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United Explorer Card: terms, score and downsides

Not credit advice. Facts and math from issuer pages and the CFPB, each with its date. Offers change; approval depends on your credit. Verify on the issuer's site.

Rubric score 65.4% across 78 cards. Issuer page ↗

Downsides first

• $150 annual fee ($0 intro annual fee the first year, then $150)
• APR up to 28.49% if you carry a balance
• Penalty APR up to 29.99%
• Late fee up to $40
• 2x travel = hotel stays booked with the hotel; 3x United purchases. Miles valued 1¢.

Terms & fees

• IssuerChase
• Typetravel
• Annual fee$150 ($0 intro annual fee the first year, then $150) creditcards.chase.com, 2026-10-12
• Regular purchase APR19.99%–28.49% variable creditcards.chase.com, 2026-10-12
• Rewards1% base; 2% dining; 2% travel creditcards.chase.com, 2026-10-12
• Sign-up bonus (≈$)$700 70,000 bonus miles after $3,000 in 3 months (valued at 1¢) creditcards.chase.com, 2026-10-12
• Intro APRnone No intro APR shown creditcards.chase.com, 2026-10-12
• Foreign transaction feenone files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Penalty APRup to 29.99% Chase's CFPB-filed agreements list a penalty APR of 'up to 29.99%'; agreements are not labeled by product, so this is issuer-level consumerfinance.gov, 2026-06-30
• Late feeup to $40 up to (first and repeat late fee) files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Balance transfer fee5% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Cash advance fee5% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Credit needed620–719, 720+ (CFPB TCCP targeted tiers) files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Grace period21 days files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Cash advance APR28.49% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• CFPB survey APR (2025-12-31)19.74%–28.24% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31 older; issuer figure above is newer

Complaint record (CFPB)

• Complaints, last 12 months26,196
• Trend▲ 14.2% (last 12 mo 26,196 vs prior 12 mo 22,932)
• Timely response (last 36 mo)100.0%
• Per $1B deposits (12 mo)9.29
• Top issueManaging an account
• Insurance statusFDIC-insured: JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association (cert 628, active; deposits $2,820.3B as of 06/30/2026)

Company-level (JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.), all products, as of 2026-10-12. Chase (JPMorgan Chase) complaints: full record → Shown for context; does not change the score.

Score breakdown

• Annual fee 5.0/10Annual fee $150 ($0 intro annual fee the first year, then $150) (as of 2026-10-12). Rubric: $0=10, ≤$95=8, ≤$395=5, ≤$695=3, more=1 (perks/credits are not counted).
• Rewards rate 4.5/10Base 1% on everything, top category 2% (as of 2026-10-12; points/miles valued at 1¢). Score = base/2%×7 + min(top,6)/6%×3. 1% base; 2% dining; 2% travel
• Sign-up bonus 9.3/10Bonus ≈ $700: 70,000 bonus miles after $3,000 in 3 months (valued at 1¢) (as of 2026-10-12). Score = value/$75, max 10.
• Intro 0% APR 0.0/10No intro APR shown (as of 2026-10-12). Score = months/21×10.
• Regular APR 7.0/1019.99%–28.49% variable (as of 2026-10-12); midpoint 24.24%. Score = (34 − midpoint)/1.4, 0–10.
• Foreign transaction fee 10.0/10No foreign transaction fee (as of 2025-12-31).
• Regulatory record (CFPB) 10.0/10Issuer Chase: Base 10, no actions in last 5 yrs found. Note: No CFPB enforcement action against JPMorgan Chase found in the last 5 years (CFPB enforcement database lists a 2017 action)

0.143×5.0 + 0.143×4.5 + 0.143×9.3 + 0.143×0.0 + 0.143×7.0 + 0.143×10.0 + 0.143×10.0 = 6.54 → 65.4%

Is United Explorer Card worth it? (break-even math) →Value for my spending →

Compare with

United Explorer Card vs Chase Sapphire Preferred · United Explorer Card vs Chase Sapphire Reserve · United Explorer Card vs Citi Strata Premier · United Explorer Card vs Capital One Venture · United Explorer Card vs Capital One Venture X · United Explorer Card vs Amex Gold

No paid placement. No issuer pays VaultRubric for inclusion or rank; links go to the issuer's own page. Ranks come only from the published rubric below.

FAQ

What is the United Explorer Card annual fee?

$150 ($0 intro annual fee the first year, then $150)

What is the United Explorer Card APR?

19.99%–28.49% variable

Estimates, not financial advice. Taxes, insurance, PMI and fees vary by lender, county and city; confirm with your lender, dealer and state agency before acting.