Originally Posted by
MM_someday
CC-user here and I used the 90k sign-up bonus to secure UC for myself for 3 (maybe 2 if there is a fee increase) years for a net cost of <$100 in credit card fees on my taxes. Personally I would pay for it even at $1000 per year right now based on my anticipated United travel patterns, average cost of airport food and non-airport alternatives, and indirect savings, e.g., I choose cheaper flights with longer layovers because I can chill and eat at the club. In a couple years when our UA travel dies down, I don't think it'll be worth more than $200 to me and my wife, which is unlikely to be the price.
Make sense and definitely cost effective if your travels include a lot of time at airports on connections, for example.
I am almost always on O/D transcon nonstop. Even on our crazy MR adventures, my turnaround time is usually extremely short (less than an hour officially, but even less when accounting for deplaning of the west bound transcon and door closure time of the east bound transcon). I am also flying different carriers as a force of habit in getting the best schedule/price.