DutchessPDX

Here's where your plan COULD fall apart. You will need to show your guest's BP to the agent sitting in the UC before she can enter. I'm not familiar with their system but they do make you scan your guest's boarding pass, so they validate it and will likely have a record. If lounge agent somehow sees that your guest's BP was later canceled and the ticket refunded they could flag your account for review. Or worse, they might approach you while you're trying to impress someone and things could get really embarrassing.

I don't think, "Hey let's go to the airport, park, go through security, traipse across the airport, and drink some free mediocre wine and beer" as an exciting date. It's decidedly not private in those lounges, they're noisy, depending on your time you could have trouble finding a seat. Maybe I've been to too many of these lounges, but they're not exactly exciting or all that luxurious. If you could get her into a Polaris lounge that MIGHT be worth it but otherwise I'm not seeing the thrill here.

tarheelnj

In EWR, taking someone to one of the regular Terminal C UC's could be considered a form of punishment.

FlyerTalker70

..and taking them to the popup lounge there could be considered cruel and unusual punishment!

DutchessPDX

I don't like the "Lounge Dragon" moniker so many FT people like to use, but the agent they had standing sentinel outside the new Polaris Lounge in EWR the last time I flew through certainly fit that bill!.

physioprof

In the late 90s I lived in Venice, CA, for a summer and used to go to the Santa Monica airport to hang out, drink, and eat.

kale73

Again, this is why (if the OP is a UC Member) it makes perfect sense to purchase refundable tickets on WN. UC will have no simple way of knowing that a WN ticket was canceled after it was scanned. And the access rules allow for a same-day boarding pass on any airline departing that airport.

And for those who are concerned that United's CoC was handed to Moses on Mt. Sinai, Southwest's Contract of Carriage doesn't specifically say that one can't make a reservation without intending to travel, it simply reserves the right to cancel such reservations, viz "Southwest may cancel such reservations, or any other reservations that it believes, in its sole discretion, were made without intent to travel."

cjermain

I think it's a little over the top to call buying a ticket you don't intend to use "fraud" (unless the OP is proposing to use a fake credit card to make the purchase ).

Not that the OP's plan is totally above board. I think there's an "implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing" in contract law. This really seems to be a case of acting in bad faith---the OP is thinking of entering into a contract, never intending UA to reap the benefit of the contract (the $$ that UA will make by flying the OP from point A to point B). So UA could sue the OP for damages---like recouping the cost of the free United Club beer.

Edited to add: I'm not sure it even matters whether or not CoC forbids booking a ticket you don't intend to use---it's still bad faith, and you may still be sued for the value of that free UC beer.

fivevsone

Sitting outside the In-n-out burger at LAX and watching planes land would be a great first date for an airplane and travel geek.

lincolnjkc

Ok... SO I'm generally with the "it's a COC issue and may get you flagged; if you do it for the love of Polaris, don't book it on United" -- and as much of an aviation fan/travel nut as I am [I'm trying this from the ORD Polaris Lounge on my way to visit the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital in Mongolia] the idea of going through all of the airport drama (security, parking, etc.) without going anywhere isn't even my idea of a fun time

That said... keep a look out for a cheap RT and maybe a "$100 hamburger". A 4-5 years ago it was looking like I'd be 0.5 PQS short of Platinum so I booked a same day CLE-ORD-CLE for something like $125 all in.

Got to ORD, met a pilot friend for lunch [not planned, just happened to be same place/same time], then got back on exactly the same aircraft I had just arrived on, sat in exactly the same seat, and flew home. Google flights is your friend here.

catocony

Is this part of the "Keep Austin Weird" campaign?

mduell

I don't think either EDC or GTU have a restaurant, but HYI does.