I'm a loyal customer who always defends UA and is usually perplexed by the many bad reviews I read about United because I rarely, if ever, have a bad UA experience. However, my most recent trip to Cuba on a paid First Class ticket gave me a taste of what so many complain about. At my very early 4:30 a.m. check-in at SFO, I was eager to check-in quickly and get my first cup of coffee before boarding. My "quick check-in" in the Premier line turned into a 40 minute ordeal when the check-in agent told me I couldn't fly because I didn't have a Cuban visa. I calmly explained to her that connecting customers purchase their Cuban visas at the connecting gate--in my case IAH--and that a third-party sells them at the UA gate just prior to boarding the flight to Havana. I told her she could find that information right on the United website. She wouldn't believe me and proceeded to ask a fellow agent who confirmed what I'd said, but she refused to believe him either. She then called over a supervisor who also had no clue about the procedure. I was told, "Cuba is a new destination for us", even though they've been flying there for months now, and they also suggested I was the first passenger flying to Havana out of SFO! Errrr...I don't think so. Finally they called a UA office in Houston that confirmed what I'd been trying to tell them for the past 40 minutes. I never did get that cup of coffee before boarding. I had a great time in Cuba. It was my fifth trip there, but my first time traveling there on United. On the day of departure I took a taxi to the large main international Terminal 3, only to quickly discover that United flies out of the much smaller Terminal 2, two kilometers away. I had to take another taxi and pay an additional 10 CUC to get there. The taxi driver told me it's a common problem. Normally I would have checked on-line to find out the correct terminal, but if you've been to Cuba you know that Cuban Wi-Fi is worthless and rarely connects. I had a printed United itinerary of my flights, but nowhere on it does it state which terminal the flights depart from, and United really should be proactive and add that information. Upon boarding, I sat down in seat 1F only to find it full of trash and crumbs. It was obvious no one had cleaned the cabin after the proceeding flight. On arrival in EWR I passed through customs and then went to security to re-enter the terminal for my connecting flight. I had a very long layover and planned to spend part of it in the United Club, and then when it closed find a seat near my gate and read a book until my very early morning departure. This is something I've done many times in airports around the world. The TSA agent told me I couldn't enter because my connecting flight was "for the following day", and that I should ask United for a gate pass. I went to the Premier line and asked the counter agent for one. Without even looking at my ticket, I was told in an abrasive Jersey accent that, "we don't give gate passes". Then to my shock she told me to, "go downstairs by luggage claim and wait at the Dunkin' Donuts". My status is a lowly Gold Million Miler so normally I'm very humble and don't expect much, but I was flabbergasted that I was being treated like this as a customer traveling on a paid first class ticket. After burning for an hour, I went back upstairs and found a supervisor. She gave me a gate pass and apologized. When I told her what the agent "Margaret" had told me, she said, "Margaret must have had a bad day". I was able to enter the terminal with the gate pass, and spent the long layover in the United Club and later reading my book near the gate. Although I'm far too invested in United to ever consider leaving it and will continue to be a loyal customer, I'm going to think twice before buying another first class ticket. Why bother if I'm going to be treated like cattle anyway?