United Quest Card: $250 Fee Grants You More Miles and Credits for Your Journey

Sign-up bonus

One of the joys of getting a new airline credit card is reaping a huge cache of bonus miles if you’re able to meet the minimum spending requirements. That windfall of miles potentially means free flights soon after you get the card. The United Quest℠ Card offers the following bonus: Limited-time Offer: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

Rewards for spending

Earning extra miles for United purchases as well as travel and restaurant spending is useful and welcome on an airline card. Bonus rewards on streaming services don't quite fit the travel theme neatly, but they can be useful and give you an excuse to use the card for non-travel spending.

Overall, though, it's easier to rack up ample United miles with this card than with other options.

$125 annual United purchase credit

When you make United purchases with the card, you can get up to $125 in statement credits each anniversary year. The credit applies to most United spending you can think of, not just incidentals. So it counts toward airline tickets and seat upgrades, as well as in-flight food, beverages and Wi-Fi. It counts toward bag fees, too, although you already have some checked-bag benefits baked into this card.

A key way to think about this benefit: Fully used, it cuts the annual fee in half.

Credits for booking award flights

When you rack up enough miles and book a free flight — called an award flight — you’ll get 5,000 miles returned to your frequent-flyer account. You can use those miles on a future award flight, and you can do that twice a year. The benefit starts on your first anniversary with the card. The value of frequent-flyer miles changes over time, but if United miles were worth a penny each, that’s a potential value of $100 per year if you book a couple of award flights. Those credits do not carry over from year to year, though. It’s "use it or lose it."

NerdWallet currently values United miles at 1.2 cents each.

Free checked bags and priority boarding

You and a companion traveling on your reservation can each get your first two checked bags free. The first bag typically costs $40; the second, $50. So this perk alone could cover the card's annual fee.

You also get priority boarding. Getting on the plane earlier means you’re more likely to find overhead bin space for your roll-aboard. And some flyers like to board earlier to get settled before the cabin gets crowded. Either way, priority boarding is usually a welcome perk, although it also comes with the lower-tier United℠ Explorer Card.

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS credit

This statement credit for TSA Precheck, Global Entry or NEXUS is worth up to $120 every four years and can be used to cover your application fees for these programs. The statuses for these options last for five years.

Status Boost bonuses and seat upgrades

Through spending on the card, you can earn up to 6,000 premier qualifying points (PQPs) per year toward Premier status eligibility. That’s more than enough to get you to Silver status, which at the time of this writing requires 5,000 PQPs. Earn 25 PQPs for every $500 in card spend, up to 6,000 PQPs in a calendar year.

The primary cardmember who is also a MileagePlus Premier member traveling on a domestic MileagePlus award ticket will be eligible for complimentary Premier upgrades on eligible United-operated flights when available.

Primary rental car coverage

This feature, by the wonky name “auto rental collision damage waiver,” is unusual. Unlike most airline and travel cards, this card comes with car rental coverage that's primary, meaning the card’s benefit kicks in before your own auto insurance. That can save you money — your insurance deductible — if you have an accident in a rental. To use this benefit, you must pay for the rental with the card and decline the rental company's coverage.

Other travel protections

High annual fee

You don’t expect these kinds of rewards and perks on a card with no annual fee. But if $250 a year is too much to stomach, you could drop down to one of the lower-priced United cards. Or, you might find a better fit with a general travel card.

The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card costs less to carry, and it earns points in similar categories. You get 2 points per $1 spent on travel and dining purchases, and 1.5 points for every $1 spent on all other purchases. It also offers $200 in statement credits, including up to $100 for a Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fee and up to $100 for airline incidentals, such as seat upgrades, checked bags and day passes to lounges.

No lounge access

Competing travel rewards cards offer some airport lounge access. Even the lower-tier United℠ Explorer Card offers two United Club lounge passes per year. The Quest card has none.

If lounge access is your top priority, the United Club℠ Infinite Card is an obvious choice. Or go with another premium card instead — The Platinum Card® from American Express. It offers access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide, along with a bevy of other benefits. The annual fee is huge, but for perpetual travelers who can take advantage of everything it offers, it could be worth the cost. Terms apply (see rates and fees).

» MORE: 6 things to know about United lounges

Free checked bags for only one extra traveler

With the United Quest℠ Card, the primary cardmember and one traveling companion on the same reservation are each eligible to receive their first two checked bags free. Two checked bags each might be overkill for most trips, but many other airlines offer a free checked bag for more travel companions, which is potentially more useful. For example, Delta Air Lines’ comparable card is the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card. It offers free checked bags for a total of nine people. Terms apply, see rates and fees.

Limited redemption options

Generally, the best redemption options for United MileagePlus miles are award flights and seat upgrades on United and its Star Alliance partners. That’s pretty limiting compared with general travel cards, which allow you to apply rewards to a wide range of travel-related expenses.

If you mix your flying with other airlines, a comparable card is the American Express® Gold Card, which also has useful bonus categories for everyday spending. Terms apply, see rates and fees.

For those looking for premium perks, good choices include the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express.

For a lower annual fee in a general travel card, check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

No companion fare

The same-tier credit card from Delta Air Lines, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, comes with an annual companion certificate — a rare and valuable perk that covers the cost of a round-trip domestic, Caribbean, Mexico or Central American economy ticket for someone flying with you.

The United Quest℠ Card doesn't come with a companion-fare benefit.

» MORE: Airline credit cards that offer companion tickets