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United Club membership now $650 effective 8/13/19

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United Club membership now $650 effective 8/13/19

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Old Jun 17, 2019, 5:58 pm
  #1  
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Join Date: Mar 2014
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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
sexykitten7 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 6:01 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
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Well - its about time, seems that is the best route to reduce the crowds. They don't show the new prices for elites though.
HNLbasedFlyer is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 6:01 pm
  #3  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
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Originally Posted by sexykitten7
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
Have to imagine that means we are looking at CC increases for the Club Card and any of the legacy cards that grant access. Ugh.
PsiFighter37 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:01 pm
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Originally Posted by sexykitten7
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
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....
spin88 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:07 pm
  #5  
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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.
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entropy is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:10 pm
  #6  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Chicago IL US
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Overcrowded clubs. Degraded food experiences (except LAX <3). This. Is crap.
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Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:13 pm
  #7  
 
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Originally Posted by onthesam
Overcrowded clubs. Degraded food experiences (except LAX <3). This. Is crap.
The UA hot food choices at the ORD UCs are nice as well.

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.
PsiFighter37 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:14 pm
  #8  
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Originally Posted by onthesam
Overcrowded clubs. Degraded food experiences (except LAX <3). This. Is crap.
Um. The chow at Ord is the best it’s ever been. Ditto many other clubs.
milepig is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:26 pm
  #9  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
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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.
onthesam is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:30 pm
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Northern California
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$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. "
freakflyer is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:31 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
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Originally Posted by spin88
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....
Yeah but you're posting in a united forum and not all of their airports have Centurion lounges. And Amex entry dragons aren't going to (easily, if at all) help during IROPS. It isn't apples to apples, and nor is it confirmed the CC will go up. Maybe this United makes enough sharing revenue with Chase to keep that at the current annual fee - I'm pretty sure that happened with AA and Citi (or maybe it was that Citi allows multiple free cardholders vs. a family account).
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Gig103 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:34 pm
  #12  
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Originally Posted by milepig
Um. The chow at Ord is the best it’s ever been. Ditto many other clubs.
"Many other clubs" is something of an overstatement. Those who fly out of SFO know the UC food options at UA's so-called "crown jewel" are just pathetic. Was just at BOS, which was even worse. And of course the UC situation at EWR is a complete embarrassment.

Thanks UA, for making the renewal decision so easy for me.

Last edited by Kacee; Jun 17, 2019 at 8:00 pm
Kacee is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:51 pm
  #13  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
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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.
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Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:55 pm
  #14  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Originally Posted by Gig103
Yeah but you're posting in a united forum and not all of their airports have Centurion lounges.
I am making a more fundamental point. For those who value a decent (and reasonably priced) lounge experience, United is more and more taking itself out of the running. Yes, if you are tied at the hip to United, then it really does not matter what they do to you, right. No need to worry if they are competitive.

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.
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spin88 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2019, 7:57 pm
  #15  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SEA
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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.
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SFHokie is offline  


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