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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 United ExplorerBigger welcome offer: Chase United Explorer

Chase

Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus

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

Top earning rates

  • 2×Southwest purchases · Southwest Rapid Rewards
  • 2×Hotel and car rental · Southwest Rapid Rewards
  • 2×Transit · Southwest Rapid Rewards
  • 2×Streaming · Southwest Rapid Rewards

Key benefits

  • Free first checked bag · $140
  • Monthly Instacart credit · $10
  • DoorDash non-restaurant order discount · $10
  • 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost · $0
  • No foreign transaction fees · $0
Full Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus review

Chase

United Explorer

Annual fee
$0
Network
visa
Welcome value
$720
Min spend
$3,000 / 3mo

Top earning rates

  • 2×Travel · United MileagePlus
  • 2×Dining · United MileagePlus
  • 2×Hotel · United MileagePlus
  • 1×All_other_purchases · United MileagePlus

Key benefits

  • Free first checked bag · $200
  • Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit · $120
  • $100 United travel credit (Spend Tier) · $100
  • JSX statement credit · $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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