The new United: no baggage fees and Premier Access
I love the new United! My companion and I flew on a one-way award to San Juan, PR on the old UA (and on a US Air segment) and had to pay $50 for 2 checked bags. On the return, a one-way award booked a week later about 11 months ago, we were pleasantly surprised to find that our baggage fees were now $0.00. Moreover, a mysterious heading appeared on our boarding passes stating "Premier Access". We were in boarding group 5, and boarded ahead of most people, ensuring access to bin space on a fully-booked flight.
In checking this out, I determined that the taxes ($10) each way had been charged to my UA Chase card in April 2011, which I no longer have. At the moment, I have only a CO Business card, while my companion holds both UA and CO cards.
It's a bit of a mystery to us why the 2 segments turned out differently, but since we were expecting to pay $50 for the return segment, we are not unhappy. My GF has not had any paid flights on UA in the past 10 years, only award flights.
Can anyone explain this? I do plan to apply for the new UA Explorer card later this year, likely after the initial fee-free 1-year period for the CO Business card is up.