Originally Posted by
tarheelnj
Here's the rule it's replacing: "All United Club customers, including members, are eligible to access United Club locations only when they have a flight arriving or departing on any airline the same day, and must show a boarding pass for entry."
Maybe this was aimed at non-flying Members that wanted Club access by purchasing, then refunding, a non-UA flight (to avoid UA excessive cancellation tracking).
If UA lounges are anything like AA or DL, I wouldn't think anyone is trying to get through security to use them (maybe for a Polaris or Centurion). This is just cost savings by the clubs, rather than raise the membership prices. Or maybe Chase is tired of reimbursing UA. But most likely, it's because United has no reason to be better than their competitors.