I had the UA Club card for a number of years for the UC membership, but the main difference there is that I was always able to find offers for "first year free" promotions so I never paid an annual fee....just cancel around the 11th month and re-apply for another card....very easy and never an annual fee. The AA version of the card doesn't seem to have any way to get the first year fee waived which makes it a no-go in my book, especially since many cards will waive the fee.