Frequent flyers have a lot of great choices when it comes to United Airlines credit cards. The New United℠ Explorer Card is a solid option for folks who want elite-style perks without a large annual fee, for instance. However, United and its issuer partner, Chase, offer a premium credit card — the The New United Club℠ Card — that might just be the best option of all.
$695
N/A
20.49% - 28.99% Variable
Earn 95,000 bonus miles
Excellent
- Great intro bonus offer
- If you want United Club membership, this card gets you it for less than buying it outright
- Get two free checked bags on United
- Earns 4 miles per dollar on United® purchases
- Steep annual fee, especially for an airline credit card
- The non-United bonus categories (travel and dining) only earn 2 miles per dollar
While a few of the best travel credit cards are great for United flyers, the United Club℠ Infinite Card is the most high-end of the bunch. Not only does it offer a full United Club airport lounge membership, but it can also help you rack up the miles for free trips quickly through everyday spending.
- Debut Offer: Earn 95,000 bonus miles
- 4x miles on United® purchases
- 2x miles on dining and all other travel
- 1x mile on all other purchases
- United Club℠ membership - at least a $750 value
- Free first and second checked bags - a savings of up to $360 per roundtrip (terms apply) - and Premier Access® travel services
- Earn a 10,000-mile award flight discount after $20,000 in purchases - up to two times each calendar year
- Member FDIC
United Club Infinite Card Overview
One of the The New United Club℠ Card's true standout benefits is a United Club airport lounge membership. Cardholders and up to two guests or immediate family get access to all United Club locations plus participating Star Alliance lounges worldwide. If you frequently travel through airports with these lounges, this perk can save you a lot of money and make your travel experience much more comfortable.
Plus, the United Club Card is offering a welcome bonus of 95,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
If you check bags with United, this card offers other big savings. The primary cardholder and up to one companion on the same reservation can get their first and second checked bags free on United flights — worth up to $360 round-trip if both passengers each check two bags.
It earns a whopping 4 miles per dollar on United purchases, including not only tickets, but also extras like Economy Plus seat assignments, inflight food, beverages, and Wi-Fi, and other charges like if you need to check extra bags. That's higher than almost any other airline credit card earns on its own co-branded carrier, and can boost your mileage balance into the stratosphere if you purchase a lot of United fares.
Aside from the airline bonus, the United Club Card earns 2 miles per dollar on a broad range of travel purchases, meaning you could use it for everything from hotel bookings and car rentals to train tickets and rideshares. It also earns 2 miles per dollar on dining, including eligible food delivery services like GrubHub, Seamless, and DoorDash, and 1 mile per dollar on everything else.
The United Club Card's current welcome bonus offer and other benefits like complimentary IHG Rewards hotel elite status, free checked bags, and a discount on saver award flights make it worth considering if you fly United often. Just keep in mind it charges a $695 annual fee, so it's only worth it if you can maximize its benefits.
United Club Infinite Card Rewards
Welcome bonus offer
The card currently offers a welcome bonus of 95,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Based on Personal Finance Insider's points and miles valuations, the redeemable miles from this bonus are worth around $1,235 in travel.
How to earn miles with the United Club Infinite card
The The New United Club℠ Card has an excellent earning rate on eligible United purchases, but you'll also earn bonus miles on a broad range of other expenses. Cardholders earn:
- 4 miles per dollar on eligible United purchases (including airline tickets purchased from United, United seat upgrades, Economy Plus, inflight food, beverages, and Wi-Fi, baggage service charges, other United fees, and United Card Events from Chase)
- 2 miles per dollar on travel (including airfare, trains, local transit, cruise lines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, resorts, rideshare services, and tolls)
- 2 miles per dollar on dining (including eligible delivery services)
- 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases
How to use miles from the United Club Infinite Card
You can redeem United miles for flights on United and its Star Alliance partners, like Lufthansa, Air Canada, and Singapore Airlines. United also partners with a handful of airlines outside of major alliances, including Aer Lingus and Hawaiian Airlines.
Because United no longer has an award chart, the number of miles required for a flight varies based on demand, paid ticket price, and season. Most recently, United raised award prices to Europe by up to 33% on its own flights and on partners, but other redemptions haven't seen the same increase.
One-way domestic economy award tickets start at 5,000 miles, but can go up to over 30,000 miles. You can find saver business or first-class awards within the US for as few as 25,000 miles. From the US to other regions, prices start at around 32,500 miles in economy and circa 60,000 miles in business class.
United also offers a redemption option called "Money + Miles." Similar to Delta's Pay With Miles, it's currently available on select United flights, and allows you to pay for part of your fare with cash and the rest with miles, at a fixed rate of 1 cent per mile.
That's a lower rate than our average United miles value, but this can be handy if you don't have enough miles for an award ticket but want to reduce your out-of-pocket costs.
If you're not ready to travel right now, there's no rush to spend your miles because United miles don't expire. There are other redemption options, but you'll typically get a much lower value:
- Seat upgrades
- United Club memberships
- Inflight Wi-Fi passes
- TSA PreCheck® application fees
- Merchandise
- Gift cards
- Experiences
- Hotels and cruises
- Charitable donations
United Infinite Card Benefits
Any airline credit card you're considering should include a host of travel perks to make the flying experience that much better and, in some cases, cheaper. The United Club Card is no exception, with a slew of elite-like benefits.
United Club airport lounge access
While many travel credit cards offer airport lounge access, it usually comes with a lot of conditions. If you're actually a frequent United flyer, though, and can use the airline's own lounges when traveling, the perk offered by the United Club Card is this card's biggest selling point.
That's because, instead of just access to clubs, this card confers full United Club membership. This means the primary cardmember can enter United Clubs along with up to two adult guests, or one other adult and any children under the age of 21. They can also get into many of the airline's Star Alliance partner airlines' lounges around the world.
Just remember that a United Club membership does not get you into the airline's swanky Polaris Lounges. For that, you'll need a same-day boarding pass for travel in United Polaris or business class on another Star Alliance member airline on a long-haul international flight.
United Club membership costs $750 for non-cardholders.
Free first and second checked bag
The primary cardholder and one companion traveling on the same reservation will each receive their first and second checked bag on United flights for free when they use the card to pay for their ticket (or taxes and fees on an award ticket). That's worth up to $80 per person each way, because United charges $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the next.
Premier access
Along with United elites, United Club Card members can take advantage of priority check-in, security screening, boarding, and baggage handling when flying United.
Inflight discounts
Need to purchase a snack on board or catch up on some work emails? Cardholders receive 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi aboard United-operated flights when they use their card to pay.
Premier upgrades
If you have this card and are also a United MileagePlus Premier elite member, you're eligible for complimentary upgrades for yourself and one companion on the same reservation on United flights, even when traveling on an award ticket.
Saver award discounts
A relatively new benefit of the United Club Card is a discount on economy saver award flights within the continental US and Canada. Primary cardholders pay 10% fewer miles, and you should see the discount when you're signed in to your United account online and search for an eligible award.
Expanded award availability
As with United's other co-branded cards, United Club Card members have access to expanded award availability not available to non-cardholders, which should make booking those mileage tickets a little easier.
IHG Rewards elite status and statement credits
United Club Card cardholders are eligible for complimentary IHG Rewards Club Platinum status, which includes perks like room upgrades (where available), late checkout, complimentary internet, a welcome gift, bonus points, free drinks in some hotels, and more.
CLEAR membership discount
The primary cardholder can receive a $40 discount on CLEAR® Plus membership (normally $199 per year). CLEAR® Plus is an expedited security program that allows you to skip security screenings at select US airports (and a few sports stadiums). Instead of showing your ID and or documents, CLEAR® Plus uses your biometrics, like face and eyes, to confirm your identity and allow you to go directly to secondary screening.
Application fee credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS
Like many other premium rewards cards, this one will reimburse you for a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fee once every four years, which should help you speed through security, customs, and immigration that much faster.
Primary rental car insurance
Only a handful of travel rewards credit cards, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, extend primary insurance on car rentals.
With the United Club Card, you can decline the agency's usually expensive coverage. You won't have to deal with your own personal insurance if your rental car is damaged or stolen. Just note that it doesn't cover medical expenses, but pertains to the car itself.
Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
This card covers you if your trip is canceled or cut short for a covered reason and will reimburse you for pre-paid non-refundable expenses up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip. Using a credit card with travel insurance to book your trip can be a lifesaver if things go awry during your travels.
Trip delay coverage
If your common carrier (like an airline or cruise ship) is delayed by more than 12 hours or requires you to stay somewhere overnight, the card's trip delay insurance can cover up to $500 per ticket for expenses such as lodging or meals.
Baggage delay insurance
If your bag is delayed by more than six hours, you can expect up to $100 per day for up to three days to purchase necessities like clothing and toiletries.
Lost luggage reimbursement
If your bag (or your immediate family member's) is lost altogether, you can claim up to $3,000 per covered passenger.
Emergency evacuation insurance
This card covers up to $100,000 for you, your spouse or domestic partner, and your legally dependent children for emergency evacuation and related emergency medical services.
Purchase protection
If an item you purchase with your card is damaged or stolen within 120 days, Chase's purchase protection will consider claims of up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year.
Return protection
If a merchant won't take back an item you bought, meanwhile, you could be eligible for reimbursement of up to $500 per item and $1,000 per year within 90 days of purchase.
Extended warranty
When you use the United Club Card to pay, it extends the US original manufacturer's warranty on eligible items by a year, on warranties of three years or less.
Avis President's Club
Cardholders can activate complimentary Avis President's Club elite status, which comes with perks like complimentary two-car class upgrades, guaranteed car availability, and expedited rental service.
Visa Infinite concierge
The Visa Infinite concierge can help you coordinate things like hard-to-get tickets to theater and sporting events or restaurant reservations. The service itself is free, but any third-party costs are your responsibility.
Chase Luxury Hotel and Resort collection
United Club Card cardholders can book through the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection. These are upscale hotels that offer elite-like perks when you book through the program, like complimentary breakfast, unique benefits or credits specific to each property, room upgrades, and other extras like early check-in and late checkout (when available).
Be sure to compare the rates and perks you'll get when you book through the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection to reserving with the hotel directly. Sometimes Chase rates are more expensive, and the benefits don't always outweigh the higher cost.
Complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership
With the United Club Card, you can activate a year of complimentary DashPass membership, a service that can save you money when you order food for delivery or pickup through DoorDash. With DashPass, you'll get waived delivery fees and reduced service fees on orders of $12 or more.
Pickup orders are also eligible for 5% back in DoorDash credit. Normally, a subscription costs $9.99 per month, and DoorDash says the average DashPass user saves about $5 per order, so this can translate into significant savings if you use the service regularly. Activation of this benefit is required by December 31, 2024.
United Club Infinite Card Annual Fee and Other Costs
The United Club Card has an annual fee of $695. As we discussed above, it can be worth the annual fee if you use the United Club membership and other United benefits. There are no foreign transaction fees.
The key to avoiding other fees with this card – as with all other cards — is to pay your balance in full each month so you don't rack up interest. If you do need to carry a balance, there's a 20.49% - 28.99% Variable APR, and you'll start accruing interest immediately if you don't pay your balance in full each month. If you prefer a card with an introductory APR period you may want one of the best 0% APR credit cards.
Like most other cards, this card charges other fees in certain situations, including:
- Balance transfer fees
- Cash advance fees
- Late payment fees
- Returned payment fees
United Club Infinite Card Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is the United Club Infinite Club worth it?
The United Club Card can be worth it if you can take advantage of the card's many benefits to offset the steep annual fee. It's best suited to frequent United flyers who can make the most of United Club airport lounge access, free checked bags, priority boarding, and other travel perks.
Who is eligible for the United Club Infinite card?
The United Club Card is only available to folks who do not currently have a United Club card, and have not received a new cardmember bonus for any other United Club card in the last 24 months. This card is also subject to Chase's 5/24 rule — if you've opened five or more cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months, you aren't eligible.
What credit score do you need for the United Club Infinite card?
Because it's a premium card, you'll need an excellent credit score to be approved for the United Club Card. This means a FICO score of at least 800.
When do you get United Club membership with the United Club Infinite card?
Your United Club membership will activate within about two weeks of opening a new United Club Card. Chase says to expect your United Club membership card to arrive in the mail about six weeks after the account open date.
Methodology: How we reviewed the United Club Infinite Card
Personal Finance Insider's credit cards team evaluated the United Club Card in comparison to other United credit cards and competing premium cards from other airlines. We looked at numerous factors, including:
- Ease of use — Does the card have straightforward bonus categories and benefits that are easy to use? Are there any hoops to jump through or complex rules to navigate?
- Earning potential — Does the welcome bonus offer a value that matches or exceeds those of competing cards? Are there ongoing opportunities to earn lots of rewards?
- Benefits — Do the benefits save cardholders money or make their travel experience more comfortable, and do they justify the annual fee?
- Annual fee — When a card has a high annual fee, we look at whether its benefits and rewards make it worthwhile, especially in comparison to similar cards.
For more details on how we review cards, read about how we rate credit cards at Personal Finance Insider.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please click here.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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