UBS Bank has a premium UBS Visa Infinite card with a consumer version and business version which are basically the same.
The card comes with an annual fee of $650 and a signup bonus of 25,000 points. Some are getting a signup bonus offer of 125,000 points. Card also comes with lots of benefits including a $500 airline incidental credit and a possible $500 credit spend bonus, Priority Pass lounge access and more.
UBS is an international bank with footprint in USA, Switzerland, and elsewhere. We wrote a review of the card back in 2020, and I’m redoing this now since the card changed significantly with their 1/1/25 refresh.
Contents
Application Information
Direct Link to card | See the targeted 125k offer at this link
Card is not available for online application. You can go into a branch or call them at 800-762-1000. They’ll send out a paper application to your address. (You also might need an open checking account to be able to use online banking.)
Important note: It’s not easy to get an approval from UBS as they’re mainly interested in high net worth individuals.
Rewards Program
Signup Bonus
There are two versions of the signup bonus mentioned:
- Standard signup bonus offer is 25,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first three months.
- There’s an increased offer out there of 125,000 points after spending $6,000 within the first three months. Valid through 6/30/26. Speak with your UBS Financial Advisor or call 866-UBS-VISA (866-827-8472).
Earning Rewards
This card earns at the following rates per $1 spent:
- Earn 3x points for commercial air travel
- Earn 2x points for eligible groceries, select digital entertainment, newspapers and cable TV
- Earn 1 point for all other eligible 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) which is a good baseline.
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 $350/$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 points to pay for the $650 annual fee. Unknown at this time what the redemption rate is for that.
Card Benefits
Being a premium travel credit card, this card comes with a lot of different benefits:
$500 airline fee credit
You receive up to $500 per year in airline fee credits with a selected U.S. airline. Qualifying purchases include baggage fees, seat upgrades, lounge fees, change fees, onboard purchases, and similar charges. Enrollment and airline selection are required.
“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.
In other words: this will work similar to Amex airline incidental credits, NOT like Sapphire Reserve or Prestige.
Since the year is based on calendar year, it’ll be possible to double-dip the first year and get two $500 credits. We’ll have to see what works to get reimbursed. Reimbursements should come automatically without having to call in.
$500 Spend Bonus ($25k Spend)
Get $500 annual credit after spending $25,000 each calendar year. You can receive up to $500 in statement credits for:
- Restaurant purchases
- Amazon Prime membership
- Airport lounge memberships or day passes
Credit must be claimed in the online login; it’s not automatic. Credit must be claimed each calendar year and does not roll over.
The way I understand this, by spending $25k in a single calendar year, you then get two $500 credits: one to be used before December of the current year and then it resets (with no new spend) to be used January through December the next year. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Other Benefits
- Priority Pass lounge access
- $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck benefit every 4 years (I believe in the past authorized user cards got their own $120 credit.)
- One annual GigSky global data benefit, offering 5GB of international eSIM data valid for 30 days across 100+ countries
- Standard Visa Infinite travel protections
- Auto rental insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, travel accident insurance, emergency medical evacuation insurance, baggage delay coverage, lost luggage reimbursement, roadside assistance.
- No ATM cash advance fee if it pulls from your Resource Management Account with UBS.
- No foreign transaction fees
Final Thoughts
It’s likely not easy to get this card since UBS is apparently a stickler in dealing only with high net worth individuals. If you can, there is some nice first year value here with two $500 airline incidental credits and two $500 spend bonus credits which seemingly can be achieved with a single $25,000 in spend.
Probably not worth it due to the $650 fee and the $25k spend needed for those credits, but if you can get in on the 125,000 points signup bonus it becomes interesting for high spenders. Someone who can get 1.8 CPP redeeming for travel will also have an easier time justifying the fee and spend.
Hat tip to reader KafkaExploring
