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United Club℠ Infinite Card Review

overall rating
2.7

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The United Club℠ Infinite Card offers 4 miles per $1 spent on United purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent on dining, including eligible delivery services and all other travel, and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. Plus, a suite of valuable perks when you fly United or rent a car through Hertz. The annual fee is $525. But if you fly regularly, you can easily justify the fee in terms of ongoing rewards value.

United Club℠ Infinite Card

Overall Rating
2.7
United Club℠ Infinite Card
On Chase's Secured Site.
Current Offer

Earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Recommended Credit
Score Our recommended ranges are based off of the FICO® Score 8 credit-scoring model. Credit score is one of the many factors lenders review in considering your application.
350 579
580 669
670 739
740 799
800 850
Excellent
Regular APR (%) 20.99% - 27.99% variable
Annual Fee $525
Rewards Earning Rate 4 miles per $1 spent on United purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent on dining including eligible delivery services and all other travel, and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases.
Balance Transfer Fee Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee (%) 0%
how this card stacks up
When compared among all rewards cards in our database:
Rewards
Benefits
Low Fees
Security/Customer Experience
Low Interest
worst best

The United Club℠ Infinite Card is not one of our top-rated airline credit cards. You can review our list of the best airline credit cards for what we think are better options.

Full Review of United Club℠ Infinite Card

Pros
  • Valuable rewards program

  • Premium benefits on United

  • Other travel benefits and protections

Cons
  • Restrictive redemption options

  • Missing benefits compared with other premium airline cards

  • High annual fee

Pros Explained

  • Valuable rewards program: According to our research, United MileagePlus miles are worth 1.98 cents apiece on average. This means that your effective rewards rates are roughly 8.76% on United purchases, 4.38% on dining and other travel purchases, and 2.19% on everything else. Few rewards credit cards offer more than 2% back as a base rewards rate. But that's just an average. Unlike general travel rewards programs, the value of United miles varies based on where you're traveling, the fare class you book, the cash price of the ticket, and more. In other words, you may get more or less than the average based on how you redeem your miles. Squeezing the most value out of your miles might require flexibility with your travel plans and time and effort spent researching and comparing different itineraries.
  • Premium benefits on United: This card offers complimentary access to all United Club locations and participating Star Alliance-affiliated lounges worldwide. If you've already paid for a United Club membership, which costs $650 per year, you'll get a refund for the unused portion. You also get preferential treatment from the airline, including Premier Access travel services that entail priority check-in, security screening (where available), boarding, and baggage handling. In addition, your first and second checked bags are free for you and one other person on your reservation. This perk alone can provide savings of up to $320 per round-trip flight.
  • Access to other travel benefits and protections: In addition to United-specific benefits, cardholders enjoy other travel benefits. For example, you get a statement credit of $100 every four years that can go towards a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee. You're also covered by various trip protections, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary rental car insurance, baggage delay insurance.

Cons Explained

  • Restrictive Redemption Options: Like other airline credit cards, the United Club Infinite Card limits your flexibility with rewards redemption. If you want to maximize the value of your MileagePlus miles, your best bet is to use them to book award tickets. It is possible to redeem your United miles for more than just award flights. But you'll likely lose value if you use miles to get flight upgrades, book hotel stays, rental cars and cruises, shop for merchandise or gift cards, or turn your miles into experiences.
  • Missing Benefits Compared with Other Premium Airline Cards: This card is missing some key benefits typical of premium airline cards. For one, it doesn't offer opportunities to earn Premier Qualifying Points or Premier Qualifying Miles, which help you qualify for United's Premier elite status. The Delta SkyMiles Reserve card provides a path toward elite status with their versions of status-qualifying miles and also offers a round-trip companion certificate each year that's good for first, comfort, or main cabin fare class on a domestic flight. The United Club card lacks this benefit, too.
  • High Annual Fee: The United Club Infinite Card charges a $525 annual fee. That's a significant amount to justify unless you are a frequent United flyer, as you would earn 4 miles per $1 spent on United purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent on dining including eligible delivery services and all other travel, and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. But with the United Explorer card, which earns 2 miles per dollar on United purchases and on restaurants and hotels purchased directly with the hotel, you pay no annual fee for the first year, then $95. Both the United Explorer and United Club Infinite cards give cardholders a 25% statement credit on in-flight purchases and provide up to a $100 reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every five years.

This Card is Best For

  • Avatar for Loyalty Status Seeker Persona
    Seeks the recognition and perks of branded travel partner status
    Loyalty Status Seeker
  • Avatar for Frequent Flyer Persona
    Flies often for business or leisure
    Frequent Flyer
  • Avatar for Frequent Diner Persona
    Dines out regularly while traveling or in home city
    Frequent Diner
  • Avatar for International Traveler Persona
    Travels outside of U.S. on occasion or frequently
    International Traveler

The $525 annual fee after the first fee-free year effectively limits the pool of people for whom this card is a good fit. Consumers who frequently fly with United will best be able to justify an annual fee this high.

Between frequent visits to United Club lounges, free checked bags, priority perks, and access to other travel benefits, it's possible to get more value out of the card than it costs.

But if you're not sure you would extract enough value from the benefits to rationalize the annual fee, consider the United Explorer card. Its rewards and benefits include priority boarding, one free checked bag for you and a companion, and a couple of complimentary passes to the United Club lounge every year.

If you really want a premium airline credit card but aren't loyal to any carrier, compare the United Club Infinite Card to the Delta Reserve Card and Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard. Depending on which benefits and features you're looking for, one of those may be better for you.

Rewards Earning Details

This card offers 4 miles per $1 spent on United purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent on dining, including eligible delivery services and all other travel, and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. The bonus earnings opportunities on United purchases are higher than what’s typical for airline credit cards, which is good news for United Airlines' patrons that are looking to scale up their MileagePlus earnings. 

Rewards Redemption Details

United offers several ways to redeem your MileagePlus miles, but if you're looking to maximize the value of your rewards, your best bet is to book flights with United and one of its more than 35 partner airlines.

And remember, there's no set value for the program's currency, so although we calculated an average value of 1.98 cents per mile, you may get more or less than that based on your actual mileage redemption depending on cities of departure and destination.

Other redemption options include:

  • United flight upgrades on cash fares
  • Hotel stays, rental cars, and cruises
  • Apple products or other merchandise
  • E-gift cards or retail gift cards through the MileagePlus X mobile app
  • Tickets for Broadway shows, events, and other experiences

Transferring Miles

You can transfer MileagePlus miles to Marriott Bonvoy points at a 1:1 ratio. But based on our research, Marriott points are worth 1.43 cents apiece, so you'll lose value by making that trade. 

It's not possible to transfer United miles to another airline. But you can use United miles to book flights with one of the airline's many partner airlines, including Star Alliance members, as well as codeshare and connecting partners.

However, instead of booking directly with those airlines, you have to use United's website to search availability and confirm your itinerary.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

Maximizing your rewards with the United Club Infinite Card can be challenging, but it's well worth the effort once you become accustomed to the process.

Remember: the value of your rewards can vary based on different factors. You need to have some flexibility with your travel plans and take time to compare multiple itineraries to make sure you’re getting the best redemption rates.

Average Case

If you're not interested in researching opportunities to maximize rewards, you can just use your rewards to book flights based on your travel plans. The only downside is that you may not get as much value out of your miles when you compare the flight price to the number of miles needed to purchase it.

Aspirational Case

With aspirational redemptions, the goal is to squeeze as much value out of your miles as possible. It can require more legwork, but it's possible to get more than the average value per mile.

To make sure you're always getting good value, use the average value of 1.98 cents per mile as a benchmark. For instance, getting 2.18 cents per mile on an international business-class fare would be a decent redemption, though not remarkable given that such international flights usually deliver more value vs. domestic flights. But if you're only getting just over 1 cents per mile on a domestic trip, you may be better off paying cash and saving your miles for a better opportunity.

As you research different plans, figure out your redemption rate by dividing the cash price of the fare by the number of miles needed to book.

United Club℠ Infinite Card's Outstanding Benefits

  • Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: If your trip is canceled due to an illness, severe weather, or another covered situation, you can get reimbursed for up to $10,000 per person ($20,000 per trip) for non-refundable travel expenses as long as they were paid for with this card.
  • Trip delay reimbursement: If you're traveling on a common carrier and your trip is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family members can get reimbursed for meals, lodging, and other unreimbursed expenses, up to $500 per ticket.
  • Baggage delay insurance: You can get reimbursed up to $100 per day for three days if your luggage is delayed for more than six hours. Covered expenses include essential purchases such as toiletries and clothing.
  • Lost luggage reimbursement: If you or an immediate family member has carry-on or checked baggage lost or damaged by a common carrier, you may be reimbursed up to $3,000 to replace the contents.
  • Luxury hotel benefits: You get special benefits, including room upgrades, complimentary breakfast for two, early check-in, and late check-out when you stay at properties in the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection.

Standard Benefits

  • Travel and emergency assistance services
  • Purchase protection
  • Extended warranty protection
  • Return protection
  • No foreign transaction fees

Cardholder Experience

Chase ranked fourth in J.D. Power's 2021 Credit Card Customer Satisfaction study of national credit card issuers. The bank's overall rating is two points below the industry average.

Chase provides credit score access to cardholders and the general public alike through its Credit Journey program. Many major credit card issuers provide free access to your FICO credit score, which is the score lenders typically use in credit decisions.

Chase provides 24/7 phone customer service at 800-888-8756 or you can send a secure message through your online account. You can also manage your account online or with the Chase mobile app.

Security Features

You can lock and unlock the card through the mobile app, which can come in handy if your card is lost or stolen. This isn't a standard feature of all major credit cards. 

You can also use the United Club card for contactless purchases. With this feature, you tap the card to a contactless-enabled card reader rather than swiping or inserting it. Contactless transactions have the same level of security as your card's chip and mobile wallets like Apple Pay. Contactless capability isn't yet standard for the credit card industry.

Other than this card's high annual fee, its costs aren't out of line with industry standards for travel credit cards. Even with the annual fee, you still may be able to get enough value out of the United Club card to make it worth your while.

Our Verdict

If you're loyal to United Airlines and are a frequent flier, the United Club Infinite Card may be worth the high annual fee. With some effort, the potential value that the United Club Infinite Card offers in benefits and impressive bonus earnings rates on United, dining, and other travel in conjunction with the base rate of 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases can easily justify the $525 annual membership fee. 

But if you're only a casual, infrequent traveler on United, or you're not sure you want to patronize a single airline, consider a less expensive airline credit card like the United Explorer card or perhaps a general travel card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred. They may not provide the same level of travel benefits, but the lower annual fee can make it easier to get the value you want.

Next Steps
For United Club℠ Infinite Card
on Chase's Secured Site.
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CURRENT CARD
United Club℠ Infinite Card
overall rating
2.7
Recommended Credit
Score Our recommended ranges are based off of the FICO® Score 8 credit-scoring model. Credit score is one of the many factors lenders review in considering your application.
350 579
580 669
670 739
740 799
800 850
Excellent
Regular APR (%) 20.99% - 27.99% variable
Annual Fee $525
Rewards Earning Rate 4 miles per $1 spent on United purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent on dining including eligible delivery services and all other travel, and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases.
Investopedia Credit Card Rating Methodology
Investopedia is committed to delivering the best credit card recommendations in the industry. We’ll tell you when a card is good, we’ll tell you when a card is bad, and we’ll only call a card the best if we would recommend it to our friends or family members.
Overall Star Rating Explained
To rate credit cards we objectively assess, score and weight nearly 100 individual card features which roll up into five major feature sets: fees, interest, rewards, benefits and security/customer service. Here’s how we weighted those feature sets for the overall star rating of a card:
We have applied our proprietary rating methodology to every generally-accepted credit card in the U.S. domestic market to allow consumers to make fully informed choices. It’s important to note that for our overall score that we make a number of assumptions about how you would be using your credit card:
  1. While we make no assumption as to whether balances are carried on a given card we do assign varying weights to all credit cards’ introductory APR (if present) in addition to the regular, long term purchase and balance transfer interest rates.
  2. We utilize BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) income and average category spending data to calculate annual earnings rates for rewards cards that offer cash back, points or miles rewards at a set rate on all spending or in consideration of bonus rewards for certain spending categories, like gasoline, groceries, restaurants or travel.
  3. We determine the maximum points value of rewards cards by dividing the points, cash back or miles required to exchange for the retail price of the most valuable redemption option (for example, in the case of a card that offers a domestic roundtrip airline ticket as a redemption option vs. another redemption option of lesser value that requires the same amount of points or miles to acquire, we would base the rewards value on the airline ticket).
  • Cards that are selected best overall in their respective categories generally feature most if not all of the following attributes:
  • Low or Reasonable Fees Credit card fees come in many forms but the primary ones involve those for annual card membership and balance transfer. There are a myriad of reward and non-reward card options that charge no annual fee but for the many that do assess an annual fee the cost is often justified by their lucrative ongoing rewards and initial signup bonuses. Balance transfer fees are occasionally waived during introductory periods with certain cards, a factor which is heavily and positively weighted in our scoring model for cards offering this benefit. When charged, balance transfer fees range between 3% - 5%, which we grade accordingly. Other standard fees can generally be avoided, such as those for paying late or taking cash advances but we rate those relative to other cards in the market for reference, though with less weight assigned
  • Competitive Interest Many cards offer 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for varying lengths and then revert to a permanent or regular APR (based on a variable rate tied to the prime rate) that applies to any balances not paid in full. We rate both introductory APR percentage and length (in months) along with the midpoint of the variable regular APR interest rate range.
  • Valuable Rewards Credit card reward programs can be based on cash back, points or travel rewards (which can be generic or travel partner-specific, as with airline and hotel co-brand card programs). For cards that offer rewards we determine the value per dollar spent along with average redemption values and assign more favorable ratings to cards that offer superior consumer value. We also assign value to sign-up bonus offers and their initial spending requirements, when present.
  • Excellent Benefits Credit card benefits cover a range of offerings like concierge service, TSA Pre-check, auto rental coverage, travel accident insurance, lost luggage assistance and free credit scores. We rate cards on the number and level of over a dozen standard and upscale benefits and provide extra weighting emphasis for those travel-related perks that apply to premium travel cards when present.
  • Solid Security/Customer Service Security and customer service features like lost or stolen card replacement, being able to lock one’s card from an issuer app and 24 hour customer support are becoming more standard across the card market and we provide a significant amount of weighting to features in this area.
  • You can also read the full version of our methodology for a more in-depth look at how we assess cards and award them the best in various categories.