The card_name is United’s premium credit card, complete with lounge access, statement credits, and free checked bags. Whether or not it’s worth the steep $525 annual fee depends on how frequently you travel with United. If it’s a substantial amount of time, then you may get your money’s worth.
United Club℠ Infinite Card
Credit score needed
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Welcome offer
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TIME’s Take
The card_name’s main benefit is its lounge access, which is valued at $650 per year. If you spend a lot of time in the United Club—or wish you could—this card may hold a lot of value for you. However, almost any other scenario doesn’t make financial sense, even with the card’s numerous perks and benefits.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- United Club access
- Two free checked bags for you and a companion
- Statement credit of $100 for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, and NEXUS
Cons:
- Annual fee of $525
- Best redemptions limited to United flights
- Good credit score needed for best odds of approval
Who is the card for?
The most valuable benefits of the card_name are for United travelers. The card offers unlimited access to United Club lounges, two free bags for two travelers each time you fly, and elevated rewards earnings for United purchases. The annual fee is $525, which is hard to justify for people who aren’t traveling frequently with United.
Features
The features and rewards of the card_name can make traveling more comfortable and less expensive. Whether or not they’re worth the hefty annual fee depends on how much you use it.
United Club membership
Perhaps the most compelling reason to get the card_name is for the lounge access. Every time you fly, you have access to the United Club. It’s a comfortable space to rest before your flight, with all the free snacks and drinks you can handle.
Rewards structure
You earn bonus miles on travel and dining purchases made through United. The earnings are as follows:
- 4x miles on all United purchases.
- 2x miles on all other travel, including flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, and other transit services.
- 2x miles on dining purchases.
- 1x miles on all other purchases.
Welcome bonus
The welcome bonus for the card_name is sizable. You can earn 90,000 miles for spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account ownership. This can cover a couple of tickets to a desirable destination, such as Europe or Hawaii.
Free checked bags
You get two free checked bags for both you and a companion as a cardholder of the card_name. This can save you up to $320 on a roundtrip ticket.
Expedited travel services
With the card_name, you receive a $100 credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS once every four years. You also have access to priority check-in, priority boarding, and other special privileges where available.
MileagePlus benefits
The card offers a boost to MileagePlus benefits. Some of these include:
- 25% back on purchases for inflight drinks.
- Up to 8,000 premier qualifying points (PQP), at a rate of 500 PQP for every $12,000 spent on the card.
- Eligibility for complimentary Premier upgrades on certain flights.
- 10% off on United Economy Saver Awards within the continental U.S. and Canada.
The fine print
To start, you’re only eligible for the card_name if you have not received a bonus in the past two years for any other United Club card.
The card’s annual percentage rate (APR) is in line with other credit cards at 21.99% to 28.99% variable, with the penalty APR going up to 29.99%. late_payment_fee and returned payment fees can reach as high as $40, but there are no foreign transaction fees.
The balance transfer fee is 5% or $5 (whichever is higher). This is much higher than the typical balance transfer fee, and there’s no 0% intro_apr_rate,intro_apr_duration offer on balance transfers, making it a bad card for balance transfers.
Additional Hidden Perks
card_name cardholders have a number of benefits beyond the main features of the card. These include:
- IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status. You’ll receive automatic status with IHG Hotels and Resorts with the card_name.
- $75 IHG statement credit. You can receive $75 back on purchases made from IHG hotels on your card.
- Luxury Hotels and Resort Collection. Booking a hotel from the Luxury Hotels and Resort Collection through the card comes with some perks, such as free breakfast for two, free Wi-Fi, and a resort credit.
- Avis President’s Club®. You get a double upgrade on select car classes, guaranteed availability, and expedited service from Avis car rentals.
- Complimentary DashPass membership. You can have your food delivered free with your DashPass from the card_name.
- Cardmember events. You’ll have access to experiences offered by United through the card.
- Travel protections. The card comes with trip cancellation/interruption insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement, emergency evacuation and transportation insurance, travel accident insurance, and emergency assistance services.
- Car rental insurance. If you charge the entire rental on the card and decline the rental company’s auto collision insurance, you may have coverage up to the cash value of the car for theft and collision.
- Purchase and extended warranty protection. The card protects against damage or theft for purchases within 120 days. It also adds a year to the manufacturer’s warranty if the item was purchased on the card.
What could be improved
The card_name has a steep annual fee of $525 that keeps it out of reach for many potential cardholders. You need to be flying quite a bit and using the lounge and free baggage allowance to make the $525 annual fee worth it.
When earning points on a co-branded card such as the card_name, redemptions are somewhat restricted. You can transfer United points, but the redemptions are usually a terrible value. Your best bet is to use United miles on United flights.
Card alternatives
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Bottom line
To justify the $525 annual fee, you should be a frequent United traveler. The lounge access is a nice perk, as are the free bags, priority check-in, and other travel services. The 90,000 bonus points for spending $5,000 in the first three months from account opening can really get your travel redemptions going.
However, if you don’t use the lounge frequently, the card isn’t worth it. It’s possible to earn more rewards from the transferable points systems available on the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve cards.
United Club℠ Infinite Card
Credit score needed
credit_score_needed
Welcome offer
bonus_miles_full
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Does the card_name have lounge access?
Yes. It offers unlimited access to United Club locations and participating Star Alliance lounges across the globe.
How much is the card_name annual fee?
The fee for the card_name is $525.
Which United credit card gives you club access?
There are two credit cards co-branded with United that have lounge access: the card_name, which has unlimited access to United Clubs, and the UnitedSM Explorer, which comes with two annual United Club one-time passes.
Is it hard to get a United Club card?
You must have a good credit score or higher to qualify for the card_name, meaning a FICO score of at least 670. As FICO’s average U.S. score is 718 as of July 2023, this puts the card within reach for a majority of American credit card holders. That said, it may not make financial sense for many of them.
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