No — despite its premium annual fee, The New United Quest℠ Card is made of plastic. The card is a deep metallic purple, which could fool some people into thinking that it’s a metal credit card.
How LendingTree Rates Credit Cards?
Our experts rate credit cards based on several factors including card benefits, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers do not influence or have a say in our card ratings. Read our credit card methodology here.The New United Quest℠ Card offers many premium benefits that justify its cost for frequent United travelers.
If you fly United Airlines often, The New United Quest℠ Card might just be your next travel companion. It comes with a generous sign-up bonus, solid rewards (up to 3 miles per dollar spent on United purchases) and even a path to elite status. In fact, with the Premier qualifying points (PQPs) earned from the sign-up bonus, cardholders are already halfway to earning status. Big spenders can snag Silver status (or earn credits toward higher levels) just by using the card throughout the year. Add in perks including travel protections and United-specific benefits, and it’s easy to see why frequent United flyers might love it.
Still, it does have a huge downside: its $350 annual fee. For some travelers, that price tag might be tough to justify. The good news? It comes with a $200 United travel credit and a 10,000-mile award flight discount each year, which may help take the sting out. But if you’re hoping for lounge access, this card might disappoint — unlike some other United cards, it doesn’t come with United Club passes.
Annual fee: $350
Sign-up bonus: Best Offer Ever: Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Rewards: 3x miles on United® purchases. 2x miles on dining, select streaming services & all other travel. 1x mile on all other purchases. Plus, receive a $200 United® travel credit and 10,000-mile award flight discount on each account anniversary, as well as earn up to 18,000 Premier qualifying points.
Regular purchase APR: 20.49% - 28.99% Variable
APR on balance transfers: 20.49% - 28.99% Variable
Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee: $0
Other benefits:
Recommended credit: Good / Excellent
Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Annual Fee | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
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The New United Quest℠ Card
on Chase's secure site Rates & Fees |
$350 | 1X - 3X miles
| 100,000 miles
Best Offer Ever: Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
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on Chase's secure site Rates & Fees |
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The New United℠ Explorer Card
on Chase's secure site Rates & Fees |
$150 | 1X - 2X miles
| 60,000 miles
Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
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on Chase's secure site Rates & Fees |
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The New United Club℠ Card
on Chase's secure site Rates & Fees |
$695 | 1X - 4X miles
| 80,000 miles
Earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
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on Chase's secure site Rates & Fees |
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
on Chase's secure site Rates & Fees |
$95 | 1X - 5X points
| 75,000 points
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
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on Chase's secure site Rates & Fees |
Generous sign-up bonus
Best Offer Ever: Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. At an average value of 1.3 cents per mile, these miles are worth around $1,300 in travel*, though your actual value may vary based on your method of redemption. Typically, you’ll get the most value when redeeming your miles for premium cabin international flights or during peak travel periods.
Among United Airlines credit cards, this is one of the highest welcome bonuses available. Plus, this card’s bonus provides 3,000 Premier qualifying points (PQPs) toward elite status that frequent United travelers covet.
Valuable United benefits
The New United Quest℠ Card comes with many United-specific travel benefits. The benefits available immediately include:
Cardmembers can also receive MileagePlus benefits including:
Further, there are some additional perks that aren’t immediately available. They may be subject to meeting an annual spending threshold or by holding the card for a year or longer.
Travel benefits
Great travel and purchase protections
Tip: Consult your card’s terms and conditions for the latest information on card benefits.
Shopping credits
Earn elite status through spending
For every $20 spent in a calendar year, you’ll receive 1 PQP — and you can earn up to 18,000 PQPs each year based on your credit card purchases. Plus, when you first get The New United Quest℠ Card, you can earn 3,000 bonus PQPs after meeting the card’s minimum spending requirement to earn the sign-up bonus. You’ll also get a bonus of 1,000 PQPs within six to eight weeks after Feb. 1 of each year (starting in 2026).
The chart below shows how you can earn elite status with just PQPs or a mix of PQPs and Premier qualifying flights (PQFs). Customers earn PQFs on most flights on United, United Express and partner airlines (exclusions include Basic Economy tickets and certain flights to Venezuela and Cuba).
Elite status | Qualifications for Premier status |
---|---|
Premier Silver | 15 PQFs and 5,000 PQPs or 6,000 PQPs |
Premier Gold | 30 PQFs and 10,000 PQPs or 12,000 PQPs |
Premier Platinum | 45 PQFs and 15,000 PQPs or 18,000 PQPs |
Premier 1K® | 60 PQFs and 22,000 PQPs or 28,000 PQPs |
Earning the maximum PQPs from The New United Quest℠ Card would help give you United Premier Platinum elite status. To earn Premier Platinum elite status solely based on spending, you’d need to charge $360,000 in a calendar year. In your first year of card membership, you would only need to spend $300,000 if you also earn the 3,000 PQPs from the sign-up bonus. However, frequent United flyers wouldn’t need to spend as much, since you also earn PQPs based on the base fares of United flights, paid upgrades and seat purchases.
After reaching this milestone, you’ll enjoy Premier Platinum benefits for the rest of this year and all of the next through Jan. 31 of the following year. For example, if you earn elite status in October 2025, your status runs through January 2027.
$350 annual fee
For many travelers, it can be hard to justify paying a $350 annual fee for a credit card. But while The New United Quest℠ Card‘s annual fee is higher than many other airline credit cards, its many benefits can reduce the net cost to cardholders.
The $200 annual United travel credit can offset more than half the annual fee, even if you pay for only one United flight per year. Plus, you’ll get a 10,000 United miles discount on an award flight booked on United each year (though this benefit starts with your first anniversary of the card). Based on our average values, those 10,000 miles are worth around $130*.
But if you don’t think you’d use enough of the flight and travel benefits — plus insurance protections and shopping credits — to make up for the annual fee, a travel card with no annual fee might be a better choice.
Rewards are limited to United
The rewards earned on your purchases are limited to United Airlines and its rewards program. You can book flights on partner airlines, but you’ll have to book them through United and they’re subject to availability.
Many travelers may be better off with a general travel card that offers flexible rewards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. This card’s rewards can be used to book travel, get cash back, buy gift cards and more. Plus, its points transfer on a 1:1 basis to more than 10 airline and hotel loyalty programs, including United MileagePlus.
No United Club access
Unfortunately, even though The New United Quest℠ Card charges a premium annual fee, it doesn’t include access to the United Club lounges. So if airport lounge access is important to you, consider The New United Club℠ Card, which includes a complimentary United Club lounge membership, or The New United℠ Explorer Card, which offers two complimentary Club passes each account anniversary.
The rewards rate is a bit complex, though. You’ll earn 2x miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays when booked with the hotel. 1x mile on all other purchases. However, as a United MileagePlus member, you’ll earn an additional 5x miles on fares and 2x miles on hotels purchased through United Hotels with The New United℠ Explorer Card. Further, prepaying hotel stays through United Hotels earns an extra 1x mile.
There’s also a generous sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
The card lets you earn 4x miles on United® purchases, 2x miles on dining and all other travel and 1x mile on all other purchases. Plus, new cardholders can earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Cardholders receive premium benefits on United flights, travel and purchase protections and complimentary elite status with IHG Rewards and Avis President’s Club (enrollment required).
You’ll enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases. You can also earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Its Ultimate Rewards® points can be used to book travel, get cash back, buy gift cards and more. In addition, you can transfer points on a 1:1 basis to 14 airline and hotel loyalty programs, including United. The card also includes numerous travel protections, no matter which airline you use, making it ideal for people who fly on multiple airlines each year.
If you’re a regular United flyer (or have plans to be) and can afford to meet the minimum spending requirement for the card’s sign-up bonus, The New United Quest℠ Card could be a good deal for you.
When you factor in the annual credits and bonus miles, travel benefits and ability to earn PQPs, what you get for that $350 annual fee is a good value. In fact, your savings on free checked bags of just one trip for two could far exceed the annual fee.
But if you’re not sure The New United Quest℠ Card is a good fit, you may want to try out the less expensive The New United℠ Explorer Card — it offers a lot of value for travelers loyal to United at a much more affordable price point. Or, you might opt for a more flexible travel card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
We use calculations to estimate the value of each card for the average cardholder, based on LendingTree and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
No — despite its premium annual fee, The New United Quest℠ Card is made of plastic. The card is a deep metallic purple, which could fool some people into thinking that it’s a metal credit card.
No, The New United Quest℠ Card doesn’t offer lounge access. Other United credit cards, including The New United Club℠ Card or The New United℠ Explorer Card, offer lounge access.
The recommended credit score for The New United Quest℠ Card is good / excellent, which is a FICO Score of at least 660. The bank also looks at your income, expenses and other factors when reviewing applications. Even if your score is higher than the minimum, there’s no guarantee you’ll be approved. Still, a higher credit score generally signifies the responsible use of credit that a bank is looking for.
Yes, you can add authorized users to The New United Quest℠ Card. Although the primary cardholder pays a $350 annual fee, there’s no charge for adding authorized users.
No, The New United Quest℠ Card charges $0 in foreign transaction fees when you use it to make purchases outside the U.S. By contrast, some credit cards charge up to 3% transaction fees on international purchases.
The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.