Chase United Explorer: free checked bag
What the Chase United Explorer's free checked bag covers as its issuer summarises it, which cards with dated benefits list the same thing for a lower fee, and whether the card's rewards pay its fee before the benefit is counted.
Read this first
This list comes from each issuer's benefit summary, read on the month shown beside each card. Summaries leave out the exclusions, the claim limits per year and the conditions — often that the whole trip or purchase has to go on the card — so read the card's full guide to benefits before you rely on one. 64 of the 118 cards in the catalogue have no benefits recorded here yet and are left out, so a card missing from this list may still have it.
What the summary says
First checked bag free on United for you and one companion on the same reservation
The summary states no limit for it. That means none was written down, not that there is none — the guide to benefits has the figure.
Read from the issuer's benefit summary 2026-11.
Who it is worth it for
If a free checked bag is the reason you are looking at the Chase United Explorer, the Chase United Gateway lists it too, with no annual fee — $150 a year less. 5 cards here carry it for a lower fee in all. What the difference buys is the rest of the Chase United Explorer: its rewards and the other benefits below. Compare the two summaries before deciding they are the same cover.
On rewards alone, the illustrative household spending $2,205 a month (the assumption, in full) earns about $372 a year on the Chase United Explorer, or $222 once its $150 fee is paid. So the rewards pay the fee before this benefit is counted: for somebody who spends like that household, the benefit comes on top.
Every card here with a free checked bag
| Card | Annual fee | What the summary says | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| none | Two first checked bags on United once you spend $10,000 in a calendar year |
2026-11 | |
| $95 | First checked bag free on Alaska and Hawaiian for you and companions |
2026-09 | |
| $99 | First checked bag free on domestic American itineraries |
2026-09 | |
| $99 | First checked bag free for you and up to eight passengers on the same reservation |
2026-11 | |
| $149 | First checked bag free for you and up to eight passengers on the same reservation |
2026-11 | |
| $150 | First checked bag free on Delta flights for you and companions |
2026-09 | |
Chase United Explorer (this card) |
$150 | First checked bag free on United for you and one companion on the same reservation |
2026-11 |
| $229 | First checked bag free for you and up to eight passengers on the same reservation |
2026-11 | |
| $350 | First checked bag free |
2026-09 | |
| $350 | First and second checked bags free on United for you and one companion on the same reservation |
2026-11 | |
| $650 | First checked bag free and priority boarding |
2026-09 | |
| $695 | First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to eight companions |
2026-11 | |
| $695 | First and second checked bags free on United for you and one companion on the same reservation |
2026-11 |
The Chase United Explorer's other dated benefits
- Rental car — primary cover — up to $60,000 per claim
- Purchase protection — up to $10,000 per claim, 120 days
- Extended warranty
- Trip delay
- Trip cancellation
- Baggage
- Global Entry / TSA PreCheck
- Concierge
Questions people ask
Does the Chase United Explorer come with a free checked bag?
Yes. Its benefit summary, read 2026-11, says: “First checked bag free on United for you and one companion on the same reservation”. The full guide to benefits sets the conditions, so read it before relying on the free checked bag.
Which credit card has a free checked bag for a lower annual fee than the Chase United Explorer?
The Chase United Gateway lists it with no annual fee, $150 a year less. 5 cards with dated benefits carry it for a lower fee in all.
What the Chase United Explorer earns, category by category · Every card with a free checked bag · How the data here is kept