Ted

This is noting other than the "over-entitled elites" situation again. UA won't be getting you into a lounge any more for your inbound. Less service.

GUWonder

Given the voting structure in Star Alliance, I suspect that it won’t be too long until Star Alliance sets up a third elite level across the Alliance, with the current * Gold status level benefits being further devalued — all while the new, higher Alliance elite tier becomes sort of like what * Gold used to be. One way I would expect this to play out is with the lounge access provision being cut back for the status level that is *G today, perhaps beginning with elimination of the free guest.

The lounges which I use in Europe and Asia and North America tend to be at their most crowded when I see most people entering the lounge alone. So I don’t expect guest elimination to do me any good when I’m in the lounges. But these changes too won’t be done because of “overcrowding”; these changes will be done because of airline initiatives to cut airline costs and to more comprehensively milk airline customers.

lsquare

They've been talking about this for years right? I'm actually happy with status quo.

1353513636

I thought they called it off.

GUWonder

When it comes to some things that are considered and pushed to the side to get buried by some involved in an organization, the possibility of rebirth, resurrection or redeployment of a previously sidelined program change consideration is not beyond the realm of reality. Given how the constituent members of the alliance and industry are on cost-cutting drives, I am expecting it to be wishful thinking to think that the alliance as a whole won’t be gearing up to help its constituent member airlines with cost-cutting drives and do so by playing a shell game of sorts with status tiers/benefits.

I don’t know what Star Alliance is planning on this currently, but I would be very surprised if we don’t end up with a third elite status level for the alliance.

lsquare

Yep. I'm hoping it's dead for good.

mr8

What an awesome way to reward their most valuable flyers who are now spending even more PQPs!

I'm sure all the MMs will love this new change as well!

And let's not forget the UA Club members who will be happy to see their increased fees going to good use!
I'm sure all the ex-UA*G's will be running to sign up for the Chase Club card!

/s

flyingrohit

You bring up a valid point. Now Why spend some $6000 a year with UA when you can get almost all the same perks that come with gold for $450 a year. If I didn't have to fly $6K+ worth of UA a year that would be a great go-to.

I will say for people who are Platinum or higher there are some other special things that come with the status that the club card can't replace, but for someone like me who's just going to be riding a "lowly" gold status every year (for now), the club card is basically a discount gold status for 1/10th the price.

Garimi

I'm renewing my Star Alliance GOLD card for 600Euro per year

worldtrav

And can you guess why this is? That's right, no promises are being broken.

GUWonder

No, and no guess needed: the institutional forums for potentially trying to hold UA accountable (for UA’s representations to UA customers) are institutional forums that are stacked in UA’s favor. Whether that is the US federal courts, Congress, US DOT, traditional broadcast and print media or online media like FT, it’s a playing field stacked in UA’s favor.

Just because a court allows an airline to be free from court-ordered “paying up” to customers (for customer claims about the airline lying and breaking promises to its customers) doesn’t mean the airline hasn’t been lying and breaking promises to its customers. It just means the airline is the beneficiary of systems biased in the airline’s favor even when the airline is lying and breaking promises.

For some travelers, that may be all that *G is worth, if even that.

Lounge benefit restrictions getting worse for me wouldn’t incentivize me to give the airline or Alliance airlines more money. It would incentivize me to be more of a transactional free agent and consider more alternatives to the airline than would otherwise be the case.

As the value of *G benefits approach something than can be purchased increasingly a la carte (or aux cartes) and as the value of miles earned from flying economy class even as a*G approaches the cost of being given a cheap plastic *G card, the purpose of the FFP and Alliance for *G-level travelers goes the way of the League of Nations.

VegasGambler

If they did this, wouldn't you expect them to follow the OW model? I would think that *G would continue to get access to business class lounges, but the higher tier would get access to first class lounges.

Exleftseat

It's early morning here in Japan and I am just reading a post on "dansdeals" ( I am not posting a link, don't know if that's allowed ) about United devalues Partner Lounge Access for *A Gold and Club Members. Hopefully I missunderstand and need more coffeine or theine as it may be, to grasp this. Couldn't find anyone else posting about this. Looks like you can only access partner lounges if you are flying Polaris. I am not following UA that much any more since it has been "kirbysized". But I am still 1K, MM and ( through my PresPlus card ) Club member. Is that correct or am I overreacting? If correct it would mean that *A Gold is worthless. Hope I am wrong.

Well there you go.....I am late to the party as always.

aacharya

True and ready a thread about it.

WineCountryUA

The phrase "partner" can be confusing, this is not referring to *A lounges (where per *A rules *G have access) but rather contract lounges. Many allowed UA *G access before, some did not -- a few still do. But this is a reduction in the contract lounges access for UA *Gs. Following in the shoes of other carriers.