United Club℠ Card — Full Review [2023]

Name: United Club℠ Card — Full Review [2023]
Item: United Club℠ Card
Rating: 4
Author: Alex Miller

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"A premier card for a premier experience with United!"

Alex Miller

- Updated: May 10, 2023, 6:02am CDT|

1Comment

The information regarding the United Club℠ Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

The United Club℠ Card is no longer available but Chase released the United Club℠ Infinite Card for those looking for a card for United loyalists.

Do you regularly fly with United Airlines for work? What about their Star Alliance partners? Would you like to hang out in the airline lounge before getting on your flight?

If this sounds like you, the United Club℠ Card from Chase might be just the ticket to improving your travel experience.

United Club Card — Snapshot

Welcome Bonus & Info (Partner Content)
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in your first 3 months
- United Club^SM membership (worth up to $550 annually)
- First and second checked bags are free when you use your Card to purchase your ticket
- Enjoy Premier Access® with priority check-in, security screening (where available), boarding, and baggage handling privileges
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased from United
- Earn 1.5 miles per $1 spent on all other purchases
- DoorDash DashPass subscription
- No foreign transaction fees
- $450 annual fee
Information for the United Club card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Card Categories:
- Credit Card Reviews
- Best Airline Credit Cards
Rewards Center
United MileagePlus Frequent Flyer Program

Great Card If

You fly with United regularly and want Premier Access benefits as well as free checked bags
United Clubs and Star Alliance business class lounges would improve your travel experience
Extra economy award space and no close-in booking fees could make your award bookings easier

Don't Get If

You rarely travel on United or their Star Alliance partners
Earning points is more of a priority than travel benefits such as Premier Access, free checked bags, and priority boarding

United Club Card — Fees

Foreign Transaction Fees
$0
Interest Rates
- 16.99% - 23.99% Variable
Balance Transfers
- 16.99% - 23.99% Variable
Cash Advance APR
- 25.99% Variable

The Ideal Cardholder

Sign-Up Bonus, Earning Categories, and Points

When you sign up for the United Club card, you could have the opportunity to earn a big chunk of United miles thanks to a sign-up bonus. To earn the bonus, you’ll have to meet a minimum spend requirement within a designated time frame.

Check out the summary table above to get the most up to date details on the sign-up bonus.

To continue earnings United miles, you can use this card on your purchases with United Airlines and earn 2X miles per dollar spent. Unlike many other co-branded airline cards, you can actually earn more than 1X mile per dollar spent on all other purchases: the United Club card allows you to earn 1.5X miles per dollar spent.

This is a premium credit card, and the annual fee matches what you would expect at $450.

Bottom Line: The United Club card from Chase earns 2X miles per dollar with United Airlines and 1.5X miles per dollar on other purchases and comes with a $450 annual fee.

United Club Card Benefits

If you don’t have elite status with United, just holding the United Club card can give you several of the benefits that are often only available to elite status flyers.

As a cardholder, you and a companion are eligible for 2 free checked bags on flights operated by United Airlines. This can save you a ton of money if you fly with United regularly. Your bags will also receive priority handling.

Keep in mind, you must book the flight with your United Club card and your companion must be on the same reservation as you.

Priority baggage handling isn’t the only Premier Access perk you will receive though. You will also enjoy priority check-in, which can be vital when you’re running late and need to check a bag. Plus, you’ll get priority boarding privileges to ensure you have overhead compartment space for your carry-on bag.

One final Premier Access perk is priority security screening. This benefit is not available at all airports, but where it is available you can jump the line.

All of these benefits will help you travel as if you had elite status with United.

For those who book economy class award tickets, you’ll love the fact that you will also receive access to extra economy award space. Additionally, the $75 close-in booking fee will be waived regardless of class of service thanks to this card.

Like many Chase cards, you will also receive a number of travel and purchase protection benefits.

The United Club card also comes with no foreign transaction fees, so you can use the card while abroad without any worries of extra fees tacked on to charges.

Bottom Line: The United Club card gives you the perks of elite status and access to business class lounges around the world.

United Miles and Elite Status

United, like other major U.S. carriers, awards redeemable miles based on the price of your cash tickets. Without status, you will earn 5X miles per dollar spent on the base fare of your United tickets.

If you hold elite status with United Airlines, you will earn even more miles:

Premier Silver – 7X miles per dollar
Premier Gold – 8X miles per dollar
Premier Platinum – 9X miles per dollar
Premier 1K – 11X miles per dollar

When paying with the United Club card, you will earn an additional 2X miles per dollar spent on top of that.

As long as you keep the card open, the MileagePlus miles you earn won’t expire.

Luxury Travel Benefits of the Card

One amazing perk that even elite status members don’t get is United Club lounge access. Just by being a cardholder, you will receive a full membership to United Clubs. Even top-level elite status members don’t get this perk!

Just think about this: a United Club membership costs $550 unless you maintain Premier 1K elite status ($450 if you do so). This means most people will pay less for the annual fee, but it comes with tons of other benefits.

To take things to the next level, you’ll also receive access to Star Alliance business class lounges whenever you fly with United Airlines or one of their Star Alliance partners. This means you could be flying Turkish Airlines out of Istanbul, Turkey and have access to the famous Turkish business class lounge while waiting for your flight.

As a cardholder, you will also have access to the Luxury Hotel & Resorts Collection. When you book through this program and use your United Club card to pay, you’ll receive a number of benefits including:

Early check-in and late checkout (when available)
Breakfast for 2 (daily)
Special property benefit
Upgrades (when available)
Complimentary Wi-Fi

So, not only can you have a better flying experience, you can have a better hotel experience too.

You will also receive elite status at World of Hyatt and Hertz. At World of Hyatt, your status level will be bumped up to the Discoverist level, which can provide access to:

Late checkout (upon request)
Premium Wi-Fi
Room Upgrades (when available)

With Hertz, you can enroll as a member of the Hertz President’s Circle, which can get you upgrades and access to increased availability of rental cars.

Best Way to Maximize United Miles

To earn the most United miles possible, you’ll want to incorporate earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points into your strategy. This will allow you to earn the maximum number of United miles as possible.

Tip #1: Use a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points when making a purchase in one of the relevant bonus categories.

This could mean using the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card when dining out or on a number of travel purchases, the Chase Freedom® card at the quarterly bonus category that earns 5X points per dollar spent, or the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card to earn 3X points per dollar on a number of categories including travel, advertising, internet, cable, and more.

Tip #2: Use the United Club card to earn 1.5X United miles per dollar on purchases that don’t fall under a bonus category of one of the Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards.

Tip #3: Attach either the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card to the United dining program so you’ll earn 2X or 3X points per dollar spent (respectively) plus United miles from the dining program.

Tip #4: Earn bonus United miles when renting a car through one of United’s partners. Keep an eye out for promotions that will earn you even more United miles through car rentals.

Tip #5: Use the United MileagePlus shopping portal whenever possible so you can earn more United miles when shopping online. Keep an eye out for holiday promotions that provide opportunities to earn even more miles.

Tip #6: Take advantage of partners of the MileagePlus X app on your iPhone or Android device.

Tip #7: If you aren’t concerned with hotel status perks or earning hotel points, you can earn United miles through several hotel partners:

Marriott
Hilton
IHG
Hyatt
Club Carlson
Wyndham
Choice
Golden Circle

You can also book through Rocketmiles to earn United miles.

Best Way to Redeem United Miles

There are tons of ways to redeem United miles, but whenever you do so, make sure you are getting a great of value out of them.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your United miles:

Tip #1: Redeem United miles for international business class or first class flights.

Tip #2: If you don’t have enough miles for that (or you would prefer to take more flights with the miles you have), consider using your United miles on international economy class flights on routes that have expensive cash tickets.

Tip #3: If you have a work trip booked on United or a Star Alliance, depending on the fare class of your cash ticket, it might be worth upgrading to business class or first class with United miles.

Upgrading this way will not require you to use any more cash for the ticket. Keep in mind that upgrades are only available for a select few fare classes

Tip #4: Do not redeem your United miles for car rentals, hotels, or any kind of merchandise. These redemptions provide absolutely terrible values.

As a member of Star Alliance, United Airlines has a ton of airline partners. In fact, they have individual airline partnerships that extend their reach even further.

United Airline Partners

Star Alliance:

Aegean Airlines
Adria Airways
Air Canada
Air India
Air China
Air New Zealand
ANA
Asiana Airlines
Austrian Airlines
Avianca
Brussels Airlines
Copa Airlines
Croatia Airlines
Egyptair
EVA Air
Ethiopian Airlines
LOT Polish Airlines
Lufthansa
Scandinavian Airlines
Shenzhen Airlines
Singapore Airlines
South African Airways
Swiss Air
TAP Portugal
THAI
Turkish Airlines

Other Airline Partners:

Aer Lingus
Aeromar
AirDolomiti
Azul
Cape Air
Edelweiss
Eurowings
Great Lakes Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
Island Air
Silver Airways
Jet Airways

Other Travel Partners

United Cruise and Vacation Partners
Hotel Partners: Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Radisson, Hyatt, Choice, Wyndham, and Golden Circle; plus Rocketmiles booking
Car Rental Partners: Dollar, Hertz, and Thrifty rental agencies. Ground transportation includes SuperShuttle, GroundLink, Carmel, ExecuCar, and Bandwagon. (more car partner info)

Non-Travel Partners

Alternatives to the United Club Card

While the United Club card comes packed with perks if you’re flying with United Airlines, the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card might be better if you’re only looking to earn tons of points.

These cards earn 3X and 2X points per dollar spent, respectively, on travel and dining purchases…which are 2 of the most commonly used categories for those who like to travel. The travel category includes hotels, train tickets, Uber, Lyft, and taxis.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ Card also comes with a Priority Pass Select membership to provide lounge access around the world. However, there are a number of airports in the United States that have United Clubs but not Priority Pass lounges. This can make the United Club card quite useful.

If you don’t expect to have more than $300 in checked bag fees, they can be offset by the travel credit provided by the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ Card. However, regular United flyers might get more use out of the free checked bags from the United Club card.

When you consider that both the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card and the United Club card each have high annual fees, make sure you compare all the details of each card to make the best decision for you.

If you are less concerned about these perks, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can earn more points on travel and dining purchases and the annual fee is only $95.

Both the Sapphire Preferred Card and the Sapphire Reserve Card earn Ultimate Rewards points, which are transferable to several airline and hotel partners.

Frequently asked questions

What is the annual fee on the United Club card?

The annual fee is $450.

About Alex Miller

Alex has been traveling for over 25 years and from a young age was lucky enough to set out on numerous family trips all over the world, which gave him the travel bug. Alex has since earned tens of millions of travel points and miles, mainly through maximizing every opportunity to earn the most points possible on each dollar spent.

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