mgcsinc

Actually, the going demand-and-ye-shall-receive offer is a year free.

krazykanuck

Interesting... I don't currently need an unlimited supply of donut holes and carrot sticks, but if I get back to traveling super often I might take advantage.

arctikjon

Lol! I dont count the "free" booze as a club benefit, its something closer to torture. Occasionally I have a Coors/Miller Lite but I suggest avoiding the well altogether.
Personally I use the club to enable me to schedule longer layovers at hub locations, say 2+ hours vs the standard 1 or less the system always attempts to force you into. This layover buffers out the inevitable delays that we know and love with UA. I am not fond of doing the ORD Marathon so this way I can absorb an hour delay and still have plenty of time to make the connection. When things go smoothly the clubs always have ample work spaces that are quiet (save when Captain Loud Talker is on a conference call... dont be that guy) with reliable wifi and hot coffee.

Tchiowa

Clarify something. You refer to a card like you're not sure what it is. Which brings up the question: Are you paying for the tickets and getting a reimbursement or is your company paying for the tickets with their card?

If company is paying to them you get no lounge benefits and no mileage from the purchase. Just miles from the flight itself.

ryuker16

They pay for it but I can attach my miles to the ticket....it works, the miles have shown up despite me not being involved with the process at all.

mgcsinc

That's the miles for the flight, not the miles from the credit card.

Is the credit card yours, or someone else's?

Tchiowa

Yes, that was where I was going when I asked the question. Further, he can't use the benefits of the card for lounge access. He gets the miles from the flight and might get status if he gets enough.

ZZYZXROAD

As a weekly traveler and up to 180-200 segments a year(not all of them on mainline), here's my worthless two cents:

1. UA has the largest elite base and active elite base IMO domestically. Don't expect upgrades from hub to hub, folks today are buying F tickets outright and non elite buy ups consume the rest, most of the time that is.

2. TSA Pre Check is the most valuable perk there is and apply for it ASAP.

3. If flying RJ more than mainline domestically, get a 1k friend to get you a Yellow Bag handle. Second best perk for RJ flyers when waiting for your bag on the jet bridge.

4. The lounges are WAY overrated. Not like the old days. UA lounges have crappy food selections, cheese and crackers, cheap yellow beer and horrible spirits complimentary. Also way overcrowded and not personal. I find it amusing that people enter the club expecting exclusivity and they realize there are 400 other people in a 410 person room with the same expectations. Manage your expectations on club experience. I would never pay for clubs but if someone gifted me access I would probably re-gift it.

LaserSailor

The point is it keeps out back door seekers who don't fly enough.

The math on the card is pretty simple. If you charge more than 4000 a month on the card, the extra 50% mile bonus on the card will offset the UC club cost using the generally accepted value of 2 cents per mile. Personally I use 1 cpm but I easily charge double that on travel and other expenses.

Chevelter

The bottom line has become more clear. In general, without a few asterisks that I believe will not apply to you:

You cannot get instant elite status. You will need to earn it. How many miles you fly in your first calendar year and how much you spend on tickets during that time will determine your elite status FOR THE NEXT CALENDAR YEAR. i.e., If you fly 100,000 miles in the next two months (with minimum $10K spend - and you can't count tax) you'll be 1K for 2014. Otherwise, what you fly and spend in 2014 will determine your 2015 status.

Your qualifying miles will come from flying, not from a credit card. There is no such thing as an elite credit card as you describe it.

You'll have to pay to join the United Club, one way or another (annual fee for membership or annual fee for new personal credit card). Yes the Club is not like the Golden Age, but in my opinion still worth it.

Complimentary upgrades are given only domestically, not international. You won't have any chance to get one at all until you earn some sort of status. A 1K friend tells me his complimentary upgrade rate is 50%. If you spend more than $50,000 a year on mostly full fare (and international) tickets you may be invited to join Global Services, where your domestic complimentary upgrade rate would be closer to 95%.

1K and especially GS status is most valuable in times of trouble...IRROPS - irregular operations - caused by weather, mechanical, etc. If a snowstorm shuts down the airport for 2 days you as a GS will be on the first flight that gets out, guaranteed. They'll take someone else off the plane (as in offering $$ incentive) to put you on it.

Domestic first class today is what coach was ten years ago. A bigger seat is nice but they don't give you much.

I'll leave it to others to add a few asterisks and "yes but..."s........

LaserSailor

Excellent summary. One clarification.

Each time you cross a status threshold you get that status after the miles post (a day or two); you don't fly the whole year without status until 2015. You keep that status no less than the current year, the next year, and a short period into the following year (currently month of Jan on UA, subject to change)

On edit..this was actually clearly stated in post, apologies

tsolin01

Travelling every week with no status will be painful until you reach gold for the E+ seat selection at booking and even when you reach 1K don't expect too much. I hit 1K back in August and flying SFO-IAH, I haven't gotten upgraded that wasn't an RPU. I'm usually 7-8 on the upgrade list of 60 deep and one flight there were around 10 GS. Even upgraded, domestic first class isn't all that great anyway unless you're on a plane with BusinessFirst that isn't on a P.S. route.

I have a United Club membership and it's ok but it's only good if you intend to really hang out at the airport or if you even have time during connections. I used to go to the airport early and do work in the lounge. You may even justify the expense of the membership if you dedicate work hours there.

If you end up flying the non-hub routes, most likely you'll get small RJs with usually no first class cabin anyway. So I say lower your expectations a bit and you'll be happier for it...

BTA

This is the best summary I've seen of the current status of United Clubs. Sad, but true.

milesmuncher

Another backdoor way to access the UClub: your employer may have a small number of memberships to hand out. Last year, mine offered me (and a handful of other frequent travelers) a choice of club membership for United or Delta. At the time, I had backdoor access through a match to that other *A airline mentioned previously in this thread, so asked if I could get club passes instead. I think they gave me 20 passes which I promptly gave to people on my team.

I don't know for sure, but I'll speculate it was obtained via points collected in a Perks Plus membership or something similar: https://unitedperksplus.united.com/c...MgQU18fDU4ODA4

Your employer may have something similar - but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll make the short list (I'd been with the company for almost 9 years at the time, and seniority was also a consideration... I should also mention that they didn't offer it this year - presumably to save the points for some other use)

dimramon

I don't know your company (nor do I need to know), but I would be very careful with the "money saving perks are a non issue".

Also, I can't recall any projects I've been on where I had time for sight-seeing.