hirohito888

Not trying to be difficult but without the agent's actual account of what they said, it's hard to pass judgment that they did not clearly explain the rules. Perhaps it was the same explanation as here but expressed differently, we won't know.

Also note that there are 9 ORD-LAX flights daily (of which only 1 is on a 787, rest are all 737/757 varieties), so the lounge agent may not be really thinking of the intricacies of a lie-flat Polaris seat on that particular domestic route. And while they could be more knowledgeable in product and service offering, instead they probably decided to give you a simplified or boilerplate answer that they would give to the other countless domestic F passengers trying to get into the lounge not meeting the entry requirements.

monkeys

That's all fair. But I'd say that if it was a boilerplate answer, then that shouldn't really be considered "good service." I agree it's a little more complicated because the ORD-LAX flight doesn't normally have a lie-flat seat too. However I made that clear and asked a very specific question - I said "Here is my boarding pass - I have a lie-flat Polaris seat (and showed the seat map in the app), and right here on your website it says that "a boarding pass for Polaris business class" grants you access." All she had to say was "you may have a Polaris seat, but that's not considered Polaris Business Class." She may have been trying to explain that in a different way, but I really didn't get that idea at all (and I understood it immediately in this thread). She was also confused about other things - e.g. I said "I'm positive I have flown domestic business class and had club access, but in a different airport, probably Newark" (for a EWR-LAX flight) and she told me that's not possible either, but then a colleague corrected her.

All that said, I did not come here to complain about the agent, as much as it seems I'm doing so when recounting the details - only to see if I was actually right since I will be flying this route often (and in the lie-flat seats, as much as possible).

FLYMSY

After all the explanations, you still don’t quite get it. Having a “Polaris ticket” is not what is required for access to the United Club.

WineCountryUA

I think we are getting very pedantic here,
OP acknowledges they did not have a Polaris ticket.
Additionally a Polaris marketed ticket does provide access to the UC, but it is not the only method.

monkeys

Sorry, what would the precise terminology be? "A ticket for for a Polaris flight"?

fumje

I'm not certain what distinction is being made. Perhaps it is that a Polaris ticket would be sufficient for access, but it is not necessary for access, i.e. there are other modes of access available (club membership, *G international itinerary, etc.).

Anyway, despite some differing opinions upthread, I would not expect agents to have comprehensive understanding of access rules. In theory, I can see why it makes sense they would, but in practice I just don't find very many who do.

Kacee

Which is why in even moderately atypical access situations, you want to scan the bp and volunteer nothing, as trying to explain in advance can often raise unnecessary complications.

In OP's case, the scanner undoubtedly said "no" and that's where it all should have ended (and would have ended, had OP had not raised a fuss based on a misinterpretation of the rules).

FLYMSY

The word in question is “required”. The United Club does not require a Polaris ticket for entry. There are several other means available for entry.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

A lie-flat seat for a relatively short (and not overnight) mid-continent flight is OK, but I wouldn't aim for it if it's not as convenient or efficient (time-wise). You might look at the Chase United Club card for lounge access and increased mileage earnings (and upgrades on award tickets) if you end up flying UA a bit more.

jsloan

Agreed, although I believe the going rate for club passes on eBay is about $20 (of course, there’s always a risk of fraud)… and I wouldn’t even pay $20, personally.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Yeah, value of Club Card depends, in large part, on expected visits/year. The spent towards PQPs benefit might help some, also. I'm easily above 50 visits/year, not counting trips I'd have premier access w/ int'l itineraries.

mduell

Prior to boarding there's no indication you're in Polaris (unless you're intimately familiar with seat maps, in which case perhaps you know the lounge rules too) on a domestic non-premium service widebody segment. You've never seen a Polaris sign on the wall of the plane at the point you'd be at the origin airport trying to enter a lounge.

iadisgreat

Well to be fair you knew the difference too and were hoping the agents were dumb. By your own admission.

chavala

What? where are you getting that from? The OP did not know the difference at the time. Read the thread.

monkeys

Uh, no. Hence me starting this thread in the first place. I have been flying LAX <--> ORD and LAX <--> EWR in lie-flat/Polaris seats once in awhile over the past ~5 years (as well as LHR --> LAX once) and the entire time thought I was "flying Polaris" and only because of this thread learned I have not been (except for the LHR --> LAX flight which seemed exactly the same to me).

Haha, yes - very true. I had been equating "United lie-flat seats" with "Polaris seats" for years so I was confident that this was a Polaris seat (which I now know does not mean that it's "Polaris service", or a "Polaris ticket", or whatever the proper terminology is. This is mainly due to a) seeing the "Polaris" sign on the wall in the cabin on previous flights on the same & similar aircraft, and b) SeatGuru (e.g. https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Un...ing_787-10.php) which labels the cabin as "Polaris Business" and describes the seats as "Polaris open-suites." So yes, I guess I'd say I'm fairly familiar with the seat maps (at least after I book the flight - e.g. for this one, I used SeatGuru to help select my seat, and while doing so I saw that it was "Polaris", at least according to SeatGuru). And for what it's worth, there was a Polaris sign on this flight.

I rarely use (or try to use the lounge) though, so I'm very unfamiliar with the policies. I usually don't have much time in the airport before my flight and rarely have layovers. This was an exception as I had a video meeting scheduled for 40 minutes before my flight was due to start boarding.