United Club membership now $650 effective 8/13/19
#76
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,418
At SFO, they've cut the pepper jack cheese and brownies and downgraded the cookies. There is now typically only one soup, and it's never one of the good ones you used to see (e.g., gumbo). The spread at BOS last night was absolutely pathetic, even worse than SFO.
#77
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Denver, Colorado
Programs: IHG Spire, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Titanium, Mileage Plus Gold
Posts: 1,736
I'm really not understanding all this complaint about "cuts". I mean I was at IAH 2 weeks ago and they still had 2 soups Baja Chicken and a broccoli one, one of the cheese has been replaced by the Pimento Cheese Spread and the bread rolls have been replaced with pita wedges which I'm guessing makes sense for the hummus and the pimento cheese dip. Brownies were there. Cookies were there. Salami and Cheese cups were there. God forbid they didn't change the choices around and we'd be hearing about how nothing ever changes. Our flight was delayed so we visited C South, C North, and the E Club and they all had the same stuff. Couple months back, I was at Orange County UC and even they had everything one would expects from the bigger clubs except they only had 1 soup which I can't fault them with their limited space.
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/115569327@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/115569327@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/115569327@N08/, on Flickr
Last edited by seat38a; Jun 18, 2019 at 9:00 am
#78
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In between
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, SPG/Marriott Plat, Hertz PC
Posts: 564
This is another data point to consider in my decisions for 2020:
-Have the Chase United Club Card, and I typically hit a club 2-3x/wk. I'm based in AUS, and spend a lot of time at IAH, SFO and LAX so the coverage is good. That said, with the recent changes to MP I'm struggling with the math of keeping the club card to credit all of my spend in United miles; 95% of my discretionary spend for everything outside of my mortgage, my lawn guy and my barber go on the club card, so the annual earnings are not insignificant
-Domestically, I fly United pretty much exclusively. The frequency to my most-hit locations out of AUS is great, the UC there is a little small but rarely obnoxiously crowded and I'm pretty much one stop from most global destinations. I will not fly DL, ever, and my experiences with AA have been pretty atrocious so they're not a real option. United is the familiar choice and from a service perspective, there's no real reason to switch for me so UA miles will continue to accrue at a good clip.
I see myself in a bit of a bind - fly UA, like and use the UCs frequently and will continue to accrue a lot of UA miles, which are becoming less valuable. I'm assuming the discounted rate for 1Ks is going to go up, and I'm in a holding pattern to see what the price increase does to the card annual fee. AMEX platinum not an option for me as AUS has no centurion lounge and I don't see myself flying DL/AS ever, nor is Amex widely accepted in a lot of places that I travel.
My current thinking is (opinions welcome):
-Continue my UA travel patterns, earn miles
-Shift card spend to Chase Sapphire Preferred Reserve and rack up miles to credit to other programs as needed, UA included
-Use CSPR $300 travel credit to offset paying for UC membership out of pocket - assuming the 1K rate stays at $450, that's only an additional cash outlay of $150/year. I need to confirm this is actually a benefit to which the credit can be applied.
Haven't had the time to sit down and detail out the actual numbers, but it used to be a lot easier to figure out the best value.
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-Have the Chase United Club Card, and I typically hit a club 2-3x/wk. I'm based in AUS, and spend a lot of time at IAH, SFO and LAX so the coverage is good. That said, with the recent changes to MP I'm struggling with the math of keeping the club card to credit all of my spend in United miles; 95% of my discretionary spend for everything outside of my mortgage, my lawn guy and my barber go on the club card, so the annual earnings are not insignificant
-Domestically, I fly United pretty much exclusively. The frequency to my most-hit locations out of AUS is great, the UC there is a little small but rarely obnoxiously crowded and I'm pretty much one stop from most global destinations. I will not fly DL, ever, and my experiences with AA have been pretty atrocious so they're not a real option. United is the familiar choice and from a service perspective, there's no real reason to switch for me so UA miles will continue to accrue at a good clip.
I see myself in a bit of a bind - fly UA, like and use the UCs frequently and will continue to accrue a lot of UA miles, which are becoming less valuable. I'm assuming the discounted rate for 1Ks is going to go up, and I'm in a holding pattern to see what the price increase does to the card annual fee. AMEX platinum not an option for me as AUS has no centurion lounge and I don't see myself flying DL/AS ever, nor is Amex widely accepted in a lot of places that I travel.
My current thinking is (opinions welcome):
-Continue my UA travel patterns, earn miles
-Shift card spend to Chase Sapphire Preferred Reserve and rack up miles to credit to other programs as needed, UA included
-Use CSPR $300 travel credit to offset paying for UC membership out of pocket - assuming the 1K rate stays at $450, that's only an additional cash outlay of $150/year. I need to confirm this is actually a benefit to which the credit can be applied.
Haven't had the time to sit down and detail out the actual numbers, but it used to be a lot easier to figure out the best value.
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#79
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 46
Agree. The only lounge more crowded than EWR Terminal C are every Centurion lounge I’ve ever visited.
#80
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
Programs: United, American, Delta, Hyatt, Hilton, Hertz, Marriott
Posts: 14,792
#81
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,418
If you come through other clubs, including SFO, BOS, PHX, and SAN (just the ones I've visited recently), it will be quite apparent what we are talking about.
#82
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: 6 year GS, now 2MM Jeff-ugee, *wood LTPlt, SkyPeso PLT
Posts: 6,526
Looks like there are only 8 Centurion lounges in the US (Oct. 3, 2018): DFW, IAH, LAS, MIA, LGA, PHL, SFO, SEA. Out of those, only 6 are at least reasonably convenient to UA gates: IAH, LAS, LGA, PHL, SFO, SEA. Only 2 of those are UA hubs. And with restrictions of departure-only (SFO) and severe overcrowding, as good as the f&b might be, I fail to understand how AMEX Centurion is a viable alternative to UA Clubs except for those who happen to be based in that half dozen of cities. UA has clubs in 27 US airports, multiple in some...
As an e.g. I had to get two tickets back from LAX last Thursday, and the options (both $200 one way) were UA or AS. I have lounge access with my AMEX when flying on AS, but have given up my UC club card a long time ago. Guess who got my $400?
Big picture, what UA is doing with its lounges - splitting off the highest value (Polaris) traffic - and as a result falling further behind in the base level UC lounges, while raising prices - is just another piece of United offering an inferior product and service package. If someone is 110% tied into United, well then it does not matter. But as this thread shows - with a lot of formerly loyal UA flyers who are long time posters saying this is part of exploring their options - these kinds of things will ultimately impact UA's ability to retain traffic, which will be a big issue when the economy next crashes, which may be sooner rather than later.
and P.S. There is also a Centurion at HKG - which is vastly superior to now dumpy UC - and right near the UA gates and also LAS, and they are adding lounges at DEN, LAX, JFK, CLT, LHR, and PHX all of which are currently in the works. The difference in the AMEX PLT card is that it is airline agnostic. Works anytime you travel on DL or AS (where you get same day lounge access to their lounges) and also if you fly UA in places where their is a lounge.
Last edited by spin88; Jun 18, 2019 at 9:54 am
#83
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,392
I'll be spending a lot of next quarter on DL, so I am curious to see how the SC measures up... IIRC you have much good to say about SFO.
#84
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 11,451
I'm really not understanding all this complaint about "cuts". I mean I was at IAH 2 weeks ago and they still had 2 soups Baja Chicken and a broccoli one, one of the cheese has been replaced by the Pimento Cheese Spread and the bread rolls have been replaced with pita wedges which I'm guessing makes sense for the hummus and the pimento cheese dip. Brownies were there. Cookies were there. Salami and Cheese cups were there. God forbid they didn't change the choices around and we'd be hearing about how nothing ever changes. Our flight was delayed so we visited C South, C North, and the E Club and they all had the same stuff. Couple months back, I was at Orange County UC and even they had everything one would expects from the bigger clubs except they only had 1 soup which I can't fault them with their limited space.
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IMG_5201 by B H, on Flickr
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IMG_5199 by B H, on Flickr
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IMG_5200 by B H, on Flickr
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IMG_5201 by B H, on Flickr
#85
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Denver, Colorado
Programs: IHG Spire, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Titanium, Mileage Plus Gold
Posts: 1,736
I'm not understanding the posts by people who visited a single club two weeks ago and assume their experience is the current norm throughout the system, despite multiple reports here to the contrary. It's like someone who got the Thai chicken noodles on their single long-haul this year and claims they "don't understand" all the complaints about Polaris meal cuts. Ever hear of the exception that proves the rule?
If you come through other clubs, including SFO, BOS, PHX, and SAN (just the ones I've visited recently), it will be quite apparent what we are talking about.
If you come through other clubs, including SFO, BOS, PHX, and SAN (just the ones I've visited recently), it will be quite apparent what we are talking about.
Last edited by seat38a; Jun 18, 2019 at 10:19 am
#86
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,442
I was at the IAH E club last week, and there was only one soup. I didn't check other IAH locations, but in the last month SFO, ORD and IAD — all hubs — also had only one soup when I was at those clubs. Change doesn't bother me, but this looks a lot like reduction rather than rotation.
#87
My workaround is to try and only connect in SFO when doing international trips in J so that I can eat at the Polaris lounge. Friday was a failure of my workaround.
#89
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,418
#90
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,442
I always write about this: AA and DL have them as part of their "basic" lounge product; United's value proposition suffers by comparison.