The United℠ Explorer Card packs a lot of value for an annual fee under $100. Along with earning United miles on every purchase, it offers perks like free checked bags, United Club passes and access to extra saver awards that even occasional United flyers will appreciate. However, as with most airline credit cards, its benefits are less useful when not flying.

Below, CNBC Select will help you decide if the United Explorer is right for you or if there is a better alternative for your travel style.

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The United Explorer Card offers a welcome bonus of 50,000 miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. You can earn an additional 5,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user in the first three months your account is open.

United has a dynamic award chart so the award flight prices vary widely. Although this makes it hard to pin a specific value to United miles, experts typically value them at around 1.3 cents per mile. If you can get that value and earn the authorized user bonus, this card’s welcome offer is worth over $700 in flights.

Anyone who flies with United or its airline partners even once a year will appreciate the United Explorer Card’s benefits:

• Free checked bags: The primary cardholder and one companion traveling on the same reservation receive a free standard checked bag (when you pay for the flight with the card). This only applies to United-operated flights and you can save up to $160 per round-trip.
• Airport lounge access: Every year, you’ll receive two one-time United Club℠ lounge passes (worth $59 each). It’s rare for a mid-tier airline card to offer a benefit like this.
• Trusted traveler program credit: You’ll receive up to $100 in application fee credit for Global Entry, NEXUS or TSA PreCheck® (once every four years).
• In-flight discount: Get 25% back on in-flight food, beverage and Wi-Fi purchases. This discount also applies to premium drink purchases in United Club airport lounges.
• Priority boarding: You and any companions on the same reservation can board with Group 2.
• Earn elite credit: You’ll earn 25 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) for every $500 in purchases (up to 1,000 PQP per calendar year).

Eligible purchases you make with the card are covered by a long list of travel and purchase insurance benefits, including:

• Trip delay reimbursement
• Baggage delay insurance
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Rental car collision coverage (primary)
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty protection

The Explorer Card is especially valuable for frequent United flyers because it gives you access to more saver awards, which cost fewer miles. If you’re a United MileagePlus elite member, having the United Explorer Card unlocks the ability to receive complimentary upgrades on award flights.

Earning

The United℠ Explorer Card earns United miles and is most lucrative for United, dining and hotel purchases. You’ll earn:

• 2X miles on eligible United purchases
• 2X miles on dining
• 2X miles on hotel stays
• 1X miles on all other purchases

Redeeming

You can use United miles in many ways, including gift cards, car rentals, cruises, lounge access and more. However, you’ll usually get the most value when you redeem United miles for award flights with United and its partner airlines.

United is a member of the Star Alliance, which is the largest airline alliance, including global carriers like Air Canada, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and more. It also partners with many non-alliance airlines like Aer Lingus, Emirates and Cape Air, so you’ll have no shortage of options for redeeming your United miles for flights.

The biggest drawback is that United doesn’t offer fixed redemption prices. However, you can still find deals and United occasionally runs award sales. It’s not difficult to find one-way award flights to Europe for 35,000 miles or less or French Polynesia for 45,000 miles. One benefit of the United MileagePlus program is that you’ll generally pay fewer fees and surcharges on award flights compared to other loyalty programs.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has the same $95 annual fee as the United℠ Explorer Card (after the first year), but these cards provide value in vastly different ways.

The Sapphire Preferred is a general travel credit card that earns flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. You can transfer Chase points at a 1:1 ratio to 14 different airlines and hotel loyalty programs including United MileagePlus and the Sapphire Preferred. It’s more rewarding than the United Explorer as it earns more points for dining, online grocery purchases and select streaming services. It also earns 2X points on a wider range of travel purchases, making it a better option for earning United miles.

On the flip side, the Sapphire Preferred lacks money-saving perks like the free checked bags and airport lounge passes.

Unless you’ll regularly take advantage of the United-specific benefits the Explorer card offers, the Sapphire Preferred gives you more options for the same cost.

Learn more: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

United Explorer Card vs. United Club℠ Infinite Card

If you’re serious about your relationship with United, you may want a card that offers even more airline benefits. The United Club℠ Infinite Card is United’s premium credit card. It has a hefty $525 annual fee, but also comes with a United Club membership, which normally costs more than this card’s annual fee. So if you value United Club lounge access, the United Club Infinite Card may be the cheapest option.

The United Club Infinite has better versions of many of the same perks you get with the United Explorer. It has a larger welcome bonus, earns more miles on United purchases and gets you the first and second checked bags for free. The Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) cap on the United Club Infinite is also much higher (10,000 PQP per calendar year vs. 1,000 PQP per calendar year with the United Explorer), so it’s more valuable for anyone who’s trying to earn elite status without flying.

Compare checking accounts

The United℠ Explorer Card is an excellent mid-tier airline credit card. It has a reasonable annual fee and airline-specific perks that United MileagePlus members can easily extract value from. If you fly with United once or twice a year, the card’s free checked bag perk alone could offset the annual fee.

On the other hand, anyone who flies exclusively or heavily with United may want more premium perks. In that case, a luxury card like the United Club℠ Infinite Card may be a better fit because it offers unlimited United Club access and elevated benefits. For anyone who is less brand loyal, a general travel card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card will give you more options for using rewards. Plus, you can transfer Chase points to United, so you’re not missing out on an opportunity to pad your United miles balance.

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