Feb 3, 2020, 12:06 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
While a *G BP is the easiest way to get lounge access, sometimes that fails to be on the BP. So as a backup you might then need to produce a digital *G card with UA's app, with *A Gold symbol and/or bar code.
To get the bar code, tap on the card and it flips over.
For displaying the *A Gold emblem, the two major smartphone apps work differently
For IOS/Apple you need to move the card to the Apple Wallet.
For Android, the front of the card shows the *A Gold symbol but it is not very large.
Should work as is, but if need be, you can enlarge by enabling the triple tap magnifier or screen capture to Gallery and enlarge the picture.
From Recent Denials of admission to *A Lounges due to lack of UA *G card [2019-2020], it appears *G BP or the digital card is sufficient for lounge access. The past issues requiring the physical card are "past history" unless one can not produce a *G BP or UA app digital card.
To get the bar code, tap on the card and it flips over.
For displaying the *A Gold emblem, the two major smartphone apps work differently
For IOS/Apple you need to move the card to the Apple Wallet.
For Android, the front of the card shows the *A Gold symbol but it is not very large.
Should work as is, but if need be, you can enlarge by enabling the triple tap magnifier or screen capture to Gallery and enlarge the picture.
From Recent Denials of admission to *A Lounges due to lack of UA *G card [2019-2020], it appears *G BP or the digital card is sufficient for lounge access. The past issues requiring the physical card are "past history" unless one can not produce a *G BP or UA app digital card.
Displaying *G card on UA apps
Jan 2, 2020, 6:59 pm
#31
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: NYC, LON
Programs: *
Posts: 2,772
Some airlines seem notorious, however, in somehow not transferring the *Gold and FF details to the boarding pass even though it is in the reservation. I have experienced this more with AC and ET and very occasionally have seen it on other carriers if the first leg of flight was on a different * airline. If traveling in Y and *G not on boarding pass, I will always ask to generate a fresh boarding pass that includes my *status. Sometimes this may not be possible at the originating airport, if a different airline, and may have to be done at the airport in which you are trying to gain access to the lounge. Of note you can also be denied priority boarding if the boarding card does not have *G so another reason to always make sure it is included.
Jan 2, 2020, 7:08 pm
#32
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
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I have been a UA Premier Gold for the last several years.
Last year, the digital card on the UA app showed the front of the card. I had no trouble getting into about a dozen non-UA Star Alliance lounges.
For some reason, this year's card doesn't show the front of the card in the app .... (
Last year, the digital card on the UA app showed the front of the card. I had no trouble getting into about a dozen non-UA Star Alliance lounges.
For some reason, this year's card doesn't show the front of the card in the app .... (
On my Android phone, the front of the card is displayed with the *A Gold logo and tapping on the card just shows the back. So on the Android it is there today. If too small or the agent, you can as discussed in Jan 2019
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...rd-2019-a.html
Do you have a recent denial experience where the BP or digital card was not sufficient?
It seems the agents have gotten with the program.
This case of the OP unable to display the *A Gold logo is a different issue.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jan 2, 2020 at 7:17 pm
Jan 2, 2020, 7:29 pm
#33
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I have been a UA Premier Gold for the last several years.
Last year, the digital card on the UA app showed the front of the card. I had no trouble getting into about a dozen non-UA Star Alliance lounges.
For some reason, this year's card doesn't show the front of the card in the app
As a result, I was denied entry into a Lufthansa lounge. The lounge attendant was actually very nice. She even called "someone" on the phone and spent 10 minutes trying to figure it out. However, whoever she was talking to on the phone said no. They were talking in German so I had no idea what exactly they said. However, it basically was about the app not showing the front of the card.
I ended up just sitting around the boarding gate area for 40 minutes because I just didn't have the energy to walk to the other lounge to try my luck.
Was there something with my United app? I tried it on my iPhone as well as Android tablet. Both just showed the back of the card....
Last year, the digital card on the UA app showed the front of the card. I had no trouble getting into about a dozen non-UA Star Alliance lounges.
For some reason, this year's card doesn't show the front of the card in the app
As a result, I was denied entry into a Lufthansa lounge. The lounge attendant was actually very nice. She even called "someone" on the phone and spent 10 minutes trying to figure it out. However, whoever she was talking to on the phone said no. They were talking in German so I had no idea what exactly they said. However, it basically was about the app not showing the front of the card.
I ended up just sitting around the boarding gate area for 40 minutes because I just didn't have the energy to walk to the other lounge to try my luck.
Was there something with my United app? I tried it on my iPhone as well as Android tablet. Both just showed the back of the card....
Jan 2, 2020, 7:37 pm
#34
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.9MM
Posts: 6,355
Not doubting you for a second that this actually works and is a good and effective way to gain access to the LH lounge, but COME ON: how can showing a digital image be proof of anything?? 
Has LH never heard of Photoshop?
A Boarding Pass (showing Star Alliance GOLD) should be MUCH more of secure proof than any digital image stored on someone's phone!
Has LH never heard of Photoshop?
A Boarding Pass (showing Star Alliance GOLD) should be MUCH more of secure proof than any digital image stored on someone's phone!
Jan 2, 2020, 7:57 pm
#35
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
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Posts: 66,854
But the more pertinent issue is when the BP not showing the *G status which while rare does appear to occasionally happen for a few carriers -- so this is where the digital card is needed.
Jan 2, 2020, 11:51 pm
#36
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Screen saving, magnifying, add to Apple, Android, you have got to be kidding me (but yes, thanks for the suggestions as I am sure some will bother). This is basics. It used to properly show the front/back, it doesn't now, if that is a conscious decision the programmer that did that would be given a clip around the ear and told to report to a grown-up before they made any other changes. Just 100% sloppy whenever this surfaced.
But if you are in that "few" and everything else lines up correctly (ie. going back to the OP description) then it is a 100% failure. It is so frustrating when it happens because you just want things to work the way you are expecting them to work without having to point to rules, take screenshots, use other apps. I read somewhere that with all this new technology things were going to get better. 
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jan 3, 2020 at 1:35 am Reason: merged consecutive posts by same member
Jan 3, 2020, 12:08 am
#37
Join Date: Sep 2011
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Posts: 1,028
I actually am with the OP on this one. With the rollout of the new app, they’ve eliminated the *G designation from the in-app boarding pass, and from the digital Apple Wallet version of the pass. When my partner and I tried to use the Avianca lounge in MEX (because the UA lounge is a good 15 minute walk to the far INTL gates), we couldn’t get in with our digital BPs. When I presented the digital card, it created all sorts of confusion and required them calling a supervisor. After 10 minutes we abandoned mission. Same thing happened in NZ and again in China, but in both cases I had my physical card with me. Bottom line, it causes a delay and is a pain in some cases, and should just be fixed.
Jan 3, 2020, 12:08 am
#38
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: HND, NRT
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At the ANA lounge, for some reason the *G/MP number theoretically gets you in but in my experience they often (on non-NH flights) need to manually enter the number anyway. When you showed the digital card, didn't they reverse it and type in your MP# number? That's been my experience dozens of times.
Jan 3, 2020, 12:21 am
#39
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Jan 3, 2020, 12:38 am
#41
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: YVR
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 975
At the ANA lounge, for some reason the *G/MP number theoretically gets you in but in my experience they often (on non-NH flights) need to manually enter the number anyway. When you showed the digital card, didn't they reverse it and type in your MP# number? That's been my experience dozens of times.
Jan 3, 2020, 2:25 am
#43
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,597
While Eurowings BPs don't show *A status, every time I fly them, I have my MP # attached to my reservation, and my EW BP gets me into the LH lounge every time. In fact, in 2019, I flew LH/OS/LX 10 times, EW 6 times, and other *A carriers 14 times, and got into every LH/OS/LX/SK/TK lounge without showing my physical card.
Jan 3, 2020, 3:09 am
#44
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and got into every LH/OS/LX/SK/TK lounge without showing my physical card.
I didnt know that TK/OS/LX/SK have concluded a bilateral agreement with the FFP airlines (e.g. United) to accept Eurowings pax into their lounges.
Jan 3, 2020, 3:41 am
#45
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