I thought paying $525 a year for the United Club Infinite Card would fix my travel woes until I realized the perks I actually need cost way less

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• My husband and I used to love having Premier status on United, but we don't qualify anymore.
• The airline offers one credit card that gives automatic Premier status, but it has a $525 annual fee.
• It has great perks, but I realized a United card with a lower annual fee was a better value for us.

For years, my husband and I regularly traveled for work enough to earn Premier status on United Airlines. We loved it — the Premier security lanes at some airports literally saved us hours of travel time.

However, to reach Premier status, you need to fly a minimum of four United flights a year and earn at least 6,000 Premier qualifying points. We've both been traveling less lately and sadly don't qualify anymore.

We miss it so much that I've been looking into getting a United credit card in hopes of replacing those Premier-status perks.

I found a few options: the $0-annual-fee United Gateway℠ Card, the $0 intro for the first year, then $95-annual-fee United℠ Explorer Card, the $250-annual-fee United Quest℠ Card, and the $525-annual-fee United Club℠ Infinite Card.

All of them offer bonus miles, extra points when making United and everyday purchases, and no foreign transaction fees. However, only the United Club℠ Infinite Card comes with automatic Premier status.

Before signing up for it, though, I wanted to see if the hefty annual fee would be worth it for me.

I felt confident we'd make up the fee by utilizing all the perks, but I still wasn't sold

Automatic Premier status is the card's big selling point for me.

Beyond Priority security lanes, one of the reasons I love the status is earlier boarding. The highest Premier 1K level automatically gets you pre-boarding, Premier Gold and Premier Platinum board in Group 1, and Premier Silver boards in Group 2.

The United Club Infinite Card itself also gives you access to priority boarding in Group 2.

In my experience, your carry-on bag isn't getting in the overhead bin if you're in any boarding group after Group 3 on a full United flight. The most basic priority boarding typically costs at least $24 a person per flight, so the savings can add up.

Some of the card's other big perks are the high earning rates for points and miles and United Club access.

The Club is an exclusive airport lounge where members can grab snacks, work before flights with free WiFi, and chat with customer service about flight delays or cancellations.

That membership alone usually costs about $650 a year — that's already higher than the card's annual fee.

With or without Premier status, the card also gives you two free checked bags on every flight. However, if I make it to Premier Platinum or Premier 1K, I could get up to three bags for free.

I recently checked two bags on a United flight from Vancouver to Chicago that cost me $70 each way, so it would only take a few flights to get to the card's annual fee amount.

Additionally, the card gives holders $120 toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS — which I think of as a bonus security-skipping credit.

Overall, the United Club℠ Infinite Card sounded great, but I was still hesitant.

Eventually, I realized the Quest and Explorer cards offer similar benefits

Despite the compelling case I just made for the United Club℠ Infinite Card, we aren't going to sign up for it.

I'm sure it's of excellent value for some frequent travelers, but we can't financially justify the upfront cost of the annual fee — even if we'd eventually "make all the money back."

Fancy perks, like the Club membership, distracted me a bit at first. However, that membership isn't something we would've otherwise purchased, so I can't say we'd actually be saving that money by getting it for free.

Instead, we sat down and really thought about our travel priorities: faster security, priority boarding, and free checked bags.

The United Quest Card has a $250 annual fee, which can be partially offset the first year by its perk of a $125 United purchase credit.

It doesn't come with Premier status, but I would get 500 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) for signing up and earn one additional point for every $20 spent. Premier Silver status — the lowest level — costs 6,000 PQPs. That's a lot of credit card purchases to get Premier status, but it's possible.

Even if I can't make it to Premier status, the United Quest℠ Card offers free priority boarding, two free checked bags, and many of the other smaller perks the United Club℠ Infinite Card offers — including the $120 security-skipping credit.

If I wanted an even less expensive card, I could try the United Explorer Card. Its annual fee is actually waived the first year — a great upfront win.

I'd earn fewer miles and could only earn up to 1,000 PQPs through spending on the card. But I'd still get priority boarding, one free checked bag, the $120 security-skipping credit, and other basic perks.

Additionally, the United Explorer Card comes with two free United Club passes a year, so my husband and I could have an annual luxurious airport experience.

Letting go of my obsession with Premier status saves me money

I was originally dead set on getting a United credit card that guaranteed us the Premier status we love so much.

Although the card that offers it isn't a perfect match for us, I'm glad I did more research before applying for the card.

This process helped me narrow down the perks that can actually save us money while still improving our travel experience.

By going with the United Quest℠ Card or United℠ Explorer Card cards, we can still access priority boarding in Group 2 — meaning we likely wouldn't have to worry about our carry-ons making it on the plane — and check one or two bags for free.

We could also use the $120 credit that comes with the cards to sign up for something like TSA PreCheck® to get through security faster.

Plus, we won't have to spend $525 every year to get those perks.