nomad420

Agree, that is my go to MO especially in places like DEN and ORD where the UC situation is particularly poor. More recently with things opening up more and those locations having a pretty good restaurant/bar selection I often forgo the UC and head to some of my favorite spots.

worldwidedreamer

Honestly as time goes by, I'm using the Priority Pass experiences benefit more often than lounges. The F&B are almost always better, and we're guaranteed a seat. Given the feeding frenzy at Centurion lounges, and the minimal choices for everything at the United Club, it's hard to fight that hard for a rail gin and tonic. I think the solution is to build more and bigger lounges---but of course that costs money.

Flying Machine

I gave a pass for a friend to use at ORD yesterday. He was unable to use it as they said that they’re not allowing guest passes. It was a chase one day pass, that expires in early July. Very unfortunate

lilpisher

From the archives of an “agent told me”, an agent told me that they are coming to ORD (B6 at least) and when they are installed the agents will be reinstated upstairs. Note: I had asked about agents returning when i flagged her down asking for help and she proactively indicated that it would coincide with automated entry.

toadman

Used Explorer passes last night (June 19) at DEN. Was glad to have cashed them in as the airport was a zoo. Yes, the club near the B31 gate was crowded. But I get why folks that are Club members would be frustrated by the crowds.

VegasGambler

It's hard to imagine that 2 passes/cardholder/year causes that much overcrowding.

WineCountryUA

Hit the DEN UC this morning, it was crowded (arrive 8:30) but turnover made find seats for 2 possible. Only saw one large family group (5) and doubt they found seats together. By 9 things things were better. No line to enter, no "no passes sign". And the airport and TSA were a zoo.

Staff was doing a great job keeping things well stocked -- egg salad sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, large selection of fruits and berries, bagels / english muffin , cereals, oatmeal, granola, OJ, and other items

jsloan

If people are truly complaining about the United Club card, I'm not sure what to tell them. The price point isn't that different than the club membership itself.

There must be a lot more Explorer card holders than United Club card holders, though.

denver19

IK out of Denver. I gave up my paid membership years ago, the club is substandard (the other one is closed). I'd rather pay $6 bucks for a beer, than $400 for a club membership when the club is overrun, poorly attended...
I travel for work. I am at the airport more than most people. The DEN United Club just isn't worth it. There are better options. The only people up there have basically been suckered into the membership.

pseudoswede

My family and I used the ORD C16 club on Sunday morning around 9:45am. I used one of my Explorer card passes and two bought off eBay without issue. The club was already pretty full, but we were able to find three seats together quickly near the entrance--a decent number of single lounge chairs were also available. Around noon, I did hear someone say to "put the sign up", which I thought it meant no one-day passes allowed, but the club actually appeared to be less full than when we entered. That said, when we walked out around 1:30pm to head to T5, I didn't see such a sign near the entrance.

At one point in the morning, I did overhear one person arguing with the lounge attendant because the name on the membership card did not match the name on the boarding pass; the person asked for the attendant's name and said he was going to report her to corporate .

While the club was crowded, it wasn't horribly noisy or terrible--certainly better than sitting in the terminal. Also props to the bartender for known what a John Daly is (Arnold Palmer + vodka).

ComeFlyWithMe33

From my recent travels it does seem that families and people with the one time passes are the issue. The majority of the children are very well behaved but they do still take up as much space (if not more) than an average adult. I do not have children and that is my choice. I do not think it is fair that I cannot bring my entire gang of friends who travel with me into the lounge as we choose to fly together. I am allowed 2 guests in total which causes a "Sofie's Choice" issue between my friend group when we travel. I choose to travel in a large group just like people who have children choose to do so. While I am not trying to start a flame throw here, parents should not be allowed access to the lounge with their whole hoard of kids. I would say two guests TOTAL to keep it fair. Parents overall seem to think that their children and themselves are immune to rules and don't seem to realize that being a parent isn't that special and if they make the choice to have kids and travel maybe should pay per person or just go somewhere else. Two guests total per member is what the rule should be! For the credit cards they should just throw out the day passes as it is a benefit that is often not able to be used and causes bottlenecks upon entry.

ContinentalFan

I canceled mine last year after nearly two decades of membership. Like you, the concourse became a better option than the UC, so I gave up on it. For whatever reason, removing the Journal is what made me rethink membership. It just made no sense to pay for something that I couldn’t use.

For what it’s worth, I dropped the Amex Platinum card last year too. The only benefit I used was access to the lounge at SFO. I made seven attempts to enter the lounge last year and only got in once, so much, much worse than the UC: it’s a low bar!

mduell

Funny, I'm heading the other way from most in this thread, signing up for the Club (via the Chase card) mostly because I'm traveling with kids now, 7 years after ending my prior membership.

Maybe they'll install playgrounds soon...

BlooJoo

👎

halls120

I dropped my UC membership 6 years ago because I was moving overseas and I could see which way the wind was blowing with the UC - not in a good direction. For the past 6 years I've used a combination of PP lounges and *G lounges, and I haven't missed the UC one bit.