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MileagePlus Explorer priority boarding(?) experiences if CC not used for purchase

MileagePlus Explorer priority boarding(?) experiences if CC not used for purchase

Old Jul 5, 2014, 9:59 pm
  #1  
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Angry MileagePlus Explorer priority boarding(?) experiences if CC not used for purchase

I'm having some trouble with United honoring the priority boarding benefit of the Mileage Plus Explorer card. I booked two United round trips with other credit cards prior to getting the MP card. I called UA when the card showed up and confirmed that the card was associated with my MP account and that the MP information for both reservations was current. (And I'm well aware that I don't get a free checked bag because [I]that[I] requires you to use the MP card to book the reservation.)

Today I checked in and didn't get group 2. I called UA phone number and the agent and subsequent supervisor insisted priority boarding requires purchasing the ticket with the CC. After that hour exercise in frustration, I tweeted a bit with them and eventually got this DM: "These benefits only apply when the ticket is purchased with the Explorer card for travel by the primary Cardmember." So via two official channels, United is saying that you only get priority boarding when you purchase the ticket using the card.

Here are some relevant quotes from the marketing materials for the card, and its official terms and conditions:

Primary Cardmembers and their companions traveling on the same reservation will be invited to board United-operated flights prior to general boarding. To receive priority boarding, just add your MileagePlus number to your reservation and refer to your boarding pass for your boarding group number. -- https://creditcards.chase.com/credit...edit-card.aspx (no mention of ticket purchase requirement)

Q: What do I need to do to receive Priority Boarding?
A: To receive Priority Boarding, you must be the primary Cardmember, include your MileagePlus number in your reservation and be traveling on a United-operated flight.
-- https://www.theexplorercard.com/Benefits/Explorer (no mention of ticket purchase requirement)

The primary cardmember and companions traveling on the same reservation are eligible for priority boarding; authorized users are only eligible if they are on the same reservation as the primary cardmember. To receive priority boarding, the primary cardmember must include their MileagePlus number in their reservation. Priority boarding is only available on United- and United Express-operated flights; codeshare partner-operated flights are not eligible. MileagePlus Explorer Card members will receive priority boarding after Premier members and passengers with Premier AccessSM designations or requiring special assistance. Chase is not responsible for the provision of, or failure to provide, the stated benefits. Please allow 2 weeks after account opening for priority boarding to be available on your United reservation. -- Official card terms and conditions on Chase website.
I'd love to just charge the tickets to the MP card, but my company requires use of a corporate card for airfare. Still I signed up under the impression that priority boarding could be had simply for holding the card, but it seems United is imposing additional restrictions not stated anywhere on its website or terms. So ... is anyone else getting the priority boarding simply by having the card, or am I totally wrong here?
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Old Jul 5, 2014, 10:27 pm
  #2  
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Moving this post over to the United forum. Hopefully the moderators there will combine your question with the appropriate thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...orer-card.html
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Old Jul 5, 2014, 10:52 pm
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Originally Posted by kpbadger
.. ... is anyone else getting the priority boarding simply by having the card, or am I totally wrong here?
The was a period of time where merely having the card provided the benefit, UA has, for over a year, been requiring to have used the card to make the reservation. This is true for the bag waiver also.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...gage-fees.html

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jul 5, 2014 at 10:57 pm Reason: link
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Old Jul 5, 2014, 10:58 pm
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
The was a period of time where merely having the card provided the benefit, UA has, for over a year, been requiring to have used the card to make the reservation.
I know that this is the case for the FREE BAG benefit and I'm not disputing that (I'm not checking a bag anyway).

But I can't for the life of me find this written for PRIORITY BOARDING. I'd walk away from the whole thing if I could find that actually written somewhere...
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Old Jul 5, 2014, 11:00 pm
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OP is right that the priority boarding benefit has no terms stating you must buy the ticket with the card. In fact it's pretty explicit you just make sure your MileagePlus number is in there and you're good.

The bag benefit is equally explicit about saying you need to purchase with the card.

Strange situation...

Almost all of us here are Premier level so hard to test this in the field.
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Old Jul 5, 2014, 11:10 pm
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Call Chase and complain UA is not fulfilling their perks requirement.

Although im pretty sure buried in the T&S of the card "subject to change" is in there somewhere
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Old Jul 5, 2014, 11:13 pm
  #7  
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Chase mislead you... ask them to comp you Premier Access every trip.
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Old Jul 6, 2014, 7:26 pm
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I had this exact problem as well.
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Old Jul 6, 2014, 10:42 pm
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@BayAreaResident - I'd be interested to know what you did about this (if anything) and if you had any success.

My experience today flying MSN-ORD-LGA. I approached both gate agents before the boarding process and when they were not busy, and told them the following (which was true): I got the credit card and was expecting group 2, but got group 3. I called service but they couldn't fix it, but they said to ask the gate agent.

MSN - Agent said he couldn't change the boarding pass, and he'd never had anyone ask to change boarding group before so he wouldn't know where to start, so board when my group is called. A total of 3 people boarded in group 2, so less than 1 minute real-world difference.

ORD - Agent just said to show him the credit card when boarding and then I could board with group 2. I told him I was checking with him first because I (genuinely) didn't want to disrupt the boarding process, and I know that "whip out the card" isn't standard procedure. When he called group 2 I showed the card, thanked him again, and boarded without incident.

Between flights I stopped at the customer service desk in ORD. The supervisor there said that the free bag fee requires purchasing the ticket on the card (I know!) and he didn't know about priority boarding. Someone else there chimed in and said priority boarding does too, and the supervisor said "so there's your answer." I also picked up the official paper credit card application while in ORD and the terms and conditions match the website -- i.e., not required to purchase ticket with card for priority boarding. I also read (and photographed) the fine print on numerous sign advertisements throughout concourses F, C, and B (I had time to kill...) and all signage matched the website.

I can now clearly see why the card T&C basically say "Chase isn't responsible if United doesn't honor this" next to most every benefit. The only other thing I can think of to do is to call Chase with this tact -- United isn't honoring the perks, which is the whole reason I got this card. I know Chase isn't doing anything wrong and the T&C say you're not responsible. But maybe just maybe YOU know somebody at United who can fix this, because I really want to keep this card?

Honestly, I really don't expect to get anywhere. I'll have zone 3 on every remaining United flight and all are on regional jets, so the practical difference is small. I'll just cancel the card before the one year renewal and generally become a disgruntled internet reviewer posting 1-star reviews of the card as many places as I can find to do so.
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Old Jul 6, 2014, 11:45 pm
  #10  
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Originally Posted by kpbadger
I'm having some trouble with United honoring the priority boarding benefit of the Mileage Plus Explorer card. I booked two United round trips with other credit cards prior to getting the MP card. I called UA when the card showed up and confirmed that the card was associated with my MP account and that the MP information for both reservations was current. (And I'm well aware that I don't get a free checked bag because [I]that[I] requires you to use the MP card to book the reservation.)
Here is my suspicion. You make the reservation and pay for it. You put you MP number in the reservation. But you don't have the card yet so the reservation isn't flagged for priority. You get the card. You link the card to your MP account. But that doesn't change the reservation. So your new perks aren't recorded to that reservation.

You have a boarding group number on your boarding pass. You probably should have gone to the GA and asked them to change your group, which they could do manually.
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Old Jul 7, 2014, 12:44 am
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Has this happened on any reservation you have booked with the Chase MP card? My guess would be the same as WineCountryUA's
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Old Jul 7, 2014, 12:53 am
  #12  
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Originally Posted by kpbadger
...Honestly, I really don't expect to get anywhere. I'll have zone 3 on every remaining United flight and all are on regional jets, so the practical difference is small. I'll just cancel the card before the one year renewal and generally become a disgruntled internet reviewer posting 1-star reviews of the card as many places as I can find to do so.
This isn't the end of the world and certainly isn't worth all the time you've put in to it. Just show the card as you board with Group 2. It's that simple. You are not "disrupting" the boarding process, you"re just boarding with your appropriate group.

The problem arose solely on any ticket (or tickets) you purchased prior to obtaining card. Any tickets purchased subsequently to getting the card will not generate the problem, so I'm not sure canceling the card is particularly useful if you do so when the problem you're annoyed with has gone away.
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Old Oct 3, 2014, 8:36 am
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Hi folks,

Sorry to bump an old thread -- but I have a somewhat related question.

I booked an upcoming flight with my MP Explorer (just double checked the receipt to make sure) but I was put in boarding group 4. The bag waiver did work as expected.

Any thoughts on what is going on here? Haven't had a problem with it at all over the last year. Is it worth calling United about this? Some kind of known issue?
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Old Oct 5, 2014, 2:43 pm
  #14  
 
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I wish United would give this perk to its UK customers, its not available with United's UK based CC card, I have to purchase priority boarding each time I fly to the US with United
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Old Oct 5, 2014, 3:13 pm
  #15  
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Sorry, but I wish this wasn't a benefit of the card. Or UA should do it like they used to, priority boarding AFTER all elites and before general boarding. With more and more of these CC out there group 2 is getting to be huge, and yes, many of the people in group 2 are CC holders. Just my opinion. And the purchase of priority boarding should be in the same place, after elites and before general boarding. Groups 3,4 and 5 have hardly any people in them any more.
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