The United℠ Explorer Card comes with a decent welcome bonus and loads of travel-centric perks. If you've recently taken the plunge and applied for the United℠ Explorer Card, here are some suggestions on what to do next.

1. Hit the minimum spending requirement

As a new United℠ Explorer Card holder, you can take advantage of the sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

This is an acceptable bonus with a relatively low spending requirement. Make sure you're using the card for every United purchase (more on that later) and larger purchases until you hit the mark.

The welcome bonus becomes more exciting when you consider that the United℠ Explorer Card's annual fee is $0 intro for the first year, then $95.

2. Rack up the miles

The United℠ Explorer Card's earning structure is fairly basic: You earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining, direct hotel bookings and United purchases, including airfare, seat upgrades and in-flight entertainment. You earn 1 mile per $1 spent on everything else. That's all there is to it.

If you're looking to get the best value from the miles you stockpile, we suggest using them on a trip abroad. According to NerdWallet's valuations, United miles are worth an average of 1.2 cents each. This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data on hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value.

In other words, aim for award redemptions that offer 1.2 cents or more in value from your United miles. Typically, you may find stronger redemptions when using your miles on international award tickets.