These are both travel rewards credit cards, and they have some important differences. Here's a breakdown of fees, rewards, and more.
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs.United Explorer Card annual fee
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with a quite reasonable $95 annual fee. This is on the lower end of annual fees for a travel rewards credit card, and since you receive such useful perks with this one, $95 doesn't feel like a hardship. The welcome offer (more on that below) alone easily more than eclipses the annual fee, and the many travel insurance coverages can save your vacation should you find yourself in an accident in a rental car or missing your checked luggage.
Surprise, surprise, the United℠ Explorer Card also comes with an annual fee of $95 -- but it's waived for the first year, giving it a slight advantage over Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's annual fee, which gives you no break for the first year. That said, the Sapphire's other benefits slightly outweigh those of this card, so the annual fee advantage might be a hollow victory.
Winner: United℠ Explorer Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. United Explorer Card welcome offer
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a newly boosted welcome offer -- if you spend $4,000 with the card in the first 3 months, you'll earn 60,000 bonus points. Redeem these for travel bookings made with Chase, and they'll be worth $750 (points are worth $0.0125. And they could be worth even more if you instead transfer them to a Chase travel partner airline or hotel chain and redeem them that way.
The United℠ Explorer Card's welcome bonus is no slouch, even though its rival's bonus wins this category for having more value and applicability. Earn 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. Based on valuation of United miles ($0.01 to $0.015 apiece), this bonus could get you $500 to $750 in value, and you can use them toward award flights both domestically and internationally.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. United Explorer Card intro APR
Well, this is an easy one to adjudicate. Neither card offers an introductory 0% APR, and you will be stuck with either card's go-to APR for the duration of your time using it. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's go-to APR is 21.49%-28.49% Variable, while the United℠ Explorer Card's go-to APR is 21.99% - 28.99% Variable. Since these are quite high, you don't want to carry a balance on either card if you can help it.
Winner: Tie
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. United Explorer Card rewards
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's solid rewards program has earned it many fans, including yours truly. You can earn:
- 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal -- you can book plane tickets, hotel stays, and even activities here
- 3X points per $1 on dining and takeout (and you'll be helped in this category by a free year of DoorDash DashPass; you have to enroll by Dec. 31, 2024)
- 3X points per dollar on online groceries and select streaming subscriptions
- 2X points per $1 on other travel expenses
- 1X points per $1 on everything else
The United℠ Explorer Card's rewards program is based on United MileagePlus miles. You can earn:
- 2 miles per $1 on purchases from United, dining (including eligible delivery services), and hotel stays booked directly with the hotel in question
- 1 mile per $1 on everything else
This is a simpler rewards program than Chase Ultimate Rewards, but it's certainly still worthwhile, especially if you fly with United frequently. But thanks to wider applicability, I'm giving the win to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card