United Infinite Card Review
By John Ta - January 25, 2024
This card provides a wealth of benefits for United frequent flyers and could be worth considering for some individuals, despite its hefty annual fee.
The United Club℠ Infinite Card is the most premium credit card that is offered by United/Chase, with a hefty $525 annual fee. However, the card comes loaded with awesome benefits that will be explored in detail.
Welcome Offer: 90,000 Miles
This card currently has welcome offer of 90,000 United MileagePlus miles after spending $5,000 within the first three months.
You can see what you can with 90,000 Miles on Roame by searching for some flights. United miles are useful to have when booking award travel, and it can never hurt to have more.
Who Can Get The United Club Infinite Welcome Offer?
Individuals who have had this exact card or received a new cardmember bonus on said card in the last 24 months are not eligible. Though, if you’ve had any other United Airlines credit card, you are eligible for this card and its welcome bonus. Please always double check these background requirements when applying for cards to make sure you don’t miss out on these awesome sign up bonuses!
United Club Infinite Card Earn Structure
This card offers strong earnings on United purchases, but not as good on other categories:
- 4x miles per $1 spent on United purchases
- 2x miles per $1 spent on all other travel purchases (see terms & conditions for more info on exact categories)
- 2x miles per $1 spent on dining, including eligible delivery services
- 1x miles per $1 spent on all other purchases
Ideally, you would use this card for United purchases, but I would use the likes of the American Express® Gold Card for dining (4x at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.) or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for other travel (3x).
Get A Complimentary United Club Membership
One of the key benefits of this card is that it comes with a complimentary United Club membership (as long as you have the card actively open). The United Club membership gives you access to more than 45 United Club locations worldwide, which can you can access before departure and after arriving, as long as you have a same-day boarding pass for travel on a Star Alliance flight. You even get to bring two adult guests or one adult guest and dependent children under the age of 21 (excellent for families).
Notably, buying the membership outright doesn’t really make sense economically when you have the option to get this credit card. Below you can see United’s pricing for the annual United Club membership, which remains pricier than the United Infinite Card even for Premier 1K® members!
Photo from the SFO United Club Lounge (LoungeBuddy)
Notably, buying the membership outright doesn’t really make sense economically when you have the option to get this credit card. Below you can see United’s pricing for the annual United Club membership, which remains pricier than the United Infinite Card even for Premier 1K® members!
Free Checked Bags
When paying for your United Airlines flight using your United Club Infinite Card, the primary cardholder and one other companion traveling on the same reservation will get a free first and second checked bag.
Some codeshare partner-operated flights may not be eligible for this benefit. Notable, cardholders who are already exempt from other checked baggage charges do not get an additional 2 free checked bags with this card. This is simply for the first and second checked bag—not third, etc.
Priority Benefits When Flying With United
The primary cardholder gets access to Premier Access® benefits: priority boarding, check-ins, boarding, and baggage handling. These ancillary services help make the overall flying experience with United ever so much better.
These benefits are also extended to companions traveling on the same reservation.
Upgrading Award Tickets
Normally, MileagePlus® Premier® members only get complimentary upgrades on revenue tickets. However, cardholders and up to one companion traveling on the same award reservation are eligible for upgrades on that flight. This is an incredibly powerful benefit, as it further unlocks the value of your points for both you and a companion.
Earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQP)
For individuals interested in chasing United status, this card could prove tremendously helpful. Cardholders can earn up to 10,000 PQPs every calendar year, with 25 PQPs rewarded for every $500 spent on this card.
While this introduces another way to earn United Status via credit cards, its PQP earn rate pales in comparison to that of American or Delta, which are far more rewarding for credit card spend.
10% Saver Award Discount
One unique benefit of this card that makes it standout is the ability for the primary cardholder to book Economy Saver Awards (fare classes X or XN) within the continental US or between the continental US + Canada with 10% fewer miles. For loyal United flyers, this benefit can be tremendous, providing significant savings. Notably, there is no cap on the amount of points you can save with this.
Combining this with the fact that you can get complimentary award upgrades can really help make the most of your miles.
Expanded Award Inventory
Cardholders also get access to more United award availability. This can help with securing more saver level awards.
This expanded award availability is displayed as “special member pricing” when viewing for flights on United’s website.
Complimentary IHG Platinum Elite Status + Up to $75 IHG Credit
The primary cardholder will automatically receive IHG Platinum Elite status after registering for the benefit at this link. This status offers perks like complimentary upgrades, late check-out, premium wifi, etc. but is generally offered by many other credit cards. While it’s not an incredibly useful status, it’s certainly better than nothing and will help many with maximizing their stays at IHG chain hotels.
Furthermore, cardholders can get up to $75 in statement credits for purchases made at IHG properties using the Infinite card. Purchases need to be made and posted to the account within the calendar year, meaning if IHG does not post a transaction until after 2023, the statement credit will only be applied for 2024.
Food from the Intercontinental ANA, courtesy of IHG Diamond Status & Lounge Access Pass
Expanded Award Inventory
The primary cardmember can get access to complimentary Avis President’s Club status, which is the car rental company’s max tier status. You must enroll in this benefit to receive it. Avis President’s Club members get the following key benefits:
- Priority service
- Free weekend voucher once per year after completing third car rental
- Single car upgrades (for car group A to E)
- In the US, members can enjoy a free two car class upgrade when reserving a midsize car or above
- Guaranteeed car availability (booked at least 48 hours in advance for car group A to E)
Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, NEXUS Application Fee Statement Credit
This card also provides one statement credit (up to $120) every four years when using the card to complete either the Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application. Many credit cards offer this benefit nowadays, so it is not necessarily a significant perk that provides a lot of value towards this card.
Is The United Club Infinite Card Worth It?
This card offers a lot of awesome perks for travel on United Airlines. For individuals who fly frequently on United, there may be a strong case to pursuing this card.
- The most obvious use case: if you frequent airports with a lot of United lounges and spend a lot of money at airports for food & drink, then this might be a strong card to consider
- For folks without United status: this card gives the first + second checked bag free, provides Premier Access priority travel benefits, United lounge access, discounted economy saver awards, expanded award availability, IHG Platinum Status (and up to $75 in credit), Avis Presidents Circle status, etc.
- For folks with United status: this card gives you United lounge access, discounted economy saver awards, expanded award availability, IHG Platinum Status (and up to $75 in credit), Avis Presidents Circle status, etc
Depending on your flight frequency with United, the math could work out. For someone like me who doesn’t frequent United, this card makes no sense for me. However, for folks frequently flying out of United hubs like SFO, IAH, EWR, ORD, etc. this card could make a lot of sense to get.
