TXJeepGuy

On my 3 segments over the weekend the credit card was marketed on all of them... and since they were IAH, LAX, and SFO, I think half the plane had the card anyways.

My response is usually "I already have the card but I'd be happy to take 60k points if you're offering them"

mrmoo

I had a phone agent push a card on me during a change call I made the other day. While she was looking up a flight she said: "Mr. Moo, I see you're not a chase explorer card holder and I wanted to make sure you were aware of the benefits..." Do you suppose phone agents can get a bonus too for signing up someone?

Xyzzy

I have n doubt they do.

djmp

I was woken up on the middle of a transcon today by an incredibly long and noisy pitch for the United Explorer card. The FA went through the details and earnings by purchase type.

What's the point in having nice bedding and a lie-flat seat if you have this kind of thoughtless behavior that ignores sleeping passengers (with earplugs in) midflight? Especially when she started it with "we'll be landing soon..." when there was 2 hours of flight left. This is not ok. I am not looking for compensation, but please stop.

EWRFlyerNJ

You might be a light sleeper. It’s never woken me up.

mahasamatman

We've only seen those ads along with the other ads masquerading as a safety video. Never in the middle of a flight.

malgudi

It's soooo tacky to have the FAs pitch the credit cards ... do any of the other airlines do this? I've never seen it on LH/SQ.

WineCountryUA

US carriers, yes

runningshoes

My last 2 domestic r/t's had this as well - it seems to be an increased pitch effort as there are more ads in the lounges too. It is very annoying when it's done midflight instead of just before landing or right after takeoff.

bocastephen

This is not OK, and personally I would be writing this in and asking for compensation. You were denied the comfort of the product that you paid for and it's my opinion you are due compensation. Hopefully this wasn't a redeye.

If they get enough complaints, maybe they will put some restrictions on these pitches.

zombietooth

Yeah, UA is striving to become a credit card company masquerading as an airline. The announcements are ill-timed, seemingly designed to perfectly interrupt your sleep or movie on a tcon.

WineCountryUA

Less so than some other domestic carriers.

WasKnown

For now

PsiFighter37

Be happy that it’s not as aggressive or as lengthy a pump as it is on AA flights. I have only been on two AA flights and I would go so far as to say I would avoid booking them just so I can avoid hearing another godforsaken 5-minute advertisement on how the ‘limited-time’ offer to get a Citi or Barclays credit card is amazing.

lincolnjkc

At least as of a year or two ago my understanding is that every* Customer-Facing United Employee, AFAIK, is incentivized to to some level to obtain CC sign-ups. I've heard ranges from $50-$100 per successful sign-up plus competitions (most/most improved month/quarter/etc) the FAs are by far the most voracious group, but I've hear various levels of desperation from res (from a "any interest? no? Ok, moving on" to "I'm going to transfer you to sign up now...no? you must not understand, let me hard sell you some more...") and much less commonly club/gate agents.

I believe FAs -- including Express -- are expected to do a CC pitch in the last 1/3 or so of the flight, at least for domestic flights. I haven't seen it on INTL and if the flight is significantly disrupted, e.g. maintenance, etc. this tends to go out the window. This is a rather degrading (IMO) parade through the aisle holding/waving the sign-up brochure with a PA that includes "while we cannot accept your application in flight, you can mail it in or sign up online. Be sure to use your unique reference code to get [promo du jour, but actually to track where to send the rebate]".

The smarter FAs just buzz through the premium cabin and focus on Y; I have seen some try to offer Every. Single. First. Passenger. an application.

US airlines do it (in fact the old US was the first, and for years, only place I had seen that level of obnoxious shilling...though they elevated the experience with ads on the tray tables in Y). I can't recall experiencing it on any of the INTL airlines I've flown (LH, AD, VA, OZ, SN, CM, OM, SK, LX, AC, KX, EI)