Kacee

Not to Polaris. The discussion here is getting confused by interjection of UC access into the Polaris lounge thread.

fumje

Oh right. 🤦‍♀️ Thanks.

mdk187

I have an EVA Air business flight IAH-TPE at 1am. Would I be allowed into the Polaris Lounge the day before, such as at 6pm? I read the United policy is “same day” access as boarding pass. Star Alliance Gold policy says day before if your flight is at 5am or earlier. I’m new to this and unsure of everything.

The Polaris Lounge closes at 9pm but I would go earlier since I've never seen Polaris before. I found some other lounge I have entry to that is open til midnight, so I figured going there after Polaris closes might be a plan. If I can get into Polaris at all! Thanks for reading.

ironmanjt

Are you booked in Star Allianxe business? That’s key for Polaris access. Star Gold doesn’t cut it. (edited to say I see you’re in Eva business. No reason you shouldn’t be allowed access within 24 hours - they’re not gonna make someone on a 1a flight wait until 12a for access)

That said when I was there three weeks ago lounge was open until 10 if that helps you. Sadly I find IAH Polaris is the weakest in the system but still beats waiting in the terminal!

Kmxu

Will you have boarding pass on your hand at 6 pm? You won’t be able to get through security without one.

mdk187

Thanks ironmanjt and Kmxu!

It’s been a few years since I’ve flown international. Are hard paper passes still required, all the time? I’ll definitely take this into consideration. I’m used to being paperless when flying.

Kmxu

Boarding pass on your phone will work. If you have checkin bag(s), checkin counter for SQ at IAH may be not open this early. If you connect from another airport, this won’t be an issue.

hirohito888

OP is flying on BR, so it's possible that check-in desks open well after Polaris lounge is closed, if they need to check bags.

raghu

Flying Delhi-Newark-Fort Lauderdale on business class, award ticket, US citizen (but no GE or TSA Pre), no checked bags.
Flight starts DEL at 11:55 PM on Monday and arrives EWR at 6:20 AM Tuesday.
The EWR-FLL flight is at 10:11 AM; the latter flight has been starting from A gates recently.

I assume I can use the Polaris lounge at EWR (even though the flight technically departed the prior day).
I know I can use the United Club in terminal A, but the reason for wanting Polaris lounge is the shower facility (after a long trip from Delhi).

I have asked for a wheelchair because of re-aggravating an injury recently - can't stand in long lines, but can walk slowly.
How much time should I allocate to go to terminal A from the EWR Polaris lounge, and how easy / difficult is it?
Or, should I just forget the shower and try to get to terminal A (unless I get lucky and the FLL flight leaves from Terminal C).
Thanks in advance for any help.

hirohito888

Early morning international flights usually arrive at Terminal B. So you would have to go from Terminal B to C to use the Polaris lounge. And potentially to Terminal A if your next flight departs out of there. I can't say if 4h is sufficient with mobility restrictions but you need to factor in time for immigration, baggage claim if any, transfer B to C, re-clear security, and potential transfer C to A.

Maybe better to ask in this thread: Consolidated EWR connection time/logistics-Domestic & International

IAH-OIL-TRASH

You can access Polaris Lounge based on Polaris arrival. A wheelchair and Terminal A provide complications. Polaris Lounge is located in Terminal C and the airside connection to A is a bus. Maybe someone else has insight on wheelchair transfer between C and A airside.

fumje

Yes, you can use the PL at EWR on that ticket.

For myself, fortunately able to walk easily and fairly quickly, I give 20-25 minutes to go from C to some A gate using the bus at gate C71. I don't have experience going slowly or using a wheelchair, but I think it would be safe to allow 50 minutes for yourself. The distance from the PL to the bus is not that long, but A terminal is quite sprawling, so depending on gate assignment that may be the more significant distance.

A tip for CBP, try the mobile passport app. Sometimes they don't bother with it at EWR, and in the morning at that time CBP is usually not too busy, but it can sometimes be a big time-saver. You can submit the mobile entry and then go through the regular way if it's not needed.

And another tip, double-check your gate assignment when you arrive at EWR! It can be pretty random which terminal is used, such as one day from A, next day same flight / same aircraft type from C.

Overall, I think you have enough time to take a shower.

dkc192

A bit of an edge case: arriving into EWR on a domestic flight and have a NH F flight departing from JFK several hours later. Wondering if I have a case for access to the EWR PL using my NH F BP and by virtue of EWR and JFK being NYC co-terminals. Anyone have experience in this exact scenario, or care to offer their opinions or speculation? Either way, assuming I travel as currently planned, I will plan to stop by and seek entry, in the name of research. I will have the regular UC as a fallback.

narvik

That's not an edge case,. IMO, that case has already fallen off the cliff!

SPN Lifer

Unless you can find somewhere in writing that co-terminals are considered the same departure airport for lounge access, the answer is likely to be "No."

Enjoy the United Club, and please keep us posted.