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All comparisons
Head-to-head, 2026

Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Chase United Explorer

Annual fee, welcome offer, top earning categories, and key benefits — compared side-by-side using Perqt's catalog data.

Lower annual fee: Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus

Chase

Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus

Annual fee
$99
Network
visa
Welcome value
$650
Min spend
$1,000 / 3mo

Top earning rates

  • 2×Southwest Airlines® purchases, including flights, inflight, and Southwest® gift cards
  • 2×Gas stations and grocery stores
  • 2×Qualifying Lyft products and services purchased through the Lyft mobile application
  • 1×All other purchases

Key benefits

  • Purchase Protection · $500
  • Free first checked bag · $140
  • DoorDash non-restaurant order discount · $10
  • Monthly Instacart credit · $10
  • 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost · $0
Full Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus review

Chase

United Explorer

Annual fee
$150
Network
visa
Welcome value
—
Min spend
$3,000 / 3mo

Top earning rates

  • 9×Eligible United flights
  • 3×All other eligible United® purchases
  • 2×Hotel stays when booked directly with the hotel
  • 2×Dining

Key benefits

  • Free first checked bag · $200
  • Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit · $120
  • $100 JSX Statement Credit · $100
  • $100 United travel credit (Spend Tier) · $100
  • United Hotels credits · $100
Full Chase United Explorer review

Wondering which one is right for your wallet?

Spec sheets can't tell you which card actually earns more for the way you spend. Perqt connects to your wallet, runs the math against your real transactions, and tells you which of these two — or another card entirely — gives you the biggest annual uplift.

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