United Gateway℠ Card

The United Gateway Card is the easiest United card to recommend to someone who's on the fence about an airline card at all — there's no annual fee, so there's no real downside to carrying it if you fly United even occasionally. The 25% back on inflight food, drinks, and Wi-Fi is a nice touch that most no annual fee cards don't bother offering, and the generous intro APR gives new cardholders a little breathing room if they need to finance a big purchase early on. Where it falls short is the $10,000 spending threshold required to unlock the checked bag and award discount perks — that's real spending most casual flyers won't hit just to get there, so this card works best as an entry point rather than a long-term home for someone who flies United a lot. If that's you, it's worth treating this one as a stepping stone toward a fee-based United card down the line rather than the card you keep forever.

The United Gateway Card's welcome offer has generally landed in the tens-of-thousands range, often structured with a base bonus plus an added bonus for adding an authorized user early on. Chase periodically runs elevated versions, so it's worth comparing the current offer to what's been available historically before applying.