United Club Infinite Card review: You get what you pay for, and then some

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Our take: The United Club℠ Infinite Card is ideal for those seeking to fast-track their way past United’s velvet rope with lounge access and a path to elite airline status via spending.

United Club℠ Infinite Card

Intro bonus

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

Annual fee	$525
Regular APR	21.99%–28.99% variable

United Club℠ Infinite Card Overview

Card type: Airline

The United Club Infinite is ideal for those seeking a luxury United experience and willing to shell out the $525 annual fee. In exchange for that sum you’ll get access to the ultra-exclusive United Club lounges for you and up to two guests, as well as international access to participating Star Alliance lounges—plus, the card allows you to enjoy free first and second checked bags for you and a companion.

You also get Premier Access where available to whisk you through check-in, security screening, boarding and handling your luggage, and a personal assistant to tell you how great you look during the entire experience. OK, so that last part may be hyperbole to emphasize the luxury provided by the United Club Infinite, but if this card could magically grant you a fawning sidekick, it probably would. 

Importantly for lounge-seekers, the annual cost of holding the United Club Infinite card is less than what it costs to have a United Club membership, which will run you $600 to $650 unless you hold top-tier Premier 1K status with the airline. One thing to note: Even with this card’s included Club membership, you won’t get access to any of the six United Polaris lounges. The only way to gain entry into one of those is to have a United Polaris business class ticket, or a business or first class ticket on a Star Alliance flight. 

Those seeking even more perks will be happy to know you can spend your way to elite status with the United Club Infinite card, as it offers the ability to earn up to 10,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) per calendar year—which will help you climb the airline’s status ladder. You earn 25 PQPs for every $500 you spend on the card. Status with United includes mileage boosts, access to early boarding and flight upgrade eligibility.

This card is more than just a pathway to a high-falutin United-centric lifestyle. The United Club Infinite card earns respectable rewards on United spending and also offers elevated rewards on nearly every type of travel expense you can think of—including flights on other airlines. Plus, it comes with a rich slate of travel insurances and shopping-related protections, and other elite benefits including top-tier Avis rental car status and IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status (each of which come with their own perks too).

In other words, if $525 per year seems like a pittance in exchange for the bounty of elite benefits this card offers, the United Club Infinite card will fit you like a bespoke white glove.

Who is the United Club℠ Infinite Card good for? 

The United Club Infinite is ideal for someone seeking an elevated experience when they fly on United or Star Alliance flights or someone looking to spend (a lot) to gain elite status with the airline.

Who shouldn’t get the United Club Infinite Card? 

If United Club airport lounge access isn’t important to you, this card won’t be worth the cost of ownership. 

United Club℠ Infinite Card: How to earn rewards

The United Club Infinite card earns miles in United’s MileagePlus program at the following rates:

• 4 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases, including tickets, Economy Plus, in-flight food, beverages and Wi-Fi, and other United charges.
• 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel purchases, including airfare, trains, local transit, cruise lines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, resorts, rideshare services and tolls.
• 2 miles per $1 spent on all dining including eligible delivery services.
• 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.

The card also comes with a welcome bonus of 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

How to redeem United Club℠ Infinite Card rewards 

The United Club Infinite earns United MileagePlus miles, which can be redeemed in several ways.

Use miles to book United and partner airline award flights

The most valuable use of your miles is typically redeeming them for flights. United Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance airline group, which means you can use your MileagePlus miles to book flights on any of the 26 alliance members to over 1,200 destinations worldwide. Award flights on both United and partner airlines are dynamic, meaning the price and number of miles required for bookings will rise and fall based on factors such as seasonality and demand.

United also offers Saver Award and Everyday Award fares on some flights. Saver Awards are economy flights offered at the lowest mileage requirement available on an award flight. Everyday Award fares are often more available but, in comparison to Saver Awards, require more miles.

Although Saver Awards are available on some flights to all MileagePlus members, owning a co-branded United credit card—which includes the United Club Infinite—or having Premier elite status will show “hidden” Saver award availability on some routes that other MileagePlus members cannot access. 

Another perk of the United Club Infinite card is that cardholders get an additional 10% off the Saver Award economy fare rate. So if there’s a Saver Award fare listed for 10,000 miles, United Club Infinite cardholders will have to redeem just 9,000 miles. For frequent United travelers, this card can help you really make the most of your miles if you’re willing to keep an eye out for Saver Award deals.

Let’s examine how wielding this card as you redeem your MileagePlus miles could potentially help you get to where you want to go for fewer miles. For example, here’s a one-way flight from Newark to Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2024:

As you can see, the flight typically costs 18,100 miles, but a select number of Saver Award seats are available in economy on the 2 p.m. flight for 15,000 miles. However, United Club Infinite cardholders would only have to redeem 13,500 miles with the 10% Saver Award discount perk.

The cash price for those same regular economy flights is $185 each plus taxes and fees. This would make the miles used to buy that Saver economy seat worth nearly 1.4 cents each. 

If you had your eye on a more premium experience, consider that the 2 p.m. flight in this example has a business class seat for 80,000 miles plus taxes and fees and a cash price of $1,334. This would make your miles worth roughly 1.7 cents per point if that extra comfort is worth the higher total cost to you.

You can book flights using just your miles or a combination of miles and cash. However, using just miles typically yields the best value. 

Ultimately, the best redemption will be different for everyone, but as a rule of thumb, it’s smart to aim to get more than a penny per point in value from your miles.

Other redemption options

United MileagePlus miles can also be redeemed to book travel including hotels, rental cars and cruises through the United site, used to upgrade or pay for seat assignments, prepay for checked bags, cover the TSA PreCheck application fee or renewal fee, pay for a United Club membership, or put toward in-flight dining, in-flight WiFi or a meal at select restaurants and bars at Newark Airport (EWR) and Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

However, most of these options typically are less valuable than redeeming your miles for flights. For example, let’s consider that it takes 11,000 miles to cover the $78 TSA PreCheck application fee, which gives you a value of about 0.7 cents per mile. 

One exception: You can also use your miles to pay yourself back for the card’s annual fee or for flights paid for with the card. Miles will generally be worth between 1 cent and 1.5 cents when used to reimburse yourself for flights and 1.75 cents when used to reimburse yourself for the annual fee. This last option is particularly valuable when you consider the welcome bonus is enough to negate the cost of the card’s annual fee in the first year and you’ll still have miles left over.

United Club℠ Infinite Card rates and fees

• Annual fee: $525.
• Foreign transaction fee: None.
• Purchase APR: 21.99%–28.99% variable.

Additional benefits

• Trusted traveler credit: Get up to a $100 reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS every four years.
• Premier Access travel services: Get priority airport services where available including check-in, security screening, boarding, and expedited baggage handling.
• Avis President’s Club: The primary cardmember is eligible for top-tier elite status with the car rental company, which means upgrades, guaranteed car availability, and expedited rental service, among other perks. 
• IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status: IHG’s second-highest elite status tier grants perks including complimentary upgrades when available, a welcome amenity at check-in of breakfast, points or a drink and snack, discounted award nights and a bonus rate of 100% on points. Plus, you’ll get an $75 IHG resort credit on bookings.
• Primary auto rental coverage: Decline the rental company’s coverage at the counter and charge the entire rental to your card and receive primary auto rental coverage up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for eligible rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: If your trip is cut short or canceled by a covered situation you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses such as passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
• Baggage delay and lost luggage coverage: For baggage delays over six hours by passenger carrier, get reimbursed up to $100 a day for three days. For check-in or carry-on luggage that is damaged or lost by the carrier, you’re covered for up to $3,000 per passenger.
• Trip delay reimbursement: If your common carrier is delayed by more than 12 hours for a covered reason, you and your family are covered up to $500 per ticket for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging.
• Purchase, extended warranty, and return protections: Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year and also extends eligible manufacturer’s warranties by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less. You can also be reimbursed for eligible items that the store won’t take back within 90 days of purchase, up to $500 per item, $1,000 per year.

Credit cards similar to the United Club℠ Infinite Card

When it comes to high-end travel cards, it’s all about the benefits and perks and less about the rewards-earning potential. Let’s see how the United Club Infinite card compares to two premium airline and travel card options.

United Club℠ Infinite Card	Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®	The Platinum Card® from American Express
Annual fee	Annual fee	Annual fee
$525	$595	$695
Lounge access	Lounge access	Lounge access
Yes, United Club and Star Alliance lounges.	Yes, Admirals Club® membership and partner lounge access for the primary cardmember.	Yes, more than 1,400 lounges worldwide are included with the American Express Global Lounge Collection.
Welcome bonus	Welcome bonus	Welcome bonus
80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.	70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening	80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $8,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of card membership
Rewards	Rewards	Rewards
4 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel purchases (including airfare, trains, local transit, cruise lines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, resorts, rideshare services, and tolls) and dining, 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.	10X miles on hotels and car rentals booked through AAdvantage, 4X miles on American Airlines purchases (increases to 5X after you’ve spent $150,000 in purchases in a calendar year), 1X miles on other spending.	5x Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), 5x Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, 1X points on other purchases.
Free checked bag	Free checked bag	Free checked bag
Yes.	Yes.	No, but you can pick an eligible airline and apply a credit for incidentals up to $200, including checked bag fees.
	Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard Review	Amex Platinum Review

To view rates and fees of the The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page 

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® vs. United Club℠ Infinite Card

If you’re looking to earn high-end benefits from an airline credit card, arguably the first consideration should be if that airline serves your home airport. If American Airlines is an option for you, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is a worthy competitor to United’s premium option. 

Just like the United Club Infinite card, card ownership of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard includes both a steep annual fee—in this case $595—and also lounge access, with this card offering access to American Airlines’ Admirals Club. That latter could cost you $850 without the card. 

The AAdvantage Executive World Elite card offers a similar slew of upscale perks and benefits including expedited check-in and screenings at the airport, several travel protection benefits, your first checked bag free on American Airlines domestic itineraries, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement and the ability to spend your way via the card towards elite status.

Both cards give you a chance to be an airport big shot so the choice between these two cards will come down to if you prefer to fly United and/or Star Alliance partners or American and/or Oneworld partner airlines. 

The Platinum Card® from American Express vs. United Club℠ Infinite Card

If exclusive airport lounge access is the main attraction in owning the United Club Infinite Card, the The Platinum Card® from American Express may hold appeal. Unlike the United Club Infinite card which only grants access to United Club lounges, the $695-annual-fee Amex Platinum gives you entry to the Global Lounge collection—which includes Centurion lounges, Escape lounges, Delta Sky Club, Lufthansa Lounge, Plaza Premium Lounges, and Priority Pass Select lounges. 

Access to over 1,400 lounges with the Amex Platinum means that it’s likely wherever you fly, you’ll be able to find an airport lounge you’re eligible for.

There’s no special treatment at the airport or checked bag perk with the Amex Platinum but it does come with an annual $200 airline incidental fee credit, which you can use on checked bag fees, and application fee reimbursements for both Global Entry/TSA PreCheck and CLEAR memberships which will expedite standing in various security lines at the airport.

If you can fly exclusively on United or partner flights, the United Club Infinite Card is tailored to you. But if you aren’t loyal to a particular airline, the Amex Platinum makes more sense for most people seeking a card that provides a luxe airport experience.

To view rates and fees of the The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page 

Is the United Club℠ Infinite Card right for you?

The United Club Infinite Card is right for you if you love United and want to elevate your experience flying with them, from airport arrival to departure.

Frequently asked questions

Does the United Club℠ Infinite Card have lounge access?

It sure does. Owning the card is one of the only ways to gain access to the United Club lounge network without shelling out up to $650 for an annual membership or paying $59 per person for a day pass.

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

Although there’s no exact credit score that will guarantee you’ll be approved for this (or any other) card, as a premium rewards card it’s likely you’ll need at least good credit for the United Club Infinite, which FICO defines as starting at 670 and higher. In addition to your credit score, issuers typically consider a number of factors including your income and any outstanding debt.

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

In the terms and conditions for the United Club Infinite Card it states that, if approved for the card, the minimum credit limit will be $15,000.

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