Quantcast
Channel: ValuePenguin - Credit Cards
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 557

UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card: Is It Worth $495?

$
0
0

The UBS Visa Infinite Card is the newest premium card on the market that is best for high net worth individuals seeking luxury travel and concierge benefits. If you’re more interested in pure savings and earning miles with every purchase, there are other luxury travel cards that can serve you better.

Review: Our Thoughts On The UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card

The UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card is a good offer for individuals interested in high quality concierge services and luxury travel perks. If you are simply concerned with earning the most points, miles or savings, we'd recommend choosing one of this card’s competitors, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠. The UBS card is currently intended for those who are already using UBS’s wealth management services and charging upwards of $50k to $100k per year easily. By using the card, UBS hopes to allow advisers to provide guidance about their customers' spending and other financial decisions.

This card is good for...

  • Those interested in luxury travel perks and high-quality concierge services
  • Individuals who are spending well over $50,000 on their card each year

This card is bad for...

  • Anyone interested in just getting savings, points and miles
  • Low spenders

The card’s major selling point is benefits through the U.S.-based Concierge and Client Services, which UBS is creating itself in-house. These will allow UBS customers to do things like book reservations, make travel plans and even receive advice about major purchases. This is a substantial upgrade over traditional Visa concierge benefits, which usually haven’t been able to compete with more premium services, like those provided on The Platinum Card® from American Express.

The UBS Visa Infinite is also no slouch when it comes to providing travel credits and perks. Cardholders receive Priority Pass airport lounge membership, credit towards airport club passes, and a $250 annual airline fee credit. The $500 airport club credit is only available to those who spend at least $50,000 on the card each year. The card is intended and marketed toward audiences who can easily hit this mark. If you’re interested in reading more about these various benefits, we suggest checking out the following section.

Bottom Line: Current UBS customer who are in the market for a new luxury travel card will find a lot to like in the UBS Visa Infinite Card. However, if you’re simply hunting for the biggest discounts and the most travel points, you should go with the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠.

UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card Benefits & Features

The UBS Visa Infinite card offers a variety of points, credits and bonuses to their users. On top of this, it provides its own in-house concierge services that aim to be a step up from the traditional concierge benefits from other Visa Signature and Visa Infinite branded products.

Image of UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card
Annual Fee $495
Purchase APR15.99%
Card Details
  • $250 airline fee credit
  • 12 complimentary Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi sessions
  • Premium set of benefits with the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, VIP amenities at select Ritz-Carlton, Fairmont Hotel and Resorts and Park Hyatt properties and enhanced benefits with Relais & Châteaux.
  • $100 Global Entry application fee statement credit, which includes TSA Pre✓®
  • $500 Any Airport Club statement credit for any airport lounges worldwide upon reaching qualified spending threshold
  • Unlimited, complimentary access to 1,000+ Priority PassTM Select lounges
  • No foreign purchase transaction fees
  • 24/7 U.S.-based UBS Concierge
  • 50,000 bonus points upon $3,000 in spend in the first 3 months for new clients
  • 3x points on commercial air travel, 2x points on gas and groceries and 1 point on all other eligible purchases.
  • Up to a $700 service credit at Villas of Distinction properties
  • Le Bas International Benefits: Up to $300 total credit per flight toward chauffeured transportation transfers, and Up to $300 total credit per flight toward premium in-flight catering
  • $100 discount on the purchase of between 2 and 5 qualifying round-trip, domestic coach airline tickets on the same itinerary when purchased on the Visa Infinite Discount Air website

The card awards 3x points for commercial air travel, 2x points for gas and grocery purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other spending. These points can be redeemed for travel through UBS’s own portal. For example, you can use 25,000 points for one ticket up to $350. The “up to” is key here. You could pay the same price for a ticket valued more lowly. Therefore, we are conservatively valuing these points at $0.012 each.

Note that points can also be used to pay for the card’s $495 annual fee. You need to use 35,000 points to cover the charge, meaning you will get a $0.014 point value.

The card currently offers a 50,000-point bonus for those who spend at least $3,000 on the card within the first three months. Given our $0.012-point valuation, we estimate this bonus to be worth $600.

Credits & Other Bonuses

Those who spend at least $50,000 on their card each year are granted a $500 credit to be used towards airport club membership or day passes. The expense must be charged to the card for the credit to be applied. These will get you access to airport lounges not covered by Priority Pass. For example, a single day pass to an Admirals Club costs $59. These American Airlines lounges provide you with complimentary snacks, drinks, shower suites, and a business center.

Additionally, UBS Visa Infinite users also receive a $250 annual airline credit that can be used towards eligible expenses. These include seat upgrades, ticket change/cancellation fees and onboard food. Like the airline credit on The Platinum Card® from American Express, you must pick an airline it applies to each year.

The UBS Visa Infinite card also provides a $100 credit towards TSA Pre/Global entry, and 12 complimentary Gogo inflight Wi-Fi sessions each year.

How Does The UBS Visa Infinite Card Compare To Other Credit Cards?

Everyone loves options, so we took a look at how the UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card stacks up against its competitors. We specifically looked at how the card does when matched against two of the leading premium credit cards on the market.

UBS Visa Infinite vs Chase Sapphire Reserve℠

The Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ is an excellent travel card for those who are more concerned about earning points and savings, rather than luxury treatment. The card comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect on a premium card – Priority Pass membership, TSA Pre/Global Entry credit, and an annual travel credit. This last benefit is one of the best in this family of cards. Users get $300 each year to use towards any travel charges on their card. This can include airfare or Uber rides. The $250 UBS airline credit is far more restrictive.

Where the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ can’t compete with the UBS Visa Infinite is concierge services. If you want your wealth managers easily kept in the loop regarding your expenditures, and want advice on financial needs, the UBS Visa Infinite is the obvious winner. Some of these benefits are harder to quantify, and will be highly dependent on the individual so you have to figure out which of these features to prioritize.

UBS Visa Infinite vs The Platinum Card® from American Express

The Platinum Card® from American Express is the classic premium credit card, and one of the few we've found that can compete with the UBS in terms of customer service. Over the years, the Amex card has built up a reputation as one of the best in this department. For example, last year cardmembers were given the opportunity to purchase tickets to the sold-out Broadway hit Hamilton. At the time, the tickets were valued at over $1,000. Amex cardmembers could buy them for less than $500. As mentioned, these types of benefits are hard to quantify, so it depends on how much you value these types of perks, and how often they come around.

If you are looking for seamless integration and wish to only deal with your wealth management experts and brokers at UBS, the UBS Visa Infinite will be the better choice. However, if you want to look for something different, The Platinum Card® from American Express can still provide you with luxury and quality customer service.

On the rewards side of things, the two cards are fairly comparable. The Platinum Card® from American Express gives a slightly worse annual airline credit ($200 vs $250), but provides better rewards on airline and hotel purchases. In general, however, if you are points-conscious, we recommend going with the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ anyway.

Credit CardsAmex PlatinumChase Sapphire ReserveUBS Visa Infinite

Find the Best Travel Cards
Featured Travel Rewards Cards
0
No votes yet
ubs-visa-infinite_qunshl Credit Card 1157

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 557

Trending Articles