United Club Infinite Review: $695 Fee May Still Lure Lounge Lovers
The Bottom Line
4.5
If you consider lounge access a must-have, frequently fly United and use the card’s various credits, then this card's jumbo annual fee can be a relative bargain. Occasional travelers should look elsewhere, maybe even to a different United card.
Annual fee
$695
Rewards rate
1x-4x
Bonus offer
Debut Offer: Earn 95,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 20.49%-28.99% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 29.24%, Variable
Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
$0
- 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
Pros and Cons
Pros
High rewards rate
Lounge membership
New cardholder bonus offer
Free checked bag
Cons
High annual fee
Rewards have limited flexibility
Requires excellent credit
Detailed Review
For frequent flyers on United Airlines who enjoy escaping the hubbub and congestion of the airport terminal, The New United Club℠ Card allows access to the carrier’s exclusive lounges.
The card also provides accelerated rewards on United purchases and some nice perks.
But that premium experience comes at a premium cost annually: $695.
The card is chock-full of features and perks, many of which come in the form of credits toward purchases with specific merchants. Ultimately, the decision comes down to whether you want unlimited United Club access, something no other credit card can provide — and whether you’re okay managing a “coupon book” of benefits.
On March 24, 2025, all of Chase’s United consumer and business credit cards were revamped with new benefits. Most of the cards’ annual fees increased, too. Read more about the changes here.
The New United Club℠ Card: Basics
Card type: Airline.
Annual fee: $695.
Sign-up bonus: Debut Offer: Earn 95,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Ongoing rewards:
5 miles per dollar on stays purchased through Renowned Hotels and Resorts.
4 miles per dollar spent on United purchases.
2 miles per dollar spent on all other travel.
2 miles per dollar spent on dining.
1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.
NerdWallet values United miles at 1.2 cents each. This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data on hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1.2 cents or more in value from your United miles.
Interest rate: The ongoing APR is 20.49%-28.99% Variable APR.
Foreign transaction fee: None.
Perks:
United Club membership.
First and second checked bags free for you and a companion on your reservation.
Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS fee credit.
25% off in-flight purchases.
Premier Access travel services (see below).
Up to 20,000 miles in award flight discounts per year.
More than $800 in annual credits toward purchases with specific merchants, including ridesharing services, car rentals with Avis or Budget, charter flights with JSX and Instacart grocery delivery. Terms apply.
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Lounge membership
A regular membership to United Club airport lounges generally costs $750 a year. So if you’re planning to join anyway, it’s a no-brainer to get the credit card instead and save money.
Membership offers access to more than 45 United Club locations, as well as to airport clubs of participating partners in the Star Alliance airline group. One-time passes to United Club lounges cost $59. So, based on lounge visits alone, you’ll need to enter the club about 12 times to break even on the credit card’s annual fee.
In the lounges, many of which have been renovated in recent years, you’ll generally find bar service, light snacks, free Wi-Fi, and usually quieter and more comfortable surroundings than an airport gate.
United Club members can bring one adult and dependent children under age 21, or up to two adult guests, according to membership rules. Authorized users on a card account do not receive their own United Club membership and are eligible for access only if they are traveling with the primary cardmember.
If you spend $50,000 in a calendar year, you’ll get Premium United Club membership, which includes the ability to bring two adult guests into lounges and access to Star Alliance lounges. If you add an authorized user to your card account, you’ll also get four one-time United Club passes per year.
Sign-up bonus
Sign-up bonuses can change, but frequent-flyer miles you can earn as a new cardholder are usually enough for one, or even several, round-trip domestic flights in economy if you figure such flights cost 25,000 miles each. The current offer: Debut Offer: Earn 95,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Rewards
The 4 miles per dollar spent on United purchases is especially good for an airline card and will help you rack up miles as you buy airfare, for example. The double miles on non-United travel purchases and restaurant spending is good because the bonus categories are useful to travelers. And the definition of travel is nice and broad: airfare (non-United), trains, local transit, cruise lines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, resorts, rideshare services and tolls.
Spending on the card can also help you earn elite status. For every $15 you spend on the card, you'll receive 1 PQP (up to 28,000 PQP per year).
Extra free bags and premier access
You and a companion traveling on your reservation can each get your first two checked bags free. The first bag typically costs $40; the second, $50. So depending on how often you travel, this perk could go a long way to covering the card's annual fee.
The top-tier United Airlines card also gives you and your companions on the same reservation more than priority boarding. It comes with Premier Access, a type of elite status that includes priority airport check-in, security screening (where available), boarding and baggage handling.
Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS credit
This statement credit for TSA Precheck, Global Entry or NEXUS is worth up to $120 every four years and can be used to cover your application fees for these programs. All statuses last for five years.
Additional credits
The New United Club℠ Card offers a sizable list of annual credits for purchases with select merchants:
Up to $200 in credits on Renowned Hotels and Resorts.
Up to $150 in credits on ridesharing services.
Up to $100 in United travel credits on car rentals with Avis or Budget.
Up to $200 in credits on charter flight bookings with JSX.
Up to $240 in Instacart credits, plus a free Instacart+ membership.
Other perks
The card includes numerous other benefits, such as 25% off on-board purchases when you pay with the card, primary rental car coverage, perks at some hotels and resorts, and additional benefits at Avis rental cars.
As a Visa Infinite card, it also comes with perks offered by the Visa network.
MORE NERDY PERSPECTIVE
 | If you're a frequent United flyer, this card is a fantastic choice, since it gets you into United Clubs (for cheaper than the cost of an annual Club membership), even if you don't have status. A lot of people complain about not being able to use one-time passes due to overcrowding at United Clubs. However, that doesn't apply if you have the United Club Infinite Card, and you can walk right in. Benjamin Din, writer, travel rewards |
Drawbacks and Considerations
A high annual fee
The most obvious drawback is the card’s annual fee of $695. However, the fee is on par with other premium cards, including airline cards that offer airport lounge access.
United Club membership is the primary selling point of The New United Club℠ Card. If you don't consider it important to park yourself in the lounge on every trip, take a look at this card's more basic sibling, The New United℠ Explorer Card. It gives you two one-time United Club passes each year, along with a free checked bag for you and a companion, for an ongoing annual fee that's far lower: $0 intro for the first year, then $150. The sign-up bonus: Debut Offer: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
For the difference in annual fee, you can buy eight additional one-time passes to the lounge for a total of 10 per year.
Maximizing the credits with participating merchants can help chip away at the annual fee if you were going to spend that money on those services anyway. But if you weren’t going to charter a plane and prefer to grocery shop in person, these “coupon book” benefits simply encourage you to spend a lot to save a little.
Limitations on free checked bags
The primary card member and one traveling companion on the same reservation are each eligible to receive their first two checked bags free. Two checked bags each is nice and might suffice for many trips, but many other airlines offer a free checked bag for far more travel companions. For example, American Airlines’ comparable card, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, offers a free checked bag for the cardholder plus eight companions, potentially worth $720 round trip. And Delta Air Lines' lower-tier card, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, also offers free checked bags for a total of nine travel partners (terms apply — see rates and fees).
Less flexibility
If you mix your flying with other airlines, a general travel card might be a better fit. For those looking for premium perks, good choices include the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and The Platinum Card® from American Express.
For a lower annual fee in a general travel card, check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
How the United cards stack up
For United loyalists, the other choices among consumer cards are The New United Quest℠ Card, The New United℠ Explorer Card and The New United Gateway℠ Card, which offer lesser rewards and perks without the big fee and without unlimited airport lounge access.
Here’s how the United Airlines consumer cards compare on key features:
The New United Gateway℠ Card | The New United℠ Explorer Card | The New United Quest℠ Card | The New United Club℠ Card |
ANNUAL FEE | |||
$0. | $0 intro for the first year, then $150. | $350. | $695. |
BONUS OFFER FOR NEW CARDHOLDERS | |||
Debut Offer: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. | Debut Offer: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. | Debut Offer: Earn 90,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. | Debut Offer: Earn 95,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. |
FREE CHECKED BAGS | |||
Two free checked bags after spending $10,000 per year. | First checked bag free for you and one companion on your reservation. | First and second checked bags free for you and one companion on your reservation. | First and second checked bags free for you and one companion on your reservation. |
REWARDS ON SPENDING WITH UNITED AIRLINES | |||
2 miles per $1. | 2 miles per $1. | 3 miles per $1. | 4 miles per $1. |
REWARDS ON OTHER SPENDING | |||
• 2 miles per $1 at gas stations. • 2 miles per $1 on local transit and commuting. • 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. | • 5 miles per $1 on hotel stays purchased through United Hotels. • 2 miles per $1 at restaurants. • 2 miles per $1 on hotels (when booked directly with the hotel). • 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. | • 5 miles per $1 on stays purchased through Renowned Hotels and Resorts • 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel (including other airlines, hotels, car rentals and more). • 2 miles per $1 on dining (including takeout and delivery). • 2 miles per $1 on select streaming services. • 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. | • 5 miles per $1 on stays purchased through Renowned Hotels and Resorts. • 2 miles per $1 on all other travel. • 2 miles per $1 on dining. • 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. |
AIRPORT LOUNGE ACCESS | |||
None. | 2 United Club one-time passes each year. | None. | Annual membership to all United Club locations. |
CREDIT FOR TSA PRECHECK, GLOBAL ENTRY OR NEXUS | |||
None. | Up to $120 every four years. | Up to $120 every four years. | Up to $120 every four years. |
How To Decide If It's Right For You
Frequent flyers on United Airlines have one overriding reason to get The New United Club℠ Card: United Club airport lounge access. It’s an easy decision to forgo the stand-alone club membership, which is more expensive, and instead get the card, which carries the same benefits. You’ll also get some enhanced perks over the lower-fee United co-branded card and nice bonus categories for reward miles. If United isn’t your go-to airline, a general travel card — some of which have premium features and similar fees — might suit you better.
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.
Less-frequent United travelers should consider this option, which gives you a pair of one-time passes to the United Club each year plus a free checked bag for you and a traveling companion. You earn 2 miles per dollar on tickets purchased from United and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. There's a nice sign-up offer, too. Annual fee: $0 intro for the first year, then $150.
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Methodology
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About the author
Gregory Karp
Senior Writer
