United Airlines is surveying changes to their United Club – from higher costs for memberships and for their premium co-brand credit card, to limitations on benefits. They are also contemplating changes to give some customers priority getting into the lounge, getting help with their bookings, and finding seats. Much of this is inspired by Delta Air Lines and their Sky Clubs.
Changes To Cost Of United Club Access
United is contemplating a basic club membership and a premium membership. It will still be possible to gain access through the premium credit card, that currently costs $525.
The basic annual membership price increases being contemplated are $750 and $800. For comparison, here’s the current cost of a club membership:
| MileagePlus status | Annual membership cost |
| General member | $650 or 85,000 miles |
| Silver | $650 or 85,000 miles |
| Gold | $650 or 85,000 miles |
| Platinum | $600 or 80,000 miles |
| 1K | $550 or 75,000 miles |
| United Club Infinite Card | Included |
The premium version of the membership would run either $1250 or $1400, and I’ll discuss those benefits – some of which come with a basic membership today – in the section below.
Meanwhile, in these surveys the United Club card sees higher annual fees – currently $525 but moving up to $675 – while reserving some benefits for those spending $50,000 a year on the card or who have MileagePlus Gold status or higher.
Are Some Options United Is Considering
United offered three versions of prices and benefits to consider. In all three, basic club membership – now more expensive – would no longer include access to lounges for guests.
Club membership currently comes with access to Star Alliance lounges but this would be taken away from basic members. (United Golds and above shouldn’t care though – they get this access via their status.)
And basic members would also have lower priority at some clubs for getting into the lounges, finding seats in the lounges, and for getting help from agents with their reservations.
The new expensive premium membership would be required for 2 adult guests (or 1 adult guests and dependent children under 21), and would also come with premium beverages sold to base members.
Meanwhile the credit card would become less attractive with a higher annual fee, but with United status or $50,000 annual spend would come with premium drinks and priority line for club entry and in-person customer service as well as priority seating at some locations. With spend or status, guest access would mirror what premium members receive. In one version guest access becomes more limited for the card, with dependent child access a function of status or card spend.
It seems that they’re centering around limiting guest access and partner lounge access to basic club members, and carving out priority for other customers to get into these lounges.
Meanwhile at substantially higher fees some customers would see premium alcohol and skipping the queue for entry into lounges as well as some seating in some lounges set aside.
United flyers who gain lounge access via their credit card, however, and who have Gold status or higher should do quite well under this model despite the higher fee considering priority access to the lounges and its services, and for some preferences the premium alcohol. This survey did not ask about limiting the number of visits per year offered to credit card customers like Delta has done.
At The United Club Some Customers May Be More Equal Than Others
United may be considering taking a page from Delta on priority access lines for clubs. They’re surveying this as an option, which would be bundled with the club’s premium membership and for credit card customers who have Gold status or higher or who spend $50,000 or more per year on the card.
They’re also considering priority lines for in-person help from an agent, especially useful during irregular operations (like weather delays), and taking a page from American Express which sets aside seating in Centurion lounges for Black Card customers by offering some seats in some clubs reserved for those who pay the premium membership or spend $50,000 or more each year on the card.
It’s unclear how broadly these priority services might be offered. Many clubs probably wouldn’t have priority lines to get in, not all may have priority seating, and it’s unclear whether enough seats would be set aside considering the cost.
Feedback I Gave To The Survey
I told United that it doesn’t encourage me to keep a card or pay for a membership to raise price while taking away benefits, or raise price a lot to get mostly the same thing.
Notice as well that they talk about memberships that cost $1,400… but don’t anywhere talk about improvements to food in their lounges. They want to charge Delta prices without bringing their clubs up to Delta standard.
Gee whiz, I cannot believe all the “benefits” I’m missing. Fortunately I fly once, or twice a year and, honestly, the “cost of credit payments” to merchants in general makes them not appreciated.
The worst? American Express, which is why many merchants will no longer accept that card.
But United is fast approaching. Beware airlines, pretty soon you’re going to find yourself back on a cash-only basis.
Do they have a “get in line now” or reservation feature in their app for any of their clubs?
I will be giving up my United Club card when they raise the fee. I have GOLD status which gets me into Star Alliance lounges when flying International. I can only use United Lounges about 10x per year based on connections primarily IAH and IAD) and lack of lounges at my home base (TPA) and also frequent end locations (CLE or BDL). The lounge at SNA is “tiny” It’s not worth $60 + per visit to use a United Lounge. Also, they mostly close at 10 PM and since I often fly red-eyes, leaving at 11:30 PM – 12:30 AM, so I have even less usage. I will get the Explorer Card and enjoy the people-watching fun in the concourses. Free Wi-Fi is now available in every airport I frequent, so having “Free Wi-Fi” as a “benefit” in a United Lounge is redundant at best and misleading if you are easily duped.
Will make my JPM Reserve card all that much valuable, assuming they don’t shaft me on guest access for my family.
The DL clubs definitely have better food, but UA has been catching up since the pandemic and the difference is not so great as to cause anyone to pick DL > UA. Especially as UA miles still have far more sweet spots than skypesos.
Tiz of little concern for this now too infrequent flyer mostly in international first & a few domestic trips plus my home airport DCA has much more options with the new security space
Friday first time since AmEx CL opened so we’ll see between it & UC for our annual DEN flight and use of our chase UA Explorer 2 UC Access coupons
How does effect Life Time Members?
@fa lopiccolo – we do not know yet what United will do!
@Boraxo – it’s a United club membership akin to what comes with the United Club Infinite card – so presumably either requires spend or United status for guest privileges and Star Alliance lounge access.
Fortunately I fly out of an airport with a Star Alliance lounge and they grant access to Star Alliance Gold members. Just means a walk from the international terminal to the domestic terminal. The United Clubs are definitely not worth the cost they charge these days.
‘Premium’ drinks are included in the $1,200+ membership. Yay!
A little known feature is you can use miles to pay for the United Club Infinite Card annual fee, which is currently a digestible (if you are a frequent traveler) 30k miles a year using Chase Pay Yourself Back. A much better deal than getting the Club membership alone. Any word if that is going up as well?
Wanna be like Delta, just copy everything they do. No wait, do it better.
I used to have a regular tete d’ tete with Vasu until he got fired. I repeatedly told him, just copy Delta, but better. Obviously he never embraced my view. Haha.
Delta prices? They charge $1400 a year for lounge access. I thought the food at United Club at SAN and SFO was really good. Delta is much better? I guess for $1400 it should be.
Just raise the prices of the annual membership and the Club card. Adding tiered memberships would be greedy and would make more work for Club employees to administer. They have enough problems now having to turn away those who are “surprised” they are not eligible for entry.
Robb – that Delta price you quote is for an Executive membership. The individua membership is $750, I believe.
These new rules look just like Delta rules. Now, if only United had good food….
With Delta, I have only once had an overcrowding issue, and that was at JFK. I just went over to the Centurion Lounge and got right in.
I guess my Lifetime membership costing $2000 (with a 25k mileage bonus) was a good investment. Plus when I hit 2MM I received another Lifetime membership.
Just charge enough so you don’t have lines to get in or a shortage of seating. The Amex model is broken nothing to learn from that.
United is REALLY optimistic that Trump will win. If he doesn’t what will they do when the bottom falls out of the economy they and start rolling back club staffing and food? Will people who pay a premium just simply accept it like they did in the past? What they REALLY need is another disease so they can put that “Due to these uncertain times…” sign back on the doors and then refuse to refund membership fees.
Actual United Club members should protest the masses of free one-time pass people who have the Explorer card and make the club so overly crowded.
What doesn’t cost more these days? To expect lounge prices to remain flat is unreasonable. It’s also time to thin the herd of customers who use lounges for day care centers and eat like slobs and make a mess of every area they touch.
I’d definitely pay more to see fewer people.
I fly United out of San Francisco and the food is better than DL.
United continues to do better while the others like DL and AA continue to slip.
I don’t mind an increase in price as services have improved consistently on UA
If the clubs are 30% less crowded, then you are receiving a benefit Gary
Get rid of the little people and riff raff
Lounges are to full of everyone and anybody
That said I’m out lol not paying for their worthless club
What.. airline crew can’t use the club as a break room anymore? Darn it!!
I’m grateful to read your remarks, Gary–I join you, asking what concrete value for price would these changes make?
For various reasons, I don’t gain status from flying these days. So the Club Card (still getting accustomed to the name _Infinite_) has been a price I have been willing to pay. If Chase is going to increase the price substantially and remove features, they will lose me. During the past 8 years, I’ve seen what Delta is like, and the first few years of Centurion. I would be willing to consider DL and Centurion instead of Chase/UAL, if Chase and UAL go to changes like we see here.
Disgustingly greedy all around. And that’s on principle since I have “status” -almost 2million miles, credit cards, 1k etc
How to reduce overcrowding? Stop giving away day passes!
Lower the dependent children age to under 18. The rest of the measure are just going to cause confusion.
I’ve been a United 1k and infinite card holder for several years. The food in the clubs are trash and constantly running out or not best quality. Please get rid of the crap nobody eats and offer traditional, mainstream cuisine.
Same with the first class cabin. You may get offered a water or juice on the ground, definitely nothing more. I remember the days of hot towels and roasted nuts, warm cookies, friendly people.
Everything today is twice as much, way less in perks and everyone is miserable. Unfortunately, that pretty much sums up US Domestic travel.
Never been impressed with United lounges although I have only used them at ORD, RDU, and EWR. Part of the problem might be me . . . someone who uses the free passes you get with the $95 United Chase card. I would probably keep the card without the two free passes for free checked baggage, early boarding, and better itinerary access when redeeming miles.
Dropping the free passes would reduce crowding. That said, the food during my visits has been really mediocre.
I gave up my United Club membership – via credit card – last year. With the decline of the lounges due to poor food offerings and over crowding, it just wasnt worth it. I would rather spend equivalent dollars on premium food and drinks in the airports. With these changes, I probably won;t ever return, unless my travel schedule increases dramatically in the future. The United Club used to be a nice place to relax, and have a (relativity) nice snack and drink- not anymore.
I have a Lifetime United Airlines Club Access membership (purchased over 40 years ago!). Am I impacted?
@Ex United Club Agent – as long as Chase gives me 2 passes w my renewal of the Explorer card I will use them. Per their rules I’m just as “entitled” as a club member. Now I live in an AA hub and fly them mostly but am also lifetime elite on DL and UA so do use the passes.
Blame the game not the player dude!
Find an empty gate or nice bar at the airport and you are miles ahead.
If this happens I’d give up my United Club membership; it’s no longer worth it. I can just about justify current fees with 1K status but double to get guests in? Forget it.
Copying American Express, I see.
Sadly, United Clubs are nowhere near the Centurion Lounges.
Sell “premium” beverages in a club? LOL. And I suppose we must tip the bartenders.
What a scam!
They are pushing the cost too high that it is no longer worth it. The gate is not so bad.
@derek
I agree and also a lot of airports are and have been upgraded to the point the gates not too bad.
Even though I won’t be as impacted this is making me question my loyalty to UA. I might cancel my Explorer card because if Club Members are being reduced imagine one time pass holders. I would love if I could use the one time club pass towards a choice of Economy Plus or other discount.
I hope they don’t interfere with life time members. Iv been life time for fifty years
I’m already on the fence about dropping United and switching to Delta as my primary. I fly every other week for work and in the last 2 months I’ve had multiple flight cancelations or delays with minimal to no notice.
As someone with an Infinite Card I can say I’d really rethink keeping and using their CC if they want to jack up the fee any more while reducing services. Especially with the quality of food dropping and lack of lounges in some of the more frequent hubs I go through.
United Club Infinite card will be canceled with such awful cut backs to benefits and increases in price.
They shouldn’t be doing anything to existing credit card members. We already pay a yearly fee for the, “privilege,” of using a United branded card. Adding more fees to use a lounge is an insult. I only fly once a year, generally, if that. This would be an insult to me. Seriously, that’s how I would take it.
I used the United Clubs often when I lived in United hubs (SFO then IAD). Now I live in Seattle where United has a small but pleasant club, and flies only to its hubs, as Seattle is an outlying city to them and is otherwise dominated by Alaska. I still have my United Club Visa card but may have to think about it if the price becomes insane.
United needs to limit membership to two guests only and ask for ID, if membership fees will increase. Clubs are crowded, because too many ways to get in without credentials being verified. United can not protect the integrity of the membership without streamlining ways to access United Club.
It’s a shame that United wants to follow Delta in everything that is negative, instead, try Getting rid of the ridiculous “free” day passes that accompany some United credit cards. Get rid of allowing club members to bring, not only a guest, but hoards of children. It doesn’t matter if these children are only two or three years old, they take up space and seats in the club without paying. Personally, I don’t like this one, but I Could live with United allowing club members to only bring in one guest instead of two.
United needs to think outside of the box instead of just copying with Delta done.
In no way is this card worth $1200 annually to me. When it was $550 annually, I recieved 1.5 miles per dollar spend. United is now leading the race to the bottom.