mrjay

I was checking junior in for tomorrow's flight and got the offer. Is this new for 2013 or have I just not been paying attention?
Do any FTers know what group this gives now - I assume it would be BG 2 along with the important card holders and silver/gold?

united7772

It's kinda new, and kinda not.

The sole purchase is new (relatively speaking). The actual ability to get the perk is not. Minus being a elite member, it was available for purchase for a while. And, without saying, cetain fare classes include the perk, too.

I do not have dates on this either, but it was not available last month on my flight.

Critic

This is hardly new. Wasn't one-off elite status effectively sold as a 'travel option' by pmUA?

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Does anyone know what group do they board with?

edcho

Group 1

whitethunder

what did the terms and conditions link say??

demkr

The "Premier line" is the new "cattle call!" Remember, all elites are the same -- the lowly 1K status is just the same as if you paid 30 dollars

buckeyefanflyer

Totally rediculous, this is something CO tried to do and I had an issue with it. All of us who fly alot saw the number of Elites growing, people who pay thousands of dollars to earn these these prividlidges now you want to sell them. The lights must be burning late to come up with ideas like this. Anything for a buck.
There must be a average dollar fiqure what a 1K, Gold, Silver etc pay each to fly. These programs were started for a reason to reword frequent flyers who pay there hard earned money and it is not fair to sell these frequent flyer benefits.

cblaisd

Very glad to finally see this back; it went away post 3/3. Handy for tickets for non-status family members. Now if they'll just bring back buying E+ on such tickets all will be well.

Weez_1000

I'd like to see it more in line with you buy an E+ seat you get the status for the day. Good E+ seats rarely go under $50

entropy

fine with me, if some guy wants to shell out $39 to use the same kiosks as he would in Y, get on the same plane a bit earlier and save 2 minutes at security, I'm glad UA can get some money for that.

its not nearly as offensive as the ToD upgrades which actually materially harm elites. there is a very finite # of F seats, and there's no "Crush capacity" there while you can easily squeeze a couple more people thru the lines. I'd make a similar argument for the clubs. If someone wants to pay $50 to access the club for the day, I'm all for it. It is certainly far more profitable for the airline than a $400 full membership user who travels 1 RT weekly, @ $4 a visit.

Again, if the lounge product can make money, there's often excess 'capacity', and the more profitable the lounge product is, the more they can justify improvements in capacity, and offerings.

AirMiles2001

That is interesting. I remember pmCO having this but I don't recall pmUA. It makes me think maybe I don't need to chase status so much if I can just buy it.

For the flights I actually care about being upgraded on I could buy into F sometimes and then buy this premier access other times. I bet it would be cheaper than some of the flights I pick on united over other airlines.

njcommodore

pmUA definitely offered it, that's why you're not seeing an outcry from pmUA 1Ks about another CO change ruining their beloved airline.

ETA: Found an interesting summary of the old Premier Access. http://crankyflier.com/2009/09/16/un...nts-to-buy-it/

want to know what boarding group they had? Wait for it ... Group 1.

buckeyefanflyer

It's been reported and I have seen where the Premere line to get through security has more people in it then the regular line. How would you feel if you were in that line as an elete flyer who pays thousands of dollars a year to fly and have several people ahead of you who are paying a mere $/39.00 to have that privilege. It totally delutes the purpose of Premere access.

rankourabu

If you feel like an idiot, stop spending thousands of dollars, and pay $39, who is stopping you? Noone forces you to spend on United, or fly for that matter, there is always a choice. Stop being angry, its not gonna change anything, have a stiff drink, and vote with your feet/wallet.

Personally, I wouldnt pay a penny for this, but good on UA on monetizing something thats not really THAT big of a deal/privilege.