Card economics
United Club Card
Annual fee
$695/yr
Foreign transaction fee
None
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Welcome offers change frequently — check the issuer's page for the current offer.
Earn rates
Points or cash back earned per dollar spent. 'x' means points multiplier, '%' means cash back percentage. Portal-only rates require booking through the issuer's travel portal.| Category | Rate |
|---|---|
| United Renowned Hotels & Resorts | 5xPortal only |
| Other United Purchases | 5x |
| United Airfare | 5x |
| Dining | 2x |
| Flights outside issuer portals | 2x |
| Hotels outside issuer portals | 2x |
| Other travel outside issuer portals | 2x |
| Travel - Car Rentals / Agencies / Cruises | 2x |
| Transit | 2x |
| Travel - Vacation Homes | 2x |
| Everything else | 1xBase rate |
Benefits not in the math
Perks whose value depends on how you travel — lounges, free bags, status. The optimizer counts them only when a Premium perk-value profile assigns them a dollar value, once per wallet; with no profile they are worth $0 in every figure.Airport lounge access
United Club membership: unlimited United Club lounge access for the cardholder plus 1 guest. Star Alliance lounge access and a second guest require United Club All Access, unlocked after $50,000 in net purchases per calendar year or Premier Gold+ status.
Issuer sourceFree checked bags
First and second standard checked bags free for the cardholder and one companion on the same reservation.
Issuer sourceCounted at $0 unless you assign a value in a Premium perk-value profile.
Fee calculator
The effective fee is the annual fee minus credits you'll actually use. A $550 card with $400 in usable credits has an effective fee of $150. Adjust credit values based on how much you'll realistically use.Sticker Fee
$695/yr
Credits
-$120
Effective FeeWhat you actually pay after subtracting credits you use. This is the real cost of holding the card — the number that matters for optimization.
$575
Credits & Benefits
Adjust each credit's value based on how much you'll realistically use. 'Easy' credits are straightforward to use (dining, streaming). 'Conditional' credits may require specific merchants or booking methods.Max: $30/yr · counted per year; renews every 4 years
Up to $120 every 4 years for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS (~$30/yr effective).
Max: $200/yr · annual
Up to $200/year on prepaid Renowned Hotels & Resorts bookings via United Hotels. Merchant-gated.
Max: $150/yr · annual
Up to $150/year in rideshare statement credits. Enrollment required.
Max: $100/yr · annual
Up to $100/year on Avis or Budget car rentals booked direct. Merchant-gated.
Max: $240/yr ($20/mo) · monthly
Up to $20/month in Instacart statement credits. Requires an active Instacart+ membership (complimentary through 12/31/27) and Instacart purchases. Benefits end 12/31/27.
Max: $200/yr · annual
Up to $200/year on JSX semi-private flights. Merchant-gated.
Adds this card to your current wallet and keeps your spending. Premium uses your edited credit values; Free uses conservative defaults. The optimizer may recommend a different wallet.
Catalog record last reviewed Oct 11, 2026; see the Corrections page for later changes. Issuer terms and available offers control and may change.
Next step
One card is a start. The modeled setup is the whole wallet.
The United Club Card might be useful on its own, but the modeled combination depends on your total spending. The optimizer searches eligible portfolios and clearly labels whether the result was proven optimal within that run's inputs or is the strongest valid setup found before timeout.