I’m so glad the topic of the Trip Pass is being brought up because I had an issue with this exact thing last year, and it seems most United employees know little to nothing about the nuances of it versus a one-time pass.

The Trip Pass terms and conditions say you get UC access at all UC’s along one-way of your trip. When you go to purchase the pass either at booking or before departure day, the app literally shows you the airports along your trip that it can be used at. So for my EWR > ATL trip it showed both airports as having UC’s I could go into. And it does clearly state in T&C’s that it works at departure and arrival airports. I was offered it for $50 for my trip, which is a steal given a one-time pass was $59 and only allowed access at one club in one airport. It seems to be a highly underutilized offer that many don’t even know exists.

For my trip, I used it at EWR to get into the C123 club and then the Terminal A club. Worked like a charm. I got to ATL and the lady at the desk said I couldn’t go through because they were full. I explained to her I had a prepaid Trip Pass, but she told me I had a one-time pass and a trip pass isn’t a thing. I showed her the app T&C’s stating I had paid to access the clubs in EWR and ATL. Despite me being calm, she told me she “couldn’t deal with this right now” and told me to just go in. I submitted a complaint to United saying I was wrongly denied entry for my pass (since she never scanned it and just waved me through after I debated her). First response was that trip passes work like one-time passes. I sent a rebuttal with the T&C’s, and they responded with a $100 FFC.

So, I got into 3 clubs and was essentially paid $50 for it, but it still highlighted the issue that United employees don’t understand what this is and how it’s different from a one-time pass.

Main difference is that for a one-time pass, I can use that on any day when the clubs aren’t full. This Trip Pass limits me to only my specific one-way trip that I purchased it for, so if any or all of the clubs along that trip are full, I’m not getting what I paid for. And the offer is stupid if it’s a gamble like that.