dordal

It's actually the ability to get through security when not flying that's worth the effort. If you're assisting someone travelling with an infant or an elderly person, it is REALLY handy to be able to get them all the way to the gate.

Last time I got a gate pass I didn't even set foot inside the club itself.

swixo

SFO for example - the new terminal is really quite nice. Real seating, nice
places to eat, internet, plug-in space.

Why pay for an overcrowded "other room"??

swixo

Pay for access? PAY? It is for to laugh.

No way would I pay. RDM's? Maybe - they are becoming worthless anyway. But real cash? Especially with the FX rate now. Sorry. No $$ for 'klub access'.

s

halls120

Yes, the new terminal is quite nice. But every time I've been in the new terminal, it has been crowded and difficult to find an empty "real" seat.

st1575

A gate pass used to be explicitly allowed for meeting/escorting elderly passengers and minors per the GG CHECKPOINT bullet list. The current screenshot in the Gate Pass for Club Access thread wiki only starts at the Club bullet point (line 65) and the elderly/minor bullet point was just before it (line 63) in the wiki's previous screen capture.

cerealmarketer

Yes indeed, I actually prefer the old pier and find it less crowded.

Not to mention how hard it is to find a seat in the food establishments, though when the area between the old and new piers is opened maybe it will be less crowded in the restaurants.

And the big new UA club will be a relief.

UAzip

No such sign at BOS or CLE today. Was thinking about asking them at CLE because recently they were actually spreading word of mouth at the door about the ability to get a gate pass to use your Club membership to visit when not flying, see off family, etc....

Annandaler

That raises an interesting question. Is this new policy (requiring a same-day boarding pass) going to be system-wide? Or just at specific clubs? UAInsider might have details to share - we are all waiting. Is it worth starting a Wiki in this thread where, among other things, those clubs with/without the signs can be tallied?

ctownflyer

It will be systemwide.

drowelf

I'd really like to know what drove this decision. I can not believe that many people are getting gate passes and coming into the club. I do it about once a year, when I travel out to the airport to pick up my Mother-In-Law for the holidays. If her flight is running late, I could always drop into the club for a bit.

Also a bit of clarification of 'Same-Day-BP'

For example.

Flights which depart after 12 midnight.

Red-Eye Flights departing on day 1, arriving on day 2.

How about when I arrive at my destination airport, but my wife is running late (or I'm early). Will I still have Club Access? This could be an issue as I noticed that my BP sometimes disappears from my mobile device once my flight has landed.

Cheers,

transportbiz

Actually Delta was pretty smart and did no such thing, they customized memberships to the needs of their members, as not everyone travels with a guest and many people do it only rarely, I think this is a much smarter solution to crowding, it also address' the issue of guest access abuse, from the Delta website:

• Executive Membership
Includes unlimited Club access for the member and up to two guests per visit. This membership is a great option if frequent guest access is important to you.
One-Year Rate: $695.00, 110,000 miles or $59.99 for 12 monthly installments.*

• Individual Membership
Includes unlimited Club access for the member only. Individual Members may bring up to two guests to the Club at the rate of $29.00 per guest per visit. This membership is perfect if you typically travel alone and rarely need guest access.
One-Year Rate: $450.00, 70,000 miles or $39.99 for 12 monthly installments.

cerealmarketer

Instead of expanding the clubs as you suggest United do they cut benefits drastically and raised the price.

Your criticism is just as valid for DL if not more so.

Delta should have doubled the size of the clubs instead of slashing Diamond Medallion benefits by your health club logic.

UA simply matched a DL policy, avoided increasing the price for guest access, and will expand / has expanded square footage at SFO, ORD, LAX (yes it will be a net increase), EWR (expansion is coming), SAN, SEA, and more.

uastarflyer

Current state: have UC membership, flying on WN with BP in hand - access? I presume Yes. Only place I fly where I could do this is probably DEN.

Future state same scenario? I would have a BP, after all

dank0014

Maybe it isn't to you, but to me, absolutely is worth the effort. It provides me the opportunity to gate pass, and here are some things I have used it for before:

-Taking my niece to see the planes, she loves that experience and it is great to be able to share that with her
-Taking my mother through the airport. She very much dislikes the airport experience and easily gets lost in airports. By me taking her directly to the gate, it relieves her stress tremendously while traveling
-Picking friends/family up at the airport. The smile and happiness on their face when they walk off the jet bridge
-Meeting colleagues while they have layovers for in person meetings (have done this a lot)

Through the majority of the above, I never really step foot in the club.

Maybe I'm the weird one, but I purchased UA Club membership for a key purpose being that it gave me access to the club when I needed it outside of just flying. By taking away this key benefit to me, it dilutes the value of the membership and I probably won't need it as much.

When I'm traveling for business, I expense everything, so the little bits of food in the lounge don't do much for me, and many airports offer free wifi now and chairs are starting to become more comfy in the seating areas as is. Given this, the value of the actual use of the club while traveling isn't the most important piece. The only time it has helped me was during IRROPS; however, majority of the time, I can get issues taken care of quicker via the app or calling UA rather than seeing an agent live, and truthfully, the agents in the club have been dis-empowered to actually fix problems IMO.

If this eliminates the gate pass option, my only other choice will be to cancel the club membership and just go to the purchase/same day cancel, and as I said above, that will actually result in costs to UA for when I have to call an agent to cancel it and them having to credit everything back....my two cents. Maybe they figure the labor costs equal out by me not having to see an agent to get a gate pass....but why piss off your fliers when there is no net gain here IMO?? Simply a lose-lose situation for UA, but I guess that is UA typical.

seagar

Well, they sure changed the MM program for Life Time members and Judge Wood quipped early in the case: "Now, this may be stupid on United’s part. I feel as though maybe they should say Don’t rely on anything we say at the top of every page and people would probably be well advised to probably take that thought".

Good luck with a suit...$misek and unitedCONTINENTAL could care less about customers.