United Airlines is taking a page from Delta with club lounge access restrictions, and together with Chase they’re taking a page from American Express with changes to their co-brand card portfolio. But I think they’re doing it a little bit more thoughtfully.

• Current United Club membership – with guests and access to Star Alliance lounges – becomes a lot more expensive. The basic membership is going to be more restrictive.

• The difference between buying membership directly and getting it with a great card widens. They’re making the premium credit card relatively more attractive.

• Meanwhile, the portfolio of Chase United credit cards is getting more expensive – raising annual fees – while adding benefits. This becomes more of the American Express ‘coupon book’ model where merchant-funded offers are used to justify the fee.

This is basically what I told you was coming back in August.

United Club, Washington National Airport

Changes To United Club Membership

The price of the basic United Club membership is going up from $650 to $750. Platinum and 1K members no longer receive a discount, so for 1Ks the price goes from $550 to $750.

And you won’t even get as much as you used to for this higher price. This is the price for the individual member’s access only with no guests. Members can bring guests in for $59 apiece. This individual membership will also no longer come with Star Alliance partner lounge access. So, higher price, less value. Clearly, not a good deal. And that’s by design.

Turkish Airlines Lounge, Washington Dulles

Meanwhile, they’re introducing a new All Access Membership that includes two guests and still has access to most Star Alliance partner lounges. That’s a whopping $1,400 per year but still offers discounts for Platinums and above.

• Platinum: $1,300
  
• 1K: $1,200
  
• Global Services: $1,000 (I’d note that American Airlines gives its ConciergeKey members complimentary Admirals Club membership, as well as access to Flagship business lounges when flying domestically)

A 1K goes from $550 to $1,200 to keep the benefits they have currently. Wow. These new prices kick in with membership renewal for existing members, and are in effect immediately for new members.

Guest passes can only be used within 3 hours of scheduled departure of the first flight in their itinerary for the day, and ‘Club Fly’ grab and go’s (Denver, Houston) won’t accept one-time passes.

Thankfully, since United has reneged on some of the benefits of lifetime club memberships in the past, lifetime members will be treated as All Access.

United Club, Chicago O’Hare

Obviously They Want You To Take The Credit Card Instead

Chase and United want you to get your lounge access via credit card. They Club Infinite and Club Business cards include access, as well as the legacy Continental premium cards (Presidential Plus and Presidential Plus business).

These cards still come with guest access – one guest and dependents under 18 (note that the age has been reduced from 21 to 18). They won’t come with access to Star Alliance partner lounges, however:

• Gold status members with the card receive ‘All Access’ which allows partner lounges and two guests (in lieu of 1 guest + dependents)
  
• Spending $50,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year provides ‘All Access’ as well.

So there’s now an incentive for less frequent guests to not just get the card, but also to use it. For current cardmembers, changes go into effect with card renewals starting August 1.

Of course, the annual fee is going up – from $450 for the business card, $525 for the consumer card – to $695. These come with new benefits to help ‘justify’ the higher fee as well, but it’s clearly cheaper than buying an individual membership and gives better benefits. In fact, United Gold elites and higher get the full benefits they have today for this $695 annual fee rather than $1,000 to $1,400.

United Club, Austin

How Does This Compare?

This was always going to happen. United hasn’t raised price in nearly six years. And Delta has gone farther, limiting visits to lounges via credit card without hitting an even higher spend target.

It does make American Airlines look better by comparison – they raised their prices more modestly (both on membership and card annual fees) back in July, so they probably aren’t due to do it again for awhile. American’s food isn’t as robust as United’s, which in turn isn’t as robust as Delta’s, but membership is still cheaper.

Customers are going to pay more – to United, or United and Chase – if they want continued lounge access. However, the card becomes even more the ‘better deal’ than before. I just wish that when asking so muhc more from customers United was giving customers more, though there are a slate of additional benefits I’ll cover separately for the United Club cards that justify their higher fees.

Information about the United premium consumer and small business cards that include club lounge access was collected independently by View From The Wing, and neither reviewed nor approved by their issuer.