United Club Infinite vs United Presidential Plus

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Key Issue For Legacy United Presidential Plus Holders

The reason why we are comparing the United Presidential Plus to the new United Club Infinite card is because legacy holders of this card are constantly facing this issue. Should I hold on to it or get the current United Club Infinite Card? We will explore the similarities and differences between these two cards and provide relevant advice...keep reading.

Features Presidential Plus Have But Club Infinite Does Not

Earn 10,000 PQPs That Can Be Used For 1K Premier Status - This is the big one - the main distinguishing feature of this card. None of the other stuff really matter. With the present United lineups of cards, you can only earn up to 1,000 PQPs and you can only use those for up to Premier Platinum Status.

With the Presidential Plus Card, you can earn up to 10,000 PQPs with card spend. For 2020, United's criteria to earn Premier Silver are 5,000 PQPs and for Premier Gold it is 10,000 PQPs (if you only use PQPs alone - though you still have to fly 4 segments).
Free Business Class Companion Ticket - Holders of the Presidential Plus Card who buy a full fare business class ticket on United will get a free companion ticket. While a very nice perk, it is important to know that very often, buying two discounted business class tickets are cheaper than a full-fare business class ticket.

Features United Club Infinite Have That Presidential Plus Does Not Have

There several features that the United Club has that the Presidential Plus does not. I will list the main ones below.

Earn 4X on United Miles vs 2X for Presidential Plus - The Club Infinite allows you to earn 4X on United purchases. This is twice the 2X that this card allows. In fact, the Club Infinite is the best card to earn miles for United purchases out of all the United cards.

Earn 2X on Travel and Worldwide Restaurants - The Presidential Plus only allows you to earn 2X on United purchases and 1X on everything else so in this sense, the earning power of the Club Infinite is superior.

Statement Credit For Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Application Fee - Like many other credit cards, the Club Infinite Card (as well as the United Explorer Card) gives you a statement credit when you apply for Global Entry ($100 is the application fee).

Features That Both Cards Have

Both cards have the following common features:

United Club Lounge Membership - This is what both these cards are known for. They offer you membership to United's Club Lounge. This is a very important perk to those who value and like to hang out a United Lounges because even Premier Members do not get access to Club Lounges unless you are flying on business class.

Upgrade On Award Tickets - Both cards allow the Primary cardholder to get set upgrades on award tickets.

Premier Access Travel Services - This perks allows you to enjoy preferential treatment from the moment you arrive at the airport with priority check-in, security lanes (where available), boarding and baggage handling. This perk is available in the United Explorer Card and the United Club Infinite.

Free First and Second Checked Baggages - Both cards offer this perk. It is important to know that if you are a Premier Gold member, you already get this perk. Premier Silver members get the first baggage checked-in for free.

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Presidential Circle - Card holders of both cards also get Presidential Circle level in Hertz Reward program. It is important to know that both Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members are already given Presidential Circle level for Hertz membership so this perk is irrelevant to these Premier members.

No Foreign Transaction Fee - This is only to be expected in a premium credit card.

Analysis

The Presidential Plus) is much than the Club Infinite in terms of earning Premier Status from credit card spending. You can earn up to 10,000 PQPs vs just 1,000 PQPs for the Club Infinite.

On the other hand, the Club Infinite) is much better for earning miles for United Purchases. You can earn 4X vs just 2X for the Presidential Plus Card. You can also earn 2X on other travel related expenses and restaurants worldwide.

The United Club Infinite also gives you a statement credit when you apply for either Global Entry or TSA Pre-check. The application fee is $100 and both are valid for 5 years. So this perk is a $20 a year value.

For existing Presidential Plus holders, these are the key things you have to consider when deciding whether to keep the card or switch to another United Card.

Keep the United Presidential Plus IF.....

Earning PQPs Through Credit Card Spending Is Important

The Presidential Plus allows you to earn way more PQPs (10,000) than the United Club Infinite, which only allows you to earn up to 1,000 PQPs.

The PQPs you earn from the Presidential Plus can be used to qualify for 1K Premier whereas the PQPs earned on the Club Infinite only allows you to qualify for up to Premier Platinum level.

As a guide, you can get Premier Silver status with 5,000 PQP only without PQF (though you need to fly at least 4 segments). You can earn Premier Gold Status with 10,000 PQP (once again you have to fly at least 4 segments). That means in theory, you can pretty much earn Premier Gold Status from credit card spending on the Presidential Plus and fly 2 cheap roundtrip in economy class with United. Having said that you need to spend $12,000 to earn 500 PQPs. You need to spend a total of $240,000 to earn 10,000 PQPs! Whether you want to or whether it is worth putting so much spend just to earn that amount of PQPs is totally up to you.

If you know you will already qualify for some Premier status based on your flying with United and want to either maintain or achieve a higher level of Premier Status than what you would normally get just from flying, then this card should be a keeper because of the PQPs you can earn.

Update - Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, United has allowed those who have qualified for Premier Status in 2020 to retain it until 2022. Furthermore, requirements for 2021 qualifications have been reduced by 50% (both PQFs and PQPs).

If You Have Lifetime Club Lounge Membership And Only Pay $100 in Annual Fee

If you have lifetime Club Lounge Membership (which was offered ages ago), your annual fee for the Presidential Plus is only $100. Regardless of what you think about the earning PQPs from credit card spending, I would still keep this card because while United has constantly changed their Premier Status qualification standards, it seems that the Presidential Plus always helps you earn Premier Status better than any of the current United Card lineups.

Switch To Club Infinite Or Cancel IF.....

You Do Not Need to Earn PQPs

If you do not need to earn PQPs, then this card will be off little use to you (especially if you are paying the $450 annual fee). There are a couple of scenarios where you do not need to earn extra PQPs from credit card spend.

If you are a clear 1K or Global Service member (or serious candidate) - If you fly enough (under the new qualification levels) to earn 1k Premier or Global Service status (and you anticipate that your flying patterns will be same for the next few years), then you might not need this card. In fact, if you fly more than enough to earn 1K Premier (for example, you spend $30,000 to $80,000 on United tickets a year), then the 4X that you can earn on the United Club Infinite Card will be double that you can earn with the United Presidential Plus Card.

For example, you spend spend $30,000 on United tickets every year and are a clear 1K member, then earning (4 X 30,000 = 120,000 miles) is much better than (2 X $30,000 = 60,000 miles). Most Global Service members spend at least $50,000 to $75,000 on United tickets alone every year. So you definitely want to earn 4X miles (you might as well add 4X to the 11X you are already earning).

You Are A Million Miler And Have Lifetime Premier Status - If you are a million miler and are satisfied with your lifetime status, then it is most likely that you would not care about achieving current status unless you are still flying really frequently. In that case, I would say there is no real reason to keep the Presidential Plus Card. You should either cancel or switch to a more suitable card for yourself.