UBS Visa Infinite Card Review: 100,000 Signup Bonus + $495 Annual Fee Waived First Year

Update 5/23/20: Minimum spend period has been extended from three months to six months. Hat tip to AA

Update 4/4/20: Looks like the bonus is currently:

• 50,000 points after $10,000 in spend within the first three months
• 50,000 points after you pay the second year annual fee

Annual fee is waived the first year. Keep in mind this offer is only available for clients who have a UBS account at the time of credit card application

Original Post:

UBS Bank has the UBS Visa Infinite. UBS Bank, is an international bank with footprint in USA, Switzerland, and elsewhere.

The card comes with a signup bonus of up to 25,000 points and an annual fee of $495 (50,000 bonus for premium customers). As expected, it comes with lots of benefits including a $250 airline incidental credit and potentially a $500 lounge credit. Keep reading for our in depth review of this card.

• Direct Link to card
• Press Release
• PDF with the full details

Applications Information

It’s currently possible to apply for this card. It’s not available for online application currently but you can go into a branch or call them on 888-762-1232. Once you’ve called they will send a paper application out to your address. If you want to use online banking you’ll also need to open a checking account.

Rewards Program

Signup Bonus

There are two versions of the signup bonus mentioned:

• Get 50,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first three months
• Get 25,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first three months

Signup bonus is valid through December 31, 2017. Points post instantly after meeting spend.

It’s not clear why someone will get 50k or 25k. Some people have been told that the 50k is for everyone while many others have been told that only UBS clients will get 50k (1, 2, 3) See also this comment.

Standard Earning

This card earns at the following rates per $1 spent:

• 3x points on air travel
• 2x points on gas and groceries
• 1x points on all other purchases

There is no cap on how many points you can earn and points do not expire so long as the card is open.

Redeeming Rewards

At a minimum, points can be cashed out at one cent per point as a statement credit (minimum $100).

To maximize the value, you’ll want to redeem for travel on any commercial airline. These flights must be booked through UBS and paid for with the card. You’ll get the following redemption values:

• 50,000 points gets you a flight worth up to $900 (works out to 1.8 CPP)
• 25,000 points gets you a flight worth up to $350 (works out to 1.4 CPP)

If you book a flight that costs $250, you’ll still pay 25,000 points and you’ll get just 1 CPP. If you book a flight that costs MORE than $35o/$900, you’ll pay 5,000 points per $50. You must cover the full cost of ticket with rewards points.

Sample scenarios:

• $1,101 flight will cost 75,000 points (50k + 25k)
• $1,100 flight will cost 70,000 points (50k + 20k)
• $950 flight will cost 55,000 points (50k + 5k)
• $900 flight will cost 50,000 points
• $800 flight will cost 50,000 points
• $500 flight will cost 40,000 points (25k + 15k)
• $351 flight will cost 30,000 points (25k + 5k)
• $350 flight will cost 25,000 points
• $200 flight will cost 25,000 points

You can also redeem 35,000 points to pay for the annual fee which give you roughly 1.4 CPP.

Card Benefits

Being a premium travel credit card, this card comes with a lot of different benefits:

$250 airline fee credit

You’ll get a $250 airline incidental benefit with one selected airline. You need to select one airline for the entire calendar year.

Since the year is based on calendar year, it’ll be possible to double-dip the first year and get two $250 credits. We’ll have to see what works and what doesn’t to get reimbursed. Sounds like reimbursements will be automatic without having to call in.

You can put the $250 spend on the primary card or AU card, but it all counts toward the same $250 limit.

“Qualifying” transactions are defined as ancillary airline fee transactions made at eligible U.S.-Domestic Airline Carriers, and include: preferred seating upgrades, ticket change/cancelation fees, checked baggage fees, in-flight entertainment, onboard food and beverage charges, airport lounge fees (excluding those credited by the UBS Any Airport Club program), and other airline travel fees.

Airline ticket purchases, mileage point purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty-free purchases, award tickets and fees incurred with airline alliance partners are not deemed to be Qualifying transactions. Airport lounge fees not affiliated with airlines and transactions made with travel agencies are not deemed to be Qualifying transactions. Ancillary airline travel fees must be separate charges from airline ticket charges.

In other words: this will work similar to Amex airline incidental credits, NOT like Sapphire Reserve or Prestige.

$500 Credit toward Lounge Access

Up to $500 reimbursement with Any Airport Club Program, which provides reimbursement for day passes or annual membership fees for airport lounges worldwide. To be eligible for this benefit, cardholders must spend at least $50,000 annually.

One good thing is that you get the $500 allowance for $50,000 spend whether it’s during the current calendar year-to-date or the prior calendar year. So if you spend $50k before the end of 2017, for example, you’ll be able to get two $500 credits based for that spend alone – one in 2017 and one in 2018.

Airport club day pass or annual airport club membership must be purchased using your UBS Visa Infinite credit card. You are eligible for a statement credit of up to $500 if your total spending on your card was $50,000 or greater during either the current calendar year-to-date or the prior calendar year. You may claim the credit only once for each year in which you qualify for a credit. If you do not claim the credit in a year, it will not carry over into subsequent years. You must claim the credit during the same calendar year in which the fee posted to your card account.

12 Gogo In-flight Sessions

• Enrollment is required at visa.gogoair.com/UBS prior to flying; registration is not available in flight.
• Passes are valid for 12 months from the date you register your card for this benefit. Any unused Passes at the end of the 12 month period will expire.

$100 Global Entry/ TSA Precheck

UBS Visa Infinite credit cardholders are entitled to one $100 statement credit per card every four years in connection with the Global Entry program application fee. The $100 statement credit will be processed after the application fee is charged to a valid UBS Visa Infinite credit card. (Sounds like AU cards get their own credit.)

Access to 1000+ lounges worldwide

The Priority Pass Select offers access to over 1,000 participating airport lounges worldwide. Membership is required to access participating lounges. To request your complimentary membership card, visit ubs.com/prioritypassselect.

Visa Infinite $100 Discount Air Benefit

The card DOES get the Infinite benefit of $100 discount when you purchase 2 or more tickets. Book your tickets here.

You can read our full review on this benefit here.

Primary Car Rental Insurance

The card comes with primary coverage reimbursement for collision or damage up to the value of most rental cars.

You’ll also get rental car discounts at Avis, National, Audi Silvercar, Enterprise, Alamo, and more.

No foreign transaction fees

This card doesn’t charge you any fees if you make a purchase in a foreign transaction. You’ll receive the rate that Visa uses, you can read more about how this rate is determined by going here.

Variety Of Insurance Products

• Trip delay reimbursement up to $500 per ticket to reimburse cost of meals and lodging if trip is delayed more than 6 hours
• Purchase security up to $10k per claim and $50k per year
• Price protection up to $500 per claim and $1,500 per year
• Return protection up to $300 per claim and $1,000 per year
• Event ticket protection up to $500 per event ticket, $2,000 per event, and $4,000 per year
• Extended warranty up to 12 additional months; max $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year
• Up to $15,000 in ID theft insurance
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance up to $5,000
• Medical evacuation up to $100,000
• Travel accident insurance up to $1M
• Baggage delay up to $100 per day for 3 days and a total of $300 spend per 12 month period
• Lost luggage reimbursement up to $5,000
• Roadside assistance up to $50 per event, max 4 events per year

Miscellaneous Details and Benefits

• Annual fee of $495, NOT waived the first year
• Get up to 24 authorized users for free
• Card is made out of metal
• 24/7 concierge service
• Private aviation (NetJets) benefit
• Jet charter services
• Baggage delivery services
• ATM rebates, up to $10 each
• No cash advance fees if you have sufficient funds to repay that night; otherwise, there’ll be cash advance fees and interest charges.
• Access to Visa Luxury Hotel Collection, with benefits including room upgrades (when available), complimentary breakfast, and early/late check-in/-out (when available) at participating hotels14. Access to additional luxury hotels and amenities, such as Relais and Chateaux, Mandarin Oriental, Starwood Luxury, Villas of Distinction.
• If you voluntarily close your card, you will be allowed 60 days following the effective date of termination of the UBS Account or Cards to redeem outstanding points for gift cards or merchandise. In the event UBS Bank USA closes your Card for any reason other than inactivity, your points will be immediately forfeited.

Final Thoughts

With the 50,000 sign up bonus at the minimum you can do the following:

• Redeem 35,000 points to cover the annual fee
• Redeem 10,000 points for $100 (remember you can only redeem in increments of $100. If you spent a total of $5,000 on this card you could redeem for $200. Minimum spend requirement is only $3,000)
• Use the $250 travel credit twice (once this year and once next year)

That’s $500 in travel credits and $100/$200. Obviously, if you can get the top redemption of 1.8¢ then this bonus gets a lot more interesting. One big question mark is how strict the application criteria will be? The other question is how easy will the travel credit be to use? There could be some good value to be had in the first year but at this stage we don’t have a lot of data points.