BenSenise

i have not flown UA very often and am thus not familiar with them. i have a round trip from YVR to PHX in United First (revenue P fare, no awards or upgrades) coming up. i have no UA or *A status.
as i understand it, business class domestic in the US does not entitle one to lounge entry but travel to/from Canada does. The UA website explicitly states "Customers traveling to and from Canada in United First are eligible for United Business access" on the "Club and lounge access" page.
After reading so many threads on wrongful lounge entrance denial by poorly informed staff, i would just like to prepare myself for that possibility.
I would like to be able to access the Maple Leaf Lounge in YVR on departure and the lounge in PHX for the return. probably won't have time to visit any lounges on the stopovers in between but it's possible.

If anyone here has specific experience with this scenario (flying on a P fare from/to Canada), i would be grateful to hear how it went. did the lounge agents give you a hard time? were you denied entry?

second of all, if one is denied, what can they do? i was thinking of printing out the access conditions page from united.com but i don't know if that would make a difference since it seems that once an agent says no, they dig in even further if you try to prove that they are wrong. i'm not going to cause a fuss but i am paying for a ticket that grants access and I would like to take advantage of that.

thanks for any experience and/or advice anyone can share.

iapetus

As access to a United lounge while traveling in First or Business to and from Canada is a published benefit, that is how I would set my expectations. And, given that it is a published benefit, I would be surprised if you were turned away. I think that the staff are more informed than we tend to give them credit for. But, yes, if you are denied entry, I would have that page printed up and, as politely as possible (which, if I'm not mistaken, is something Canadians pride themselves on? ), explain that you were informed that you should have access.

But I can't say anything about Maple Leaf lounge access.

txflyer77

UA won't have a club in PHX for at least six months after they move to T3 in February, so on that end of your trip at least you don't have to worry about getting denied.

findark

Oh, huh. The Club rules on the website now say very prominently " Customers traveling to and from Canada in United First are eligible for United Business access."

That's extremely new, so I would just point at that. Makes me very confused why they bothered changing the marketed cabin from Business to First to start with.

WineCountryUA

Canada-USA flights qualify for lounge access, that itinerary should not be any issue. But if after 3 Feb, UA is change terminals in PHX and will not have a UC for some time
PHX T2 United Club Closing and UA Moving to T3 on 3 Feb 2020

iapetus

Harrumph! I actually went to the United site to verify that there is a United lounge in PHX before posting above. The website says there is one!

But you'd think that they'd at least put in a footnote that this will only be true until February 3rd, 2020.

emcampbe

Being able to travel to and from Canada in ‘United First’ again is pretty new. PMUA used to refer to premium cabin to Canada as First, but after the merger, it became Business. There’s a thread noting the change back to F somewhere. I never understood why there was a difference in nomenclature between domestic and Canada flights, given the service levels are the same.

Kacee

I haven't been wrongly denied access to a UA lounge since shortly after the merger at IAH. I don't think it's common at all. People don't post about all the times they are properly granted entry

mctaste

Why worry about it so much? It is just a lounge. Better to remain stress free!

And I do not think printing the rules would sway anyone who won’t let you in. Anyone can modify anything before printing it.

wxguy

The scanner looks at your PNR and is pretty good at figuring out if you are welcome to enter.

BenSenise

I wasn't expecting some wonderful lounge in PHX but still, having nothing is a small bummer.

thanks everyone for their comments, which seem to more or less validate my train of thought.

JimInOhio

I haven’t seen what’s available around the new UA gates in PHX T3 but my guess it’s better than the soon to be condemned current UC.

margarita girl

Your BP will have INTERNATIONAL written in the top right corner.

Often1

TSA may not recognize your passport as a valid form of ID. Your ticket may be inadverdently cancelled by some computer glitch and the aircraft may slide of the runway.

Lots of stuff to worry about that is simply not going to happen.

Kacee

I previously cast my vote for PHX as worst club (that I've visited) in the system.

I'm guessing the new one (when it eventually opens) will be a much nicer space, and the food can't be any worse.