United Gateway℠ Card Review [2023]: Earn United Miles With No Annual Fee

The United Gateway℠ Card replaces the United TravelBank Card as the entry-level choice for United Airlines credit cards. This Chase-issued credit card can be an ideal stepping stone for newcomers to travel cards that want to experience more about how they work and what their benefits are.

When you compare credit cards, not many beginner travel cards offer many non-travel ways to earn rewards on spending. But with the United Gateway Card, you have multiple options to earn United miles without having to purchase United airfare. This expands your earning potential and makes it easier to quickly build your rewards.

In this United Gateway Card review, we’ll cover the benefits and drawbacks of this card so you can decide whether it would be the right fit for you.

A No Annual Fee Card for United Fans

United Gateway℠ Card

3.7

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

United Gateway℠ Card

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Current Offer

Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

2X miles on United purchases, at gas stations, and on transit and commuting; plus 1X on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
• 2X miles on United purchases, gas stations, and transit and commuting
• Intro APR on purchases
• No annual fee
• No foreign transaction fees

Drawbacks

• Limited travel perks

Card Details

• Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
• 2X miles on United purchases, at gas stations, and on transit and commuting; plus 1X on all other purchases
• Intro purchase 0% APR offer: 0% for 12 months then 21.99% - 28.99% Variable

Who should get the United Gateway Card?

If you occasionally fly United Airlines, the United Gateway Card might make sense for you. With a generous welcome offer and multiple ways to earn United MileagePlus miles, you could be flying United with points in no time. Add in the $0 annual fee, and the value of this card continues to rise.

Of course, the United Gateway Card won’t likely make any list of the best airline credit cards because it can’t compete with the higher earning rates and additional benefits of cards that have annual fees. This makes it more of a beginner travel card for people who don’t necessarily need a lot of benefits. If you aren't a frequent flyer, you wouldn’t be able to utilize travel benefits very often anyway, so they’d end up being wasted along with the money you spent on the annual fee. So if you don’t travel often, this card could be a good fit.

Even though this isn’t a premium travel card, you’d still likely need a good or excellent credit score to be approved. United cards often require a good or excellent credit score for qualification and this one is no different.

Card basics

United Gateway Card benefits and perks

• Generous sign-up offer: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• Earning potential: Earn 2X miles on United purchases, at gas stations, and on transit and commuting; plus 1X on all other purchases. These bonus categories make it simple for a United traveler to earn rewards, especially if United Airlines purchases are regularly in your spending.
• 0% introductory APR offer: If you are planning a large purchase, you can save on interest with this card as it offers a 0% introductory APR for 12 months on new purchases (then 21.99% - 28.99% Variable). 
  
• Low fees: With a $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, you don’t have to stress about an annual cost or fees on purchases while traveling abroad.
• United benefits: All purchases made with this card earn United miles and you also get 25% back in statement credits on in-flight purchases made with this card.
• Chase benefits: With this card, you’ll receive complimentary protections and insurance, like an auto rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty benefits.
• DoorDash benefit: Take advantage of the one-year complimentary DashPass subscription for cardholders. With DashPass, you'll pay no delivery fees and benefit from reduced service fees on eligible orders. After the first year, your DashPass subscription will renew at the regular monthly rate. 
  

Drawbacks to this card

• No free checked bag: Other United credit cards can help you avoid checked bag fees with United Airlines, but the United Gateway Card doesn’t come with this benefit.
• No premium benefits: The United Gateway Card is a travel card, but it doesn’t offer premium travel benefits like Priority Pass lounge access, TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee reimbursement, or annual travel credits.
• Chase 5/24 status: As a Chase credit card, the United Gateway Card falls under the Chase 5/24 rule. This means you can’t get this card if you’ve already signed up for five new credit card products in the past 24 months.

Earning and redeeming United MileagePlus miles

Potential earnings in years one and two

Here's a look how your United miles can add up with the United Gateway Card. To calculate these values, we used a point valuation of 1 cent per mile, though you may be able to redeem your miles for a higher value due to United’s dynamic award structure.

Remember, this is an estimation. The actual value will be determined by how much you spend and in which categories you spend.

Year one earnings: $897

Year two earnings: $552

These values are based on the FinanceBuzz Credit Card Rewards Valuation Model, which looks at points earned via spending, the welcome offer, and the annual fee. This value assumes you are taking advantage of the bonus earnings, but that not all your travel spending is with United. Obviously, the more you travel with United, the more this card could be worth to you.

Best ways to earn

The best way to earn United miles with the United Gateway Card is by using it to make purchases that earn bonus rewards. For example, you can earn 2X miles on United purchases, gas stations, and transit and commuting, and 1X miles on all other purchases.

It’s easy to start racking up miles if you use this card on some of your everyday expenses, as well as any United purchases you make.

Maximizing your redemptions

United miles can be redeemed in multiple ways, including award flights, hotel stays, car rentals, online shopping, gift cards, and more. However, the best value for your miles will typically be for award flight redemptions.

United has a dynamic pricing structure for award flights, so there’s no set value when you redeem miles for flights. But you can always tell how much United miles are worth when you’re about to redeem them. You simply divide the cash price of a flight by the number of miles needed for an award redemption on the same flight to get your redemption value.

For example, if a one-way flight from Las Vegas to Orlando costs $168 or 12,500 miles, your redemption value would be about 1.3 cents per mile (168 / 12,500 = .01344). This is a bit above the average redemption value for United (the average is 1.1 cents per mile), but you can use this method to compare different flights and maximize your redemptions. If you take into account that United also has transfer partners, you’re able to open up your opportunities to find higher redemption values.

United transfer partners

United MileagePlus members can transfer their miles to other loyalty programs that United partners with. As a member of the Star Alliance, United’s miles can be transferred to any other Star Alliance member.

Star Alliance members include these airlines:

• Aegean Airlines
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air India
• Air New Zealand
• All Nippon Airways (ANA)
• Asiana Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Avianca Airlines
• Brussels Airlines
• Copa Airlines
• Croatia Airlines
• EgyptAir
• Ethiopian Airlines
• EVA Air
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa Airlines
• Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• Swiss International Air Lines
• Thai Airways
• TAP Air Portugal
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines

United also partners with hotels and car rental companies to provide MileagePlus members with additional benefits. These loyalty program partners allow you to earn United miles through their programs:

• Accor Live Limitless
• Choice Privileges
• Golden Circle
• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards
• Hilton Honors
• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Radisson Rewards
• World of Hyatt
• Wyndham Rewards

The availability of transfer partners allows for greater flexibility and earning potential when it comes to using your United miles. Remember to take advantage of these transfer partners so you can maximize your redemptions and make the most of your rewards.

United Gateway Card FAQs

Other cards to consider

The United Gateway Card is a great choice for United travelers who fly occasionally and want a$0 annual fee credit card that earns travel rewards. It’s a low-maintenance rewards credit card with helpful earning rates and benefits. However, other Chase credit card offers like the United℠ Explorer Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card may be a better fit for you.

The United Explorer Card improves on the United Gateway Card in a variety of ways. It has a $95 (waived first year) annual fee, but you can earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. This card has somewhat different spending categories. You'll earn 2X miles on dining (including eligible delivery services), hotel stays (when booked with the hotel), and United Airlines purchases and 1X miles on everything else. In addition, your first checked bag is free on United flights, and you get up to $100 statement credit toward a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you get a more flexible travel rewards card. This card is always on our list of the best credit cards. The Sapphire Preferred earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be redeemed for travel, cash back, gift cards, or as a transfer to any Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners. And because your points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal on this card, it makes it a lot easier to get loads of value from your travel redemptions. New Sapphire Preferred cardholders can earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.

A No Annual Fee Card for United Fans

United Gateway℠ Card

3.7

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

United Gateway℠ Card

3.7

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Why We Like It

Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months

See how these cards compare:

United℠ Explorer Card

• Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
• Earn 2X on dining (including eligible delivery services), hotel stays (when booked with the hotel), and United Airlines purchases
• Free first checked bag
• 2 United Club Passes annually

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• 25% more value when redeeming rewards for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 10% anniversary point bonus each year
• $50 annual credit on hotel stays booked through Ultimate Rewards
• Premium travel protection benefits

Author Details

Ben Walker, CEPF Ben Walker, CEPF, is a Senior Credit Cards Writer at FinanceBuzz. For over a decade, he's leveraged credit card points and miles to travel the world. His expertise extends to other areas of personal finance — including loans, insurance, investing, and real estate — and you can find his insights on The Washington Post, Debt.com, Yahoo! Finance, and Fox Business.

More posts from Ben Walker, CEPF >