United Club Infinite Review: $695 Fee May Still Lure Lounge Lovers

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.

» MORE: 6 things to know about United lounges

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

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

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: Earn 60,000 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: