First, I am sorry if this is answered somewhere else but I tried searching on the forums and did not find the answer I was looking for.

I want to apply for a new credit card so I can get points / miles. I have a few thousand points with United and they seem to always have the flights I need so I decided to book with them. My question is this: do I get their United Explorer Chase card or the Chase Sapphire card?
+ = good for me , - = bad, ~ = neutral

United:
+ 30k miles (easily earned, $1000 spent in 3 months)
+ Free checked bag (25$ every time)
+ 2 united passes (100$ / year)
- 2x miles only on United.com
~ 1x miles on everything else

Sapphire:
- 50k miles (heard to spend $4000 in 3 months)
+ 2x points on ALL food and ALL travel
+ 1:1 transfer to most major programs
+ 20% redemption
- no free checked bag, no lounge access

What do you guys think?
Seems to me perhaps the Chase card is better as I am not locked to only redeem with United (even though I seem to mostly fly with them) and I get a bit more points from eating out and traveling. I will just end up paying for the lounge access when I need it.