Red Carpet Club Membership Directory from 1987/1988
 

Good news, all! I obtained a copy of the membership directory for The Red Carpet Club from 1987/1988. The terms and conditions state that "Club Room services, dues and locations are subject to change without notice." The terms and conditions do not state that the admittance rules are subject to change or that United reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions.
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With the developments in the world I have not gotten around to finding an attorney at this point. I need to get back to this.

Hi All,

I hope you are staying safe.

I was chatting with a couple of fellow lifetime members on zoom. We were chatting about all sorts of things, but the conversation ended up being about the United Club access changes and the state of the industry in general. We then chatted about when and how folks would travel after the threat ends and we start travelling again.

We all agreed that we would gladly help United gain passengers when the Coronavirus threat is over by prioritizing United as our airline of choice, and all we would like from United is that lifetime members regain anytime access to the United Clubs. That is truly a win-win - United is assured to be our preferred airline for all travel, and we get our anytime club access restored.

I then sent the following email to Oscar Munoz:I am asking those of us on this thread who are willing to write Oscar Munoz at [email protected] and tell him that you will make United your preferred airline again and that for that you would like lifetime members of the United Club to have their anytime access restored.Thanks everyone, and stay safe!Mikey

Thanks, Mikey. Done, and reminded him and thanked them for helping convince FAA to end its blanket ban of commercial pilots with insulin treated diabetes. The first five pilots with insulin treated diabetes we're cleared last week, ending the 70 year ban. https://www.scribd.com/document/4517...n-to-be-flying

Your proposal is comical. Let me see if I understand:

You're desperately asking Oscar to let you access the Club, when you're NOT flying UA, and then telling him you'll always fly UA...

Good luck :)

Comical? Not at all.

And no desperation. And utterly reasonable.

United does not fly all the routes I fly.

My pledge is to give united my business wherever I have a choice to do so.

Stating that there are very few and therefore no big deal to let those not UA flying LT UC members have access and then turning around and saying that tiny group will fly UA exclusive when and if they resume flying (of an age group that will be the least likely to start flying early) is not a winning argument. You are either an inconsequent size community or you are not, it can not be both.

I would rather Oscar, not you, decide if the offer works for him.

Club access to lifetime members has to be about the last thing on Oscar's mind

Saying this as nicely as I can - but if he actually read it - he'd shake his head and mutter something like are you kidding me......

Well if you don't ask you know the answer!

In my heart I know I am making a sincere offer. So I really don't care if you think he will laugh at me, or find it comical.

I actually think there is a much bigger issue at work here in that the airlines collectively, and UA specifically, have looked at their loyalty programs over the past decade and decided they didn't really need them as other than fairly pointless placeholders. Now, with a slow, at best, recovery of business ahead of them, "loyalty" is a big word. Just read any of the emails sent by any of the airlines and you'll see this word or its like plastered over them. The problem is that their recent past behavior has retrained even the most "loyal" customers to be less so, and trained a lot of us to just take the best transaction for any specific trip. Fixing this one (realistically small) insult won't change that. As someone who is a LT 1K and someone who spent probably a decade as a GS, I flew maybe 5% of my legs last year on UA. It used to be that for any planned trip my first stop would be united.com and if they had a reasonable option I would book it without further thought. Now I never start with them and only if they turn up with a really good option do they get the business. The closest I come to "loyal" is probably Alaska, and even that is fairly weak. I have long thought that the transition of the airlines from a "business relationship" model of customer interaction to a "transactional" model would ultimately cost them and I think it is likely that now is the time that bill will come due. It will take a real change in mindset among the airlines to restore loyalty as a part of their business relationship model, and honestly I don't see them likely to do that even under this duress. It just doesn't seem to be in their bones any more. It will take an inspired leader among the airlines (and for that matter the hotels) to actually see a long term equation here and say and do what is needed to reacquire a real relationship model that will pay off. I'm not holding my breath on this one.

No one is doubting your sincerity, but the offer of a few thousand in revenue (multiple by your group to 10K or more - equivalent to a couple business tickets) is not going to be very persuasive to an executive looking at $50M-$60M per day losses. Especially to an exec retiring/stepping down in less than 2 weeks.

I think you're directionally correct, but your conclusion goes too far. Airlines don't want to eliminate the programs, they just want to adhere to the 5%-10% Loyalty Rule.

1. The best brands in the world typically give you 5% 'cash-back' for your loyalty.
2. Marriott gives free bfast to Titanium members. On a $100 room, bfast is worth $5. On a $400 room bfast is worth $20.
3. Geico gives 5% off if you're loyal and have multiple policies.
4. Amazon gives 5% back on al Amazon and Whole Food purchases if you're a loyal member.
5. Countless other examples of the ~5-10%% loyalty rule.

My son just made silver last year and I told him he now gets free E+. His response was, "That's awesome, Dad!" E+ costs $15 on a $300 flight -- that's 5%.

A GS member who spends $50K/yr probably gets $5K of benefits through upgrades and miles -- that's 10%.

So the new normal is 5-10%. Not the 30%-50% of the old mileage programs.

Folks like you will walk away, while folks like my son will post his Silver status an Insta and get 400 likes, and be loving UA for decades to come.

UA is focused on this crowd moving forward -- folks who are comfortable with 5-10% in exchange for loyalty.

Let's remember this thread is about LT UC member access when not flying UA (when general flying resumes).
This is not related to status but rather (for many) a purchase made many years ago that the LT UC members feel is not honored.

WineCountryUA
UA coModerator