Is it worth buying a life membership? WIll UA take it over after the buyout?

Hard to say. I have a colleague who is a DL fanatic. He used to be a Pan Am fanatic. He bought a Lifetime Membership in the Clipper's Club before Pan Am folded, and it carried over to a lifetime CRC membership (part of the agreement that sold DL the Atlantic routes). He bought it at an extremely cheap rate compared to today's standards.

It's a gamble...that's for sure.

I called the UA RCC service center yesterday, and they only offer annual memberships (no 3-year or life). So perhaps it would be a bargain to buy the US life-time, and hope it is convertted to a UA. The rep from US on the phone said historically carriers honor such memberships when a merger takes place...but technically UA could refuse to honor the US club memberships. She did advise the life-time was nonrefundable, and basically said if UA does not honor it, one would be out of luck...but she again said she has never heard of a not honored buy-out situation. I guess US club members would lose the membership privs at AA clubs when this goes through.

How much is the US lifetime membership?

The US club service center can be reached at:
(800) 828-8522
Lifetime: $2950.00

I can't imagine in any situation that they wouldn't accept the lifetime card. UA does have some old such cards (including the Pan Am convertees - where UA didn't even buy the company only certain routes!) and they hardly want to offend good customers of USAirways right when the merger is supposed to happen.

The biggest risk is that the merger doesn't happen and the purchaser is not interested in a USAirways club card only.

And for those that care, USAirways converted all of the lifetime Piedmont club cards (including the old TWA/Piedmont cards) into lifetime USAirways cards.

Well, I parted with the dough and bought the card. As I live on the west coast, I rarely fly US. But I always like lounge access. We'll see what happens.

Be sure to check out the SFO USAirways club. It is quite nice (though not very convenient if you are flying UA on the other side of the airport). Their card will also get you into American's clubs if you are flying either AA or US.

The US Airways Club card has been a good investment, although I miss the fact that I as a Chairman's Preferred received it for free. It's only $200 for Chairman's status, though.

The clubs can be a lifesaver when bad weather strikes in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia club over the Philly Marketplace is nice and roomy, but when snow strikes it gets crowded. Yet it is still much quieter and more relaxing compared to the gate areas.

What has the experience of others been with Admiral's Club reps enforcing the boarding pass policy? I've only had once experience where I wanted to visit the Admiral's Club in Nashville while traveling on Southwest. Since the club was empty, the agent bended the rules for me. :-)

If you REAAALLLLY want to get around the "same day boarding pass rule," buy a refundable ticket and get a refund.