United Gateway Card review: Earn airline miles at no annual fee

Our take: Although there’s no annual fee, the lack of a checked bag perk or other flying benefits with the United Gateway℠ Card leaves us hungry for more.

United Gateway℠ Card Overview

Card type: Airline

The United Gateway℠ Card is an intriguing card at first glance. This no-annual-fee airline credit card comes with an intro APR offer and earns elevated rewards in several useful areas of everyday spending. It’s also worth noting this is the only co-branded United credit card that charges no annual fee, as the Gateway’s big siblings come with price tags ranging from $95 to more than $500 per year.

Sounds pretty appealing, right? But like a souffle without egg whites, the United Gateway card falls flat. Without airline-specific benefits like a free checked bag or priority boarding, most folks would be better off with a card that earns a flat 2% cash back on everything, rather than just 2X miles back on some things and 1X miles on the rest. 

Those who hanker for a United co-branded card should know that there are three other consumer United co-branded cards available, and all offer expanded Saver Award access (meaning more potential for good deals when redeeming your miles for flights), checked bag perks, priority boarding and more, and one of them even waives the annual fee the first year. More on that below.

Who is the United Gateway℠ Card good for? 

The United Gateway card is good for two types of travelers: Someone who occasionally flies United and doesn’t need to check a bag and someone who earns flexible travel rewards they can transfer to United Airlines and wants access to Saver Awards ticket availability.

Who shouldn’t get the United Gateway℠ Card? 

The United Gateway Card is not a good fit for someone who frequently checks a bag or values priority boarding. If you want a United Airlines credit card with these perks, there’s a plethora of other options.

United Gateway℠ Card: How to earn rewards

The United Gateway card earns United MileagePlus miles at the following rates:

• 2 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases, including tickets, Economy Plus, in-flight food, beverages and Wi-Fi, baggage service charges and other United purchases. 
• 2 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases, including rideshare services, taxicabs, train tickets, tolls, and mass transit.
• 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.

There’s a first-year welcome bonus of 20,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

How to redeem United Gateway℠ Card rewards 

The United Gateway card earns United MileagePlus miles, which can be redeemed in several ways.

Use miles to book United and partner airline award flights 

Using your miles for flights is typically the highest value use of your earnings. United Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance airline group, which means you can use your MileagePlus miles to book flights on any of the 26 alliance members to over 1,200 destinations worldwide. Award flights on both United and partner airlines are dynamic, meaning the price and number of miles required for bookings will rise and fall based on demand.

United also offers Saver Award and Everyday Award fares on some flights. Saver Awards fares are flights offered at the lowest mileage requirement available on an award flight. Everyday Award fares are often more available but require more miles than Saver awards. 

Although Saver Awards are available on some flights to all MileagePlus members, owning an eligible co-branded United credit card or having Premier elite status will show “hidden” Saver Award availability on some routes that other MileagePlus members cannot access. (If you fly United enough to want expanded Saver Award access, you may find it worthwhile to get one of the United credit cards that charges an annual fee.)

Here’s an example of how redeeming miles to book Saver and higher-class seats can be valuable. Consider this one-way flight from Newark to Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2024:

As you can see, the flight would cost 18,100 miles without Saver access, but a select number of Saver Award seats are available in economy on the 2 p.m. flight for just 15,000 miles.

The cash price for those same regular economy flights is $185 each plus taxes and fees. This would make the miles used to buy that Saver economy seat worth about 1.2 cents per point, which is a just-OK redemption. 

If you had your eye on a more premium experience, you’ll see that the 2 p.m. flight has a business class seat for 80,000 miles plus taxes and fees and a cash price of $1,334. This would make your miles worth roughly 1.7 cents per point if you value the added comfort.

You can book flights using just your miles or a combination of miles and cash. However, using just miles typically yields the best value. 

It’s always beneficial to get more for less, particularly when it comes to rewards. However, it still pays to do the math to make sure the redemption you’re considering is a good use of your points. Ultimately, the best redemption will be different for everyone, but as a rule of thumb, you should aim to get more than a penny per point in value from your miles.

Other redemption options

United MileagePlus miles can also be redeemed to book travel including hotels, rental cars and cruises through the United site, used to upgrade or pay for seat assignments, upgrade seats, prepay for checked bags, cover a TSA PreCheck application fee or renewal fee, or pay for a United Club membership, in-flight dining, in-flight WiFi or a meal at select restaurants and bars at Newark Airport (EWR) and Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

However, most of the options typically are less valuable than redeeming towards flights. For example, it takes 11,000 miles to cover the $78 TSA Precheck application fee, which gives you a value of just 0.7 cents per mile.

United Gateway℠ Card rates and fees

• Annual fee: $0
• Foreign transaction fee: None.
• Intro APR: 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 12 months. After that, 21.99%–28.99% variablevariable APR applies.
• Purchase APR: 21.99%–28.99% variable.

Additional benefits

• Get 25% back on United in-flight and Club premium drink purchases: You’ll 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 the card.
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: If your trip is canceled or cut short by covered situations like sickness or injury you can be reimbursed up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable passenger fares.
• Purchase protection and extended warranty coverage: New purchases are covered for up to 120 days against damage or theft,  up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account—and eligible warranties can be extended for up to an additional year on purchases made with the card.
• One-year complimentary DashPass subscription: Enroll and receive a membership for both DoorDash and Caviar food delivery services with unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders. After that, you are automatically enrolled in DashPass at the current monthly rate. Activate by 12/31/24.

Credit cards similar to the United Gateway Card

If you’re in the market for a low-cost travel card to gain some benefits and perks, there are other options that may be a better fit than the United Gateway card. Here’s how two popular options stack up.

United Gateway℠ Card	UnitedSM Explorer Card	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Annual fee	Annual fee	Annual fee
$0	$0 introductory annual fee for the first year (then $95)	$95
Welcome bonus	Welcome bonus	Welcome bonus
Earn 20,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.	Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.	Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards	Rewards	Rewards
2 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent at gas stations, on local transit and commuting, including rideshare services, taxicabs, train tickets, tolls, and mass transit, 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.	2x miles on dining (including eligible delivery services), hotel stays, and United® purchases(including tickets, inflight food, beverages and Wi-Fi, Economy Plus® and more). 1x miles on all other purchases.	5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit), 3x points on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, 2x points on travel purchases not booked through Chase Travel, 1x points on other purchases and 5x points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025 (that’s 3x points in addition to the 2x points you already earn on travel).

United^SM Explorer Card vs. United Gateway℠ Card

If you’re flying United enough to consider getting a co-branded card, a low-cost alternative to the Gateway card would be the United^SM Explorer Card card. For a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year (then $95), you get a free checked bag perk for you and a companion, plus a Global Entry/TSA Precheck application fee reimbursement every four years. These perks alone can make up for the cost of the relatively low annual fee if you fly somewhat regularly. 

The Explorer Card also earns 2X miles per dollar on United purchases (including tickets, in-flight food, beverages and Wi-Fi, Economy Plus® and more), dining, and hotel accommodations booked directly through the hotel. You’ll earn 1x miles on all other purchases. The welcome offer is also more robust than what’s offered on the Gateway card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. 

Someone seeking United perks through credit card ownership will find that the Explorer card, or its more expensive and increasingly perk-laden siblings, the $250-annual-fee United Quest card and the $525-annual-fee United Club℠ Infinite Card have more to offer than the Gateway card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card vs. United Gateway℠ Card

Although the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card carries a $95 annual fee and doesn’t come with any airline-specific benefits, infrequent flyers may find greater value in this card over the no-annual-fee Gateway card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers up to $50 in statement credits annually toward hotel bookings made through Chase.

Plus, this card has a rich rewards structure of 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit), 3x points on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, 2x points on travel purchases not booked through Chase, 1x points on other purchases and 5x points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025 (that’s 3x points in addition to the 2x points you already earn on travel).

New cardholders also have the opportunity to earn a welcome bonus of 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

The main benefit the Sapphire Preferred has over the Gateway card is that it earns Chase Ultimate Rewards, which are flexible points that can be used to book flights, hotels, and other types of travel through Chase or transferred at a 1:1 rate to partner airline and hotel programs. Using your points for travel through Chase offers 25% more value, meaning each point is worth 1.25 cents compared to the 1 cent per point value you’d get if redeeming your rewards for cash back. 

United Airlines is among Chase’s list of travel partners, as well as other popular programs such as Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards and World of Hyatt. Transferring rewards to partners is often the way to maximize your redemption value if you’re willing to spend some time strategically looking for the best deal. In short, the Sapphire Preferred’s plethora of redemption options gives you far more choices of what to do with your rewards then the Gateway card.

Is the United Gateway℠ Card right for you?

The United Gateway Card is right for just a slim slice of travel rewards seekers: Those who wish to earn United miles and can’t stand to pay an annual fee—even if they can get a free checked bag perk—or those looking to downgrade an existing higher-priced United card. If this sounds like you, the Gateway card will serve your needs.

Frequently asked questions 

What is the credit limit on a United Gateway credit card?

Like most credit card issuers, Chase doesn’t reveal in advance how much of a credit limit you’ll get with the United Gateway card. Upon approval, the issuer will let you know the credit limit you’ll be granted. Credit limits often depend on factors such as your credit history and the issuer’s assessment of your ability to repay what you charge to the card.

Do you get free baggage with the United Gateway℠ Card?

The United Gateway card does not come with a free checked baggage perk. If you want to check a bag, you’ll have to pay for it.

Which United card gives access to airport lounges?

The United Explorer card offers two United Club lounge passes per year, and the United Club Infinite Card offers the primary cardmember, and eligible travel companions, access to all United Club locations and participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges worldwide as a benefit of owning the card. 

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