United Club Card Review

If you’re a frequent flyer with United and considering an upgrade to a new credit card, you may want to hear this. 

With the possibility for cool travel upgrades, standard earning rates on all your purchases, and easy redemptions for your reward miles, it’s a good way to stack up the miles and then cash them in for free or discounted travel later on. Sound interesting? Keep reading to learn more.

Who should get this card?

The United Club Card from Chase is a comprehensive travel card for frequent flyers. If you find yourself frequently booking travel with United or one of their affiliate airlines in the Star Alliance network, then this may be the best airline credit card for you. 

The card also comes with a huge variety of travel perks and protections, including membership into United Club airport lounges, up to two free checked bags, and various travel insurance coverage.

If you don’t travel on United or one of their affiliates all that often, this card may not be the best choice for you. Since the card’s maximum earning rate is on United purchases (and because the miles you earn must be redeemed through the airline), this card likely wouldn’t make sense for anyone who flies less than a few times per year or for anyone who prefers to travel with other airlines.

Top card benefits

• Straightforward rewards: It’s easy to earn rewards with this card.
• United Club membership: Enjoy all the perks of United Club membership, including exclusive access to club locations and affiliated lounges all over the globe, plus complimentary beverages and snacks. 
• Free baggage: Save up to $280 per roundtrip on checked bags by receiving two free checked bags per person (for the primary cardmember and one companion) per flight. 
• No foreign transaction fees: Make purchases abroad without worrying about paying any foreign transaction fees.
• Luxury travel perks: Take full advantage of additional travel perks like priority check-in and boarding, plus room upgrades and complimentary daily breakfasts at over 900 luxury hotels and resorts. 
• Travel protections: Frequent fliers will appreciate this card’s numerous travel protection benefits, including trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay insurance, and lost luggage replacement. You’ll also receive trip delay reimbursement (for delayed flights that require overnight stay) and built-in collision and theft insurance for most U.S. car rentals (meaning you can skip paying extra to the rental company).

Earning & redeeming

Best ways to earn

Earning and redeeming miles with your United Club Card is easy. Since the United Club Card offers a standard rate of miles on your everyday purchases, the best way to earn is to simply spend with your card.

The card also offers bonus miles on purchases made with United, so you should plan on using your card whenever booking travel with carrier. Eligible purchases include United tickets, seat upgrades, in-flight purchases such as food or Wifi, and baggage fees. Note that United must the listed merchant to earn these bonus miles — tickets booked with third-party travel sites won’t qualify.

Maximizing your redemptions

The most valuable way to redeem your miles is often to trade them in for free or discounted flights with United or its partners. There’s no one set value for your rewards — how much your United miles are worth depends on your flight route, travel dates, what class you travel in, and other factors.

For example, booking a Basic Economy ticket on United should cost fewer miles than a business-class seat. If you can take advantage of United’s Excursionist perk, you could squeeze even more value from your miles.

You can also redeem your miles for seat upgrades, car rentals, hotel stays, or other purchases through United’s online rewards portal.

Common questions

Other cards to consider

Not sure if the United Club Card is right for you? Consider these credit cards as alternatives.

Chase Sapphire Reserve^®: This card is a great alternative for frequent travelers, and comes with a competitive introductory offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. The Chase Sapphire Reserve also offers a straightforward rewards system, which offers 5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining & 1X points per dollar on all other purchases.

Even better, those points you earn are incredibly flexible. They’re worth 50% when redeemed for travel through Chase, or you can transfer your points directly to United to book award flights directly with the airline.