. (e.g. PLAT + PRG2, BINKP, CSR + CSP)
Skip columns with empty entries (,,). (e.g. ,, PRG2)
Spaces are ignored.
Max: 10 columns. No max on cards in a column... at the moment.

New cards will be added to the tool along with any already existing entries. When adding more than one card to a column, there will be no selected cards for the column (as in, you will have to select which cards you'll use for each category manually).

(I apologize in advance for some of the codes these credit cards have.)

Not Found:

Add All Categories

When On, adds all the spend categories from each of the cards above.

Welcome To Our Credit Card Calculator Tool

Use this tool to calculate total credit card earnings and the overall cash value of credit cards side-by-side.

To get started, to the calculator.

Currency Worth

Memberships / Loyalty

Spend Categories

Add Categories

Search for categories and click 'Add Category' to add selected categories to the calculator.

Show selected categories

When On, only shows currently selected categories.

Show category descriptions

When On, shows the descriptions for each of the categories.

Bonus Rewards

Total Rewards

Monetary Bonuses

Fees

Total Column Value

Breakdown By Card

The New United℠ Explorer Card Details

How to earn miles with the United Explorer Card

The United Explorer Card earns United miles at the following rates:

2 miles per $1 spent on purchases from United, including tickets, Economy Plus, in-flight food, beverages and Wi-Fi, and other United charges.
2 miles per $1 spent on dining, including eligible delivery services.
2 miles per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel.
1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.

United Explorer Card miles value & calculator

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Key benefits of the United Explorer Card

Here are the main perks and benefits of the United Explorer Card:

First Checked Bag Free: Receive the first checked bag for free for yourself and up to one companion traveling with you on the same reservation — a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip.
United Club Passes: Every year, two United Club one-time passes will be deposited into your account.
Earn PQPs On Spend: Earn 1 PQP for every $20 you spend on purchases with your Explorer Card, up to 1,000 PQP in a calendar year.
Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Fee Credit: Receive a statement credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS when charged to your card.
$100 United Travel Credit: Earn a $100 United travel credit after you spend $10,000 with your card within a calendar year.
United Hotel Credits: Receive up to $100 in credits annually on prepaid hotel stays purchased directly through United Hotels with your card.
Rideshare Credits: Receive up to $60 in credits each calendar year on rideshare purchases when paying with your card. Enrollment required.
United Travel Credits: Receive up to $50 in United travel credits when you book Avis or Budget card rentals through cars.united.com and pay with your card.
Instacart Credits: Receive up to $120 in Instacart credits each calendar year for purchases made directly through Instacart with your card.
10K Mile Flight Discount: Earn 10,000-mile award flight discount after spending $20,000 on purchases each calendar year with the card.
25% Savings In-Flight: Receive 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages and Wi-Fi on board United-operated flights and on Club premium drinks when you pay with your Explorer Card.
Priority Boarding: Receive priority boarding for yourself and companions traveling on the same reservation.
Travel & Purchase Coverage: Trip Cancellation Insurance, Trip Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Trip Delay Reimbursement, Lost Luggage Reimbursement, Baggage Delay Insurance, Purchase Protection, and Extended Warranty Protection.

United Explorer Card transfer partners & calculator

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United Explorer Card fees overview

Annual Fee

The United Explorer Card has an annual fee of $0 the first year, then $150.

With all of the credits the card offers annually, it should be quite easy to make up for the fee of the card. On top of that, you also have free checked bags, United Club passes, and discounts that adds even more value to the card.

Authorized User Fee

There is no fee to add additional users to the United Explorer Card. Adding family and friends as authorized users can help you build your United miles faster and push you to higher status in the program thanks to the PQPs you can earn across all card spend.

Foreign Transaction Fee

The United Explorer Card does not have a foreign transaction fee. This means you can use the card to earn United miles outside of the United States with no penalty.