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United Club Business Card: A Costly Key to Unlock United Airport Lounges
Get unlimited access to United's airport lounges, along with free checked bags, travel credits and more — for a price.
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Our Take
4.9
NerdWallet rating
The bottom line:
This card has new perks and a new, higher annual fee as of March 2025. It may still be worth it if you're a frequent flyer on United and visit United Club lounges at least once a month. Otherwise, a general business travel card or the less-expensive United Business card is a better value.
Earn 125,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
United Club℠ membership - up to a $750 value per year. Enjoy access to United Club locations worldwide.
7x total miles on United flights – 5x miles on fare from United as a MileagePlus member, plus 2x miles on entire United purchase with the United Club℠ Business Card. Premier® members earn even more.
5x miles on hotel stays at Renowned Hotels and Resorts for United® Cardmembers when you prepay directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts using your United Club℠ Business Card.*
2x miles on all other eligible United purchases.
1.5x miles on all other purchases.
Free first and second checked bags on United flights. Save up to $360 per roundtrip.
Information related to the United Club℠ Business Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.
Pros & Cons
Pros
High rewards rate
Lounge membership
New cardholder bonus offer
Free checked bag
Cons
High annual fee
Rewards have limited flexibility
Does not include automatic elite status
Full Review
Chase revamped the
United Club℠ Business Card
in March 2025, adding a slew of benefits and travel credits. But those perks come with a hefty new annual fee:
$695
. That's more expensive than other business airline cards, and a big jump from the previous annual fee of $450.
Do the added perks justify the higher cost? Perhaps if you're a die-hard United flyer. You still get full United Club℠ lounge membership and the opportunity to earn a bigger stash of Premier® qualifying points. Those are worth a lot on their own.
But much of the "added" value is tied up in credits: on certain rental cars, on rideshare, on select hotels, and on Instacart purchases. And you still won't get reimbursed for TSA Precheck, Global Entry or CLEAR, something other cards at this price point offer.
, which also got an upgrade recently. You still get a host of perks, including travel credits and seat upgrades (terms apply), but for a much smaller annual fee (
$150
). While you sacrifice United Club membership, you do get two United Club passes each year. See our side-by-side comparison of the two cards below.
is another luxury travel option, but it doesn't tie you to a specific airline. You'll also get access to more lounges — 1,400+, including Centurion Lounges — and credits for trusted traveler programs (including CLEAR). Its main drawback is a measly rewards rate for a premium card. You only earn 1 points per $1 on most spending, whereas the
United Club℠ Business Card
earns 2 miles per $1 spent on United purchases and 1.5 miles per $1 on all other purchases. Terms apply.
Earn 125,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
🎉 Rewards: 2 miles per $1 spent on United purchases and 1.5 miles per $1 on all other purchases.
💸 Miles value: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.
📈 APR:
The ongoing APR is 20.49%–28.99%, Variable APR
.
📍 Minimum credit limit: $15,000.
💷 Foreign transaction fee: None.
🎆 Other benefits:
Access to United Clubs and participating Star Alliance-affiliated lounges worldwide.
Free first and second checked bags on United flights.
Premier Access travel services (priority check-in, security screening where available, boarding and baggage handling).
25% back on United in-flight purchases.
Statement credits for rideshare, JSX jet service and select hotels and rental cars. Terms apply.
Complimentary Instacart+ Membership and up to $240 in Instacart credits annually.
Primary rental car insurance.
Travel protections, such as trip cancellation or interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance and lost luggage reimbursement.
Consumer protections, such as purchase protection, price protection, return protection and extended warranty.
Lounge access is a must if you spend significant time in airports. And the
United Club℠ Business Card
includes unlimited United Club lounge access for you and one guest. That total bumps to two if you spend at least $50,000 annually or reach Gold Status.
Membership also counts for participating lounges affiliated with United’s worldwide partners in the Star Alliance. Altogether, that's nearly 1,100 lounges.
Take advantage of that perk at least a dozen times a year and you'll recoup the card's
$695
annual fee. (Individual visits cost $59.) But keep in mind that simply buying an annual United Club membership is $650. That’s now less than this card’s new fee. So make sure the other benefits put its value over the top for you.
Chase added a handful of new annual credits to the
United Club℠ Business Card
in March 2025, including:
Up to $150 in credits on rideshare purchases.
Up to $100 in United travel credits on Avis or Budget car purchases.
Up to $200 in credits for Renowned Hotels and Resorts.
Complimentary Instacart+ Membership and up to $240 in Instacart Credits.
Terms apply.
You'll also get priority check-in, security screening (where available), boarding and baggage handling.
Two free checked bags
On United flights, you’ll get two free checked bags each for you and a traveling partner on the same reservation. One checked bag typically costs $35 and another checked bag for the same passenger is usually an additional $45. If both travelers check two bags, that’s a potential savings of up to $320 per roundtrip.
Primary auto rental collision damage waiver
You can decline the car rental company's collision insurance and instead charge the rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary when renting for business purposes and provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most cars in the U.S. and abroad. Most rental-car insurance from credit cards is secondary, meaning your auto insurance pays first, and you probably pay a deductible. With this card’s primary insurance, the card issuer pays first.
Drawbacks and alternatives
Expensive annual fee
Chase recently increased the annual fee for the
United Club℠ Business Card
from $450 to
$695
, making it one of the most expensive business credit cards to carry. The newly added benefits won't justify the annual cost for many businesses.
If you love United but only occasionally use United Club lounges, consider
) and includes the ability to earn a $125 United travel credit annually and two Economy Plus® seat upgrades each year (in the continental U.S.). It also has annual statement credits for select hotels, rental cars and rideshare purchases. Terms apply.
Here's how the cards compare:
The New United℠ Business Card
United Club℠ Business Card
Annual fee
$150
$695
.
United Club access
Two one-time passes per year.
Unlimited.
Sign-up bonus
Debut Offer: Earn 125,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Earn 125,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Rewards
2x miles on purchases from United.
2x miles on dining, gas stations and office supply stores.
2x miles on local transit and commuting.
1x mile on all other purchases.
2 miles per $1 spent on United purchases.
1.5 miles per $1 spend on all other purchases.
Checked bags
Free first checked bag.
Free first and second checked bags.
Perks
Can earn annual travel credit.
Complimentary seat upgrade (up to two each year).
Statement credits for select hotels, rental car, rideshare and JSX jet service.
Complimentary Instacart+ Membership for three months and up to $120 in Instacart credits annually.
Priority boarding.
Terms apply.
Statement credits for rideshare, JSX jet service and select hotels and rental cars.
Complimentary Instacart+ Membership and up to $240 in Instacart credits annually.
Priority check-in, security screening (where available), boarding and baggage handling.
Terms apply.
Another top-notch option for easy lounge access is the
. Its perks include lounge access, an annual travel credit, bonus points each card anniversary and a statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
The annual fee is
$395
(see rates and fees), which is a bargain compared with the
United Club℠ Business Card
. One thing to keep in mind: The
Capital One Venture X Business
is a pay-in-full charge card, so you can't carry a balance.
Limited reward redemption options
General travel business credit cards — the kind that don’t have an airline name on them — let you redeem rewards for a variety of different travel expenses. With the
United Club℠ Business Card
, your best redemption options are award flights and seat upgrades on United and its Star Alliance partners.
If you don't fly exclusively with United, a general travel card could work better. A great luxury option is
NerdWallet's business credit card experts compared the
United Club℠ Business Card
to other airline business cards, evaluating how the card's rewards, perks, fees and features stack up to its peers. We also surveyed Chase, the card's issuer, gathering information about employee cards, spending controls, credit limits and how often cardholders are considered for a credit limit increase.