Originally Posted by spin88

This is the heart of it. You are flying United at an outstation, and if you are GS, self evidently are connecting in SFO or EWR. SFO is a weather pit, and as you have noted the lounges are crowded and not so great to begain with (both the Centurion Lounge and the DL SkyClub are heads and tails above any UC at SFO) and is 4 hours out of the way, and EWR is just a CS pit. Only a masochist would fly UA metal ex-SEA. If you were crediting to UA and flying ANA and LH (to Russia and Eastern Europe) I would think it was not a bad deal, but unless you are doing this, and still getting $50K+ on UA metal, you are either (a) doing a long flight to EWR in the gross monstrosity called the UA 737-900ER, or (b) connecting in SFO. All I Can say is yuck.