After an overhaul of the United credit cards earlier this year, The New United Quest℠ Card (see rates and fees) is now offering its best-ever welcome bonus.
New cardholders can earn 100,000 United MileagePlus® bonus miles and 3,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) after spending $4,000 on qualifying purchases in the first three months of opening an account.
While the exact value of your United MileagePlus miles might vary since United uses dynamic pricing on their reward flights, 100,000 points can still give you plenty of choices when cashing in. Plus, the card’s numerous statement credits and perks for United travelers gives you a stack of miles upfront and a headstart toward earning United Premier® status.
Here’s who benefits the most from The New United Quest Card.
If you’re not interested in United Club lounge access, you’ll appreciate the United Quest℠ Card’s array of credits and perks that can save you money and enhance your United travel experience.
- Up to $200 in annual United credit
- Up to 10,000 miles in United award flight credits each year
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fee credit
- Built-in travel and shopping protections
- High annual fee
- No United Club airport lounge passes
- Free checked bags benefit requires you to pay for the flight with the card
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Best Offer Ever: Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 PQP
- 3x miles on United® purchases
- 2x miles on dining, select streaming services, and all other travel
- 1x mile on all other purchases
- Receive a $200 United® travel credit and 10,000-mile award flight discount on each account anniversary
- Earn a 10,000-mile eligible award flight discount after spending $20,000 each calendar year
- Earn 2 global Economy Plus® seat upgrades after spending $40,000 on purchases each calendar year
- Get a jump start on earning Premier status with 1,000 Card Bonus PQP each year, awarded within 6 to 8 weeks after February 1 each year, starting in 2026.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
- Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
What we’ll cover
Who’s The New United Quest Card for?
If you’re a loyal United Airlines flyer, this card’s for you, offering up to 8X miles on United purchases, free checked bags for you and one companion, plus a United travel credit.
In addition to the welcome bonus of 100,000 United MileagePlus bonus miles and 3,000 PQP, the New United Quest Card also offers these perks for travelers:
- First and second free checked bags for the primary cardmember and one guest
- $200 in United TravelBank cash, which can be used to book United or United Express flights
- Up to $100 in credits on ride-booking purchases annually
- 10,000-mile award flight discount every anniversary, beginning on your first one
- Up to $120 TSA PreCheck®, Global Entry or NEXUS credit
- 25% back on United Club and in-flight drinks
In addition to the above, you can also earn up to 18,000 PQPs each calendar year through spending, earning 1 PQP for every $20 spent on your New United Quest Card.
The card comes with several travel protections, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, plus lost luggage reimbursement. There’s Visa Signature Concierge service available 24/7 to find you anything, from event tickets to dinner reservations, as well as purchase protection covering you for 120 days from purchase.
The 3,000 PQP that’s part of the welcome bonus helps accelerate you towards earning elevated United MileagePlus Premier status. The first level, Premier Silver, requires 5,000 PQP, and for the highest level of Premier 1K®, you must have 28,000 PQP. You can also qualify for elevated status with a combination of qualifying flights and qualifying points.
Alternative travel rewards card options
If you’re not loyal to only United, you’re better off with a general travel rewards credit card where your points can be transferred to a number of different airlines.
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees), you’ll earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, which can be transferred to 14 different travel partners, including Southwest Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. The card offers 5X on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ and 2x on other travel purchases, plus up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary for hotel stays through Chase Travel. There’s a $95 annual fee.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase’s travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- $50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase TravelSM
- 10% anniversary points boost – each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card earns transferrable miles, which is a stand-out benefit for a no-annual-fee card.
- You can transfer miles to over 15 Capital One partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- No annual fee
- Limited bonus spending category that only applies to certain Capital One Travel bookings
- No travel credits and limited travel protections
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel
- Earn unlimited 1.25X miles on every purchase, every day
- Miles won’t expire for the life of the account and there’s no limit to how many you can earn
- Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Enjoy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.49% – 29.49% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies
Balance transfer fee
3% for the first 15 months; 4% at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer you at any other time
Foreign transaction fee
Subscribe to the CNBC Select Newsletter!
Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Catch up on CNBC Select’s in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
