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ORD Polaris lounge -- Reviews, Experiences, Q&A, ..

Old Dec 3, 2016, 9:22 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Access to Polaris lounges (source):

Hour 6:00 a.m. 9:00 p.m. daily
A la carte dining, last seating 8 p. m.

United flights with the premium cabin class listed as 'Polaris Business' qualify for deaparture, connecting and arrival of a United Polaris flight.
UA premium cabin flights not marketed as Polaris, such as Domestic First or International Business (Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, northern South America, ... ) are not eligible for Polaris lounge access.
For partner, Business or International First, access only at departure airport and same destination restrictions as UA (roughly at least 8+ hours long haul international - TATL, TPAC, yes any UA Polaris destination but no trans-border).

No Guests (except 1 guest for International First partner flights)

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ORD Polaris lounge -- Reviews, Experiences, Q&A, ..

Old Jun 21, 2017, 11:57 am
  #451  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Kaiserslautern
Programs: UA G 1.9MM, HH Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 439
Visited for the first time yesterday. I found it quite pleasant. The food and drink selection, plus the self serve whisky bar.... I had the burger and found it tasty, but way too salty. I was there from 3 to 7 PM. The place got real crowded between 330 to 530. It had way more kids than I would have expected, but it is vacation season. Some were not well behaved. But they did not stay long.
spearsba is offline  
Old Jun 30, 2017, 5:23 am
  #452  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: London
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 2,438
Looks like they're officially going to expand it:

http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/n...at-ohare.html?
villox is offline  
Old Jun 30, 2017, 6:08 am
  #453  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: CHS
Programs: UA GS, Bonvoy Amabassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,589
Originally Posted by villox
Looks like they're officially going to expand it:

http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/n...at-ohare.html?
Last paragraph of that article:

Meanwhile, American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) is ahead of schedule in construction of a 17,000-square-foot Flagship Lounge for its international premium cabin passengers at O'Hare. That facility could be completed and open as soon as September of this year. An AA spokeswoman said the airline did extensive "modeling" ahead of the build-out to ensure the lounge can comfortably accommodate all the ticketed premium cabin passengers expected to use the facility during peak departure times.

AA may try and make a play for some United Business at ORD
Hipplewm is offline  
Old Jul 3, 2017, 4:01 am
  #454  
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 16,900
We were through Sunday when it wasn't very busy. I can see how the dining area can get crowded as we occupied a table for over an hour before my chicken sandwich came!

Agree that the drinks list is great. But, no one wants to wait an hour for food in an airport lounge!
milepig is offline  
Old Jul 3, 2017, 6:44 am
  #455  
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Programs: UA PM, DL PM, Bonvoy Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 1,288
Originally Posted by milepig
We were through Sunday when it wasn't very busy. I can see how the dining area can get crowded as we occupied a table for over an hour before my chicken sandwich came!

Agree that the drinks list is great. But, no one wants to wait an hour for food in an airport lounge!
Not sure what happened but I have never waited more than 15 minutes for the food to come out. Did you ask the server why there was a delay? That is completely abnormal for the Polaris Lounge, at least in my experience.
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Old Jul 3, 2017, 12:06 pm
  #456  
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Originally Posted by DawgmanOH
Not sure what happened but I have never waited more than 15 minutes for the food to come out. Did you ask the server why there was a delay? That is completely abnormal for the Polaris Lounge, at least in my experience.
Everything was slow. Maybe just a bad kitchen day, the server did keep promising "5 more minutes" after the first half hour had passed.
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Old Jul 3, 2017, 5:22 pm
  #457  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: United MileagePlus - Premier Gold, Star Alliance Gold, World of Hyatt Explorist, Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 141
Polaris Club Lounge access?

Hi,

UA Premier Silver Mileage Plus Member here with UA Club lounge membership. I'm flying tomorrow to Mexico on business, connecting in Houston, and I've been upgraded for free to United First on the 1st leg and United Business on the 2nd leg.

Does the upgrade to First/Business class give me access to the Polaris lounge? Or does it have to be a paid First/Business class ticket?
Manospeed is offline  
Old Jul 3, 2017, 5:26 pm
  #458  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: UA 1K 1.45MM, Marriott+SPG Plat, Clear, Nexus, Global Entry and MEX Viajero Confiable
Posts: 1,777
Sadly, no to both questions. MEX is considered a North America destination and not eligible for Polaris access.
NH_Clark is offline  
Old Jul 3, 2017, 5:29 pm
  #459  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 841
You have to be in *Polaris* business (or first) to be eligible. "United Business" is just domestic first, but branded as business because it crosses an international boundary (something I don't entirely understand, but I'm guessing there's some legacy reason behind that distinction without a difference).
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Old Jul 3, 2017, 5:32 pm
  #460  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: United MileagePlus - Premier Gold, Star Alliance Gold, World of Hyatt Explorist, Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 141
Originally Posted by rmadisonwi
You have to be in *Polaris* business (or first) to be eligible. "United Business" is just domestic first, but branded as business because it crosses an international boundary (something I don't entirely understand, but I'm guessing there's some legacy reason behind that distinction without a difference).
Which would probably explain the designations of:

Polaris First
Polaris Business
United First
United Business

Gotcha; My gut feeling was probably not, but thought to ask nonetheless.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jul 3, 2017 at 9:20 pm Reason: repaired post
Manospeed is offline  
Old Jul 8, 2017, 8:21 am
  #461  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: PDX (wish I was in HNL)
Programs: Platinum
Posts: 1,687
Any recent experience regarding the 24 hour travel rule? We are flying in from PDX Monday at 5 pm (United First), and will be going to LHR the next day at 3:50 pm (Polaris Business). Can we drop by the Polaris lounge Monday evening to check it out?

Also, is there a consensus on the peak hours for the lounge?
frankmu is offline  
Old Jul 8, 2017, 8:26 am
  #462  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: Marriott Platinum Elite, National Executive, United Gold
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Is this on one itinerary? If so, I think it's worth a shot given this is a connection and not a stopover, although the "same day" language on the website seems to discourage this (have them scan your ORD-LHR ticket). Personally, I'd rather enjoy all of the fine dining options in Chicago and then head over to the Polaris Lounge early the next day before your LHR flight.

Peak time at the Polaris Lounge is the afternoon during the TATL departures/TPAC arrivals.

Originally Posted by frankmu
Any recent experience regarding the 24 hour travel rule? We are flying in from PDX Monday at 5 pm (United First), and will be going to LHR the next day at 3:50 pm (Polaris Business). Can we drop by the Polaris lounge Monday evening to check it out?

Also, is there a consensus on the peak hours for the lounge?
764toHI is offline  
Old Jul 8, 2017, 8:37 am
  #463  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: PDX (wish I was in HNL)
Programs: Platinum
Posts: 1,687
Originally Posted by 764toHI
Is this on one itinerary? If so, I think it's worth a shot given this is a connection and not a stopover, although the "same day" language on the website seems to discourage this (have them scan your ORD-LHR ticket). Personally, I'd rather enjoy all of the fine dining options in Chicago and then head over to the Polaris Lounge early the next day before your LHR flight.

Peak time at the Polaris Lounge is the afternoon during the TATL departures/TPAC arrivals.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, one PNR. We are planning on taking the train into the city and meeting family Monday evening (staying at the ORD Hilton), but I wanted to scope it out if we happened to arrive in Terminal C (and maybe sample the whiskey bar before seeing the in-laws )
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Old Jul 8, 2017, 4:43 pm
  #464  
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Lake Oswego, OR
Programs: UA 1K 2MM, Marriott Lifetime Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,202
In March, after the access rule terminology had been changed to "same day," I had no issues obtaining Polaris Lounge access when I flew to ORD the evening before my international flight.

Originally Posted by frankmu
Any recent experience regarding the 24 hour travel rule? We are flying in from PDX Monday at 5 pm (United First), and will be going to LHR the next day at 3:50 pm (Polaris Business). Can we drop by the Polaris lounge Monday evening to check it out?

Also, is there a consensus on the peak hours for the lounge?
LarryU is offline  
Old Jul 8, 2017, 5:35 pm
  #465  
Moderator: Midwest, Las Vegas & Dining Buzz
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 17,965
I really don't know the answer to this.

I received an email today saying that since my trip takes me to ORD, that I can visit and enjoy the Polaris Lounge.

Here is my situation: I normally terminate at ORD for all my international flights and go straight home. On this trip, I am on SYD-SFO-ORD, so I terminate in Chicago. Since I will have already gone through customs and immigration in SFO and land in the domestic terminal at ORD, I could conveniently go to the Polaris Lounge.

I know that if I had another connection after ORD that it would be allowed.

Does anyone know if this is "legal" or will I be told to pound sand and go away?
iluv2fly is online now  

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