United’s Big Credit Card Refresh Offers More Duds Than Delights

The recent refresh to Chase’s United credit card portfolio was extensive, impacting a half-dozen of the issuer’s personal and business cards. A clear theme emerged from all of the changes: Annual fees are going up, but the cards have more credits and discounts to help ease the sticker shock. So, call it even?

The new perks come with so many caveats that render them burdensome, if not useless, for some cardholders. They’re also a signal that Chase and United are following the industry trend that’s turning some travel credit cards into glorified (and expensive) coupon books.

The credits and discounts, which range from fairly valuable to practically worthless, have changed the calculus in terms of which United card is best for which consumer, and ultimately they’ve made the cards more high-maintenance. If you want to come out ahead after paying the card’s annual fee, you’ll have to swipe with intention and put in some work.

To be sure, the United cards remain solid products — but that’s despite many of these new benefits, not because of them.

In exchange for higher annual fees, Chase and United added rideshare, Instacart and JSX credits to most of their credit cards. (JSX is a public chartered flight service.) Of course, for those who don’t use Uber/Lyft, grocery delivery services or semi-private jets (me), those credits aren’t of much help.

But even if you do use those services, you may find it challenging to benefit from these new perks because of how they’re issued.

The rideshare credits, for instance, aren’t automatic. You’ll first need to activate/enroll via the Chase app. Secondly, the credit isn’t doled out in a lump sum all at once. It ranges from $5 to $12 a month, depending on the card — and that may be not enough to cover the cost of a single fare, especially since the credits don’t roll over. It’s use it or lose it, each month.

The Instacart credits are similarly onerous. First, for now, this benefit runs only until the end of 2027. Secondly, to earn the credit, you need an Instacart+ membership, which normally costs $99 a year. Yes, the cards offer complimentary trial periods of varying lengths, but after that, you’ll incur a cost for it.

And while the amount of the Instacart credit also varies by card, it, too, is issued monthly, maxing out at $20 per month — and even in that case, it’s doled out in two separate $10 increments. You can’t use the full $20 on one order, which feels underwhelming considering the current cost of groceries.

Compared to the rideshare and Instacart perks, the JSX credit is more generous, ranging from $100 to $200 annually. But in this case, it’s a matter of utility. Who flies semi-private charter flights? If you do, is a $100 discount significant? A round-trip JSX flight from Los Angeles to Cabo in September 2025 costs $1,173.50 for one person. Plus, JSX has limited routes that largely exclude the Midwest and East Coast.

Bottom line: These perks aren’t user-friendly, nor do they do much to justify the United cards’ increased annual fees. If anything, they could encourage cardholders to spend more in the name of “saving money.”

The refresh wasn’t a total bust. For example, The New United Gateway℠ Card now dangles the possibility of a free checked bag benefit — and it was the only United consumer card whose annual fee didn’t increase. You do have to spend at least $10,000 in a year to earn those two free checked bags, but it’s still a rare perk for a $0-annual-fee airline credit card, and a reachable spending threshold if it’s your only credit card.

Also, The New United℠ Explorer Card arguably got slightly better. Of course, it already offered excellent value that was practically unmatched by other cards at its price point: $0 intro for the first year, then $150. (For what it’s worth, it’s the lone United consumer card with a first-year fee waiver.) And fortunately, the card retained those valuable perks amid the overhaul, including:

Now, with the refresh, the card has gained some other minor but potentially helpful benefits, including a 10,000-mile discount on award flights, as well as statement credits on eligible prepaid hotel stays and car rentals.

But here, too, you’ll encounter considerable strings attached. You must earn the award flight discount by spending at least $20,000 per year, and the award certificate expires 12 months after the issue date. And those hotel and car rental credits also come with conditions: Bookings must be made through United’s travel platforms to qualify, and the credits are doled out in increments, not all at once. (Sound familiar?)

Still, in theory, these perks could be beneficial to travelers in ways that Instacart and JSX credits aren’t.

All of the United cards now have some kind of travel benefit or award flight discount that’s contingent upon spending, which can make them tempting top-of-wallet options when making a purchase. But the truth is that while they’re excellent airline cards, they’re mediocre for everyday expenses, as you can tell from the earning rates in the table above.

But here’s a secret: It’s possible to considerably offset every United card’s annual fee without any extraneous spending, and without taking into account any of the new perks that were recently added: