United Club membership now $650 effective 8/13/19
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: PWM
Programs: AA Plat
Posts: 1,335
United Club membership now $650 effective 8/13/19
And they'll discontinue the $50 initiation fee. Looks like the change was (un)announced sometime in the last week.
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...hip-rates.html
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...hip-rates.html
#3
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,003
And they'll discontinue the $50 initiation fee. Looks like the change was (un)announced sometime in the last week.
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...hip-rates.html
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...hip-rates.html
#4
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: 6 year GS, now 2MM Jeff-ugee, *wood LTPlt, SkyPeso PLT
Posts: 6,526
And they'll discontinue the $50 initiation fee. Looks like the change was (un)announced sometime in the last week.
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...hip-rates.html
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...hip-rates.html
The package UA is offering is just inferior, to go with an inferior lounge. These kinds of things just make UA non-competitive. Faced with flying AS the other day (lounge access) vs. UA (no lounge access) guess who I flew....
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: San Francisco/Tel Aviv/YYZ
Programs: CO 1K-MM
Posts: 10,762
And new access restrictions (same day UA/partner only)
I have to think that the one time passes are a big pollutant (probably explorer is at least 10x the club card) but I'm sure the club members/card holders are far heavier users.
I have to think that the one time passes are a big pollutant (probably explorer is at least 10x the club card) but I'm sure the club members/card holders are far heavier users.
#7
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,003
What UA really needs to is to cut down on the credit card passes, or raise the price of the 1-time passes a meaningful amount. I have got to imagine that most people in the club are not regular UC members, whether via the Club Card or direct membership.
#9
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Chicago IL US
Programs: UA 1K; National Executive Elite; Hertz PC & Hotels Galore
Posts: 946
The chicken mush in May followed by this months beef mush?
The ORD food has fallen off a cliff. Well documented on FT (and in person).
ETA:
How is $59 not meaningful? I was at ORD earlier this year and an agent was trying to talk a gentleman out of purchasing a 1-time pass as he only had 20 minutes (and was jet lagged, in transit from SYD. I guested him in.). She insisted it wasn't worth the money.
The ORD food has fallen off a cliff. Well documented on FT (and in person).
ETA:
How is $59 not meaningful? I was at ORD earlier this year and an agent was trying to talk a gentleman out of purchasing a 1-time pass as he only had 20 minutes (and was jet lagged, in transit from SYD. I guested him in.). She insisted it wasn't worth the money.
#10
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Northern California
Programs: Inf Elite CO, lifetime AA Platinum
Posts: 1,937
$450 to $650?
So I am reading this as saying that everybody, no matter the status, is paying $650/year? 1K's now pay $450. And with the new rates the Chase UA Club card at $450/year will be seeing a huge spike in apps (subject to 5/24). " Effective August 13, 2019, we will no longer require a $50 United Club initiation fee. The new United Club annual membership price will be $650 or 85,000 miles. "
#11
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: PHX, SEA
Programs: Avis President's Club, Global Entry, Hilton/Marriott Gold. No more DL/AA status.
Posts: 4,422
What a joke. I have an Amex PLT card, SO has one too, the AMEX lounges are far, far, far better than UA's lounges, are in most of the airports I frequently, and as long as I fly AS or DL, I can use my AMEX card to access the lounges on them (or internationally) as well. Costs me $550 x2, and I get a great credit card to boot. @:-)
The package UA is offering is just inferior, to go with an inferior lounge. These kinds of things just make UA non-competitive. Faced with flying AS the other day (lounge access) vs. UA (no lounge access) guess who I flew....
The package UA is offering is just inferior, to go with an inferior lounge. These kinds of things just make UA non-competitive. Faced with flying AS the other day (lounge access) vs. UA (no lounge access) guess who I flew....
#12
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,448
Thanks UA, for making the renewal decision so easy for me.
Last edited by Kacee; Jun 17, 2019 at 8:00 pm
#13
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, UA Gold, Marriott LTT, Avis President's Club
Posts: 1,539
I guess they got what they wanted. I won't renew. I've been flying AS/DL more and more and its fantastic. With T-Mobile I get free GoGo Internet and when flying DL I get access to SkyClubs with the AMEX Plat. No brainer for me.
#14
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: 6 year GS, now 2MM Jeff-ugee, *wood LTPlt, SkyPeso PLT
Posts: 6,526
But for a lot of fliers, and particularly people who have the AMEX PLT card, flying UA just gets to be less and less of an option.
The point of having lounges is to attract and retain customers. United is not a lounge provider, its an AIRLINE. It attracts passengers (or repels them) with its offerings, and jacking up the lounge price, while cutting their quality (a trend we know is going to get worse as more Polaris Lounges get rolled out) is going to have an impact.
I used to have a Club card, ditched it, and well, when I found that when I flew DL (and now AS) with my AMEX card I got lounge access in their lounges, while on UA I got bupkis, it started to steer yet more of my $$$ away from UA. I doubt I am the only one.
#15
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: UA MP (1K, 1MM)
Posts: 268
I've been looking for a reason to cancel my UC membership (that I have through the Chase United Club card) and this might just be the thing to do it. Living overseas I never really use United Clubs and when I do travel I'm *G anyway so I gain access to lounges on most of the legs.