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United Club? Infinite Card Review: Lounge Access and Luxury Perks

United Club? Infinite Card review
Key Takeaways
  • What we think: We understand that the $525 annual fee of the United Club? Infinite Card is a bit high, but if United is your preferred airline and you fly a lot, it’s probably worth it. It comes with free United Club? access, a benefit worth $650/year alone. Pile on its other perks, and that $525 annual fee starts to feel like a great deal.
  • New United Club Infinite cardholders can earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months after account opening.
  • United Club Infinite is geared toward high-spending United loyalists interested in earning and redeeming United-related rewards.
  • Enjoy perks like complimentary United Club access, reimbursed fees for TSA PreCheck?, Global Entry, or NEXUS, travel insurance and baggage fee reimbursement.
SUMMARY

The United Club? Infinite Card is a Chase credit card that focuses on purchases and perks most beneficial to United’s loyal customers. If you barely see an airport once a year and prefer to spend your time dining out or shopping, this card might not be up your alley. However, if you travel often and love everything United, it’s worthwhile to see what’s on tap.

To help you decide if this card is right for you, we’ll take a look at benefits, rewards, potential drawbacks, fees, and how the United Club Infinite card compares to other cards.

United Club? Infinite Card
LEARN MORE
4.4
Annual Fee?
$525
Welcome Offer?
80,000 miles
Regular APR?
21.99% to 28.99% variable
Recommended Credit?
Excellent (740 - 850)
EARNING REWARDS
Earn 4X miles per dollar spent on United? purchases, earn 2X miles per dollar on other travel and dining purchases and earn 1X miles on all other purchases.
Show More Show Less

United Club? Infinite Card: Review

Is the United Club Infinite card worth it?

The United Club? Infinite Card is worth it for frequent flyers who tend to choose United Airlines over any other provider. It may be less interesting for individuals who don’t travel often or who don’t necessarily swear by United Airlines.

In a world filled with credit cards, this United credit card is a standout because of its singular focus on United customers and related rewards. With a hefty helping of bonus miles for new members and other perks geared toward travelers, anyone who flies with United often and likes the VIP treatment (especially lounge access) will likely think the card is well worth the investment.

If you only travel on United a couple of times per year and you aren’t concerned about hanging out in the airline’s lounge pre-flight, the cost of the card and lack of variety in terms of rewards probably means this card isn’t best suited for your needs. If you tend to fly with another airline or are just looking for a less restrictive card, another airline card may be a better option.

United Club? Infinite: Highlights

Who is the United Club Infinite card best for?

The United Club Infinite Card is best for individuals who frequently fly with United Airlines and enjoy the convenience of airport lounge access during their layovers. It would be ideal for the consumer who can also maximize perks like free checked bags, ticket upgrades, and in-flight discounts.

United Club? Infinite Card: Rewards

Welcome offer

New cardholders can earn 80,000 miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months after opening their account. United miles are worth about 1.2 cents apiece, so this offer is worth approximately $960.

??? See more: Best credit card sign-up bonuses

Earning miles

With the United Club Infinite Card, you can earn:

Redeeming miles

The best way to use up your miles is to trade them in for discounted or free flights from United or its Alliance partners. Additionally, United cards are a part of the Chase Pay Yourself Back program, which provides even more redemption options.

You can also redeem miles for:

The miles you earn with this rewards card do not expire as long as the card remains active.

How much are United Miles worth?

United Miles are worth about 1.2 cents apiece, so anything worth less than that is not ideal.

To determine whether you’re getting a good value when redeeming your miles for flights, you can take the cash value of the ticket, subtract the amount of taxes they want to charge you if you’d be paying with miles, and divide that by the number of miles required for the flight.

For example, if it says a ticket costs either $140 or 18,000 miles + $14 in fees, here’s how much that would be worth:
($140 - $14) / 18,000 = .007, or 0.7 cents per mile.
This would not be a good use of your miles, since they’d be worth less than 1.2 cents each.

Now, if that same ticket costs either $140 or 8,000 miles + $14 in fees:
($140 - $14) / 8,000 = .01575, or roughly 1.6 cents per mile.
This would be a very good use of your miles since they’d be worth more than the 1.2-cent standard valuation.

United Club? Infinite Card: Benefits

United benefits

Other travel benefits

?? See our picks: Best credit cards for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck

Travel insurance

??? Learn more: Chase travel insurance

Shopping protection & benefits

United Club? Infinite Card: The fine print

Fees

Interest rates

Credit limit

The minimum credit limit for the United Club Infinite Card is $15,000. Card eligibility and individual-specific credit limits are determined by evaluating your credit history, credit score and debt-to-income ratio.

United Club? Infinite Card: Drawbacks

High annual fee

At $525 per year, the United Club? Infinite’s annual fee can’t and shouldn’t be ignored. It’s not a small price to pay so it takes careful consideration to figure out if it’s worth it. The primary benefit of this card is complimentary United Club lounge access, worth over $600 per year alone. If that can be utilized extensively, this card is easily worth the annual fee. However, if you’re a sporadic traveler, aren’t near United Clubs, or book really short (or no) layovers, this benefit may not be worth much to you. This card still holds a lot of value outside of that, but it’ll be infinitely more difficult to offset the fee if you don’t go to United Clubs.

Even if you like the idea of United Club access, it may still be difficult to justify over $500 per year for a credit card, and we can understand that.

Inflexible rewards

The rewards earned on United Club Infinite are pretty limited in their redemption options. To earn the most miles, you’ll need to book United flights. To get the most value when redeeming miles, you’ll also need to book United flights. If you like to switch up who you fly with or you’d prefer the flexibility of redeeming rewards for things like hotel stays or cash back, this card won’t be the best option for that. You can do that with this card, but your miles will have significantly more value if you redeem them for flights.

??? See our picks: Best travel credit cards

How United Club? Infinite compares

United Club? Infinite Card vs. United? Explorer Card

The United? Explorer Card has a much lower annual fee of just $95 ($0 the first year), but you’ll earn fewer miles per dollar (just two per $1 versus a maximum of 4 per $1 with the Club Infinite card), and you won’t get unlimited access to United’s lounges. You will, however, get 2 free United Club passes per year so if you’re still figuring out whether this benefit is worth it, this could be a good first step into the world of United credit cards.

??? Read more: United Explorer Card Review

United Club? Infinite Card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve?

Both cards offer similar annual fees, competitive reward point systems and perk lists, but Chase offers more flexibility in terms of how you can redeem those points versus United, which limits redemption to United products and offers from a narrow list of partners. Chase Sapphire Reserve? also gives cardholders Priority Pass Select membership, with access to 1,400 airport lounges, restaurants and minisuites in 148 countries. United’s card only delivers United Club access, but that may be preferable if you only fly United and concentrate your travel in the United States.

??? Read more: Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Review

United Club? Infinite Card vs. The Platinum Card? from American Express

The Platinum Card? from American Express carries a sky-high annual fee of $695 (see rates and fees), with another $195 fee per person required if you want to add authorized users to your account. Amex’s welcome bonus offer isn’t as good as United’s, but you can earn up to 5 points per dollar for hotels and airfare purchased through Amex travel. Other eligible purchases earn just 1 point on the dollar, which is lower than you’d get for restaurant or retail purchases with your United Club Infinite Card.

??? Read more: Amex Platinum Card Review

Should you get the United Club? Infinite Card?

If you:

Then yes, the United Club? Infinite Card seems like it would make a worthy addition to your lineup of credit cards.

If you’re not loyal to United, won’t be traveling to airports with a United Club, or aren’t willing to pay over $500 per year for a credit card, then you may want to keep looking.

? ? ? ? ?

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card? from American Express, please visit this page.

FAQ: United Club? Infinite Card

Is the United Club Infinite Card worth it?

The United Club Infinite Card is worth it if you fly United frequently and want to concentrate the vast majority of your rewards on travel and travel-related point redemptions.

Is it hard to get the United Club Infinite Card?

It’s not difficult to get the United Club Infinite Card as long as you have a good-to-excellent credit score and a low debt-to-income ratio.

What credit score do you need for the United Club Infinite Card?

There is no concrete credit score required for acceptance as a United Club Infinite cardholder, but it’s recommended that you have a FICO score of at least 670 points before you apply. A higher score of 740+ greatly increases your chances of approval.

What is the credit limit for the United Club Infinite Card?

Credit limits for this United card start at $15,000 and will be determined based on your credit score and debt-to-income ratio.

Do you get priority boarding with the United Club Infinite Card?

United Club Infinite cardholders get priority boarding as well as priority TSA screening (where available) and priority luggage handling.

Does the United Club Infinite Card get you Premier status?

You do not automatically get Premier status with your United Club Infinite Card, but cardholders can earn PQP points faster than other United customers at a rate of 25 PQP for every $500 in eligible on-card spending, with a max of 10,000 PQP per year.

Chase is more than just a credit card issuer

The first step in growing and maintaining consistent savings is to understand your personal finances through checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and more.

If you want to save and grow your money, consider the following Chase products:

About the Author

Alana Luna (Musselman)
Alana Luna (Musselman) Writer & Content Strategist

Alana Luna (Musselman) is a versatile storyteller with over a decade of writing experience. She is passionate about helping people build their business through unique and engaging content.

Some examples of her current freelance projects include building content strategies for small businesses, completing industry research to build case studies, crafting buyer guides and more.

She has a passion and keen ability to simplify complex ideas through storytelling to make it easier for readers to understand hard-to-digest information. To accomplish this, Alana’s writing holds strong three principles – content that educates, engages and entertains.

* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.

All products or services are presented in this content without warranty. The information, including card details such as rates and fees, is accurate at the time of publish. Please visit each bank's website directly for the most current information.

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