How to Get the Most From the New United Gateway Card

Start collecting points with the new United Airlines credit card quickly by using it for bonus category spending.

Alisha McDarrisOct 1, 2020
How to get the most from the new United Gateway card
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

Chase and United have teamed up again to launch a brand new no-fee travel rewards card: The United Gateway Card. This new credit card launches Oct. 1 and comes with a suite of benefits for travelers and United Airlines customers. Here’s how to get the most from the new United Gateway Card.

Hit the minimum spend to earn the sign-up bonus

Like most travel rewards cards, the United Gateway Card offers a sign-up bonus. New customers can earn 20,000 miles after you spend $1,000 in the first three months of account opening. Maximize the card right off the bat by ensuring you can responsibly reach that spending requirement and add those miles to your United account. You can use the calculator below to determine the value of your United sign-up bonus miles (or how much all your United miles are worth).

Use it at the grocery store

Somewhat uncharacteristic for a travel card, the largest earning category with the United Gateway Card isn’t flights or travel, but grocery stores. Customers can earn 3 miles per dollar, up to $1,500 per month, at grocery stores through the end of September 2021. This extra earning potential is more beneficial than ever during the COVID-19 era, when people are spending more on food and less on travel.

Charge United purchases to it

While the card offers 1 mile per dollar spent on most other purchases, users can earn 2 miles per dollar spent on United Airlines purchases, plus 25% back on United in-flight purchases including food, beverages and Wi-Fi.

Take advantage of 2x bonus categories

The bonus categories aren’t limited to United purchases and groceries only. You can also get 2 miles per dollar at gas stations, on local transit and commuting. Maximize your earning potential by using the United Gateway Card to get around at home in addition to booking your United air travel.

Take it internationally

Not only does the United Gateway Card come with no annual fee, but there also are no foreign transaction fees, so you can use it for purchases both at home and abroad. This saves you around 3% on each purchase compared with other cards that charge foreign transaction fees.

Current United cardholder? Enjoy a seamless transition

For those with legacy United MileagePlus credit cards or United℠ TravelBank Cards, Chase and United have tried to create a seamless transition period. Those with retiring cards should already be transitioned to the new United Gateway card. Account numbers, credit lines, interest rates and payment due dates will remain unchanged. Additionally, customers will still have access to their United℠ TravelBank Card accounts in order to redeem TravelBank Cash they’ve earned.

However, all new purchases for those customers will earn United miles instead of TravelBank Cash, which can then be used to book award travel with United Airlines and its partners, just like any other award booking.

The bottom line

The new United Gateway Card from Chase is a straightforward, no-annual-fee travel credit card that allows occasional United customers the ability to earn miles without all the bells and whistles of many other travel credit cards (which often come with hefty annual fees).

During times when travel purchases may come second to necessities like transportation or groceries, this new card offers better earning potential for those who may be traveling less. For former United℠ TravelBank Card customers, it offers a more simplified way to earn and redeem United miles for award travel.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2021, including those best for:

Get more smart money moves – straight to your inbox
Sign up and we’ll send you Nerdy articles about the money topics that matter most to you along with other ways to help you get more from your money.
Sign up