HNLbasedFlyer

Exactly - I have a lifetime membership so I don't personally care - but do UA flyers really want to pay $200 or more per year for a comparable club? Sure, some would - my personal opinion has been with all the enhanced food offerings club prices are going up anyway - but I doubt $200 to match Skyclub prices.

Kacee

And anyone stuck with MSP has my sincere condolences
I'd consider it. As it stands, SFO and PHX based, the annual membership is a pretty poor value.

I wouldn't pay $200 more for DL, but it sure does make the Amex Plat a very easy call.

threecap

Posted similarly in May. At least UA has improved a bit since then, but I agree the DL Sky Clubs are still beating them up. UC amenities - regular & special food / snacks, power, wifi, work areas, ...

HNLbasedFlyer

I continue to be surprised Chase and the Sapphire Reserve product can't get a tie in with UA comparable to Amex Plat - although the Priority Pass benefit at SFO has easily paid for the annual fee for that card and is a solid value.

rrz518

Delta Reserve Amex costs roughly $500 per year, includes SC membership (for 1) and a host of premium Amex amenities, including companion ticket (free), excellent buyers protection, upgrade 'assistance' on DL flights, etc. Well worth it, if one makes use of the Skyclubs.

findark

Yeah, the ironic thing is that I never bothered with UC membership because there were no effectively-free options; I just mixed international access with the "walk straight from the curb to my seat" plan for domestic flights.

But with DL, I have two SC credentials (Amex Plat, Amex DL Reserve), both of which I consider to be free. And yet DL seems to invest more in their lounges, despite what are assuredly countless freeloaders like me (and their own top elites)

It's not even a capex thing in a lot of places - the SFO Rotunda club for example is beautiful, and it can't be that hard to offer more than cheese cubes.

rrz518

You are describing UA Clubs, but most certainly not Delta's. Delta's facilities, by and large, are vastly superior to UA. VASTLY. Food at DL lounges is generally excellent (and it wasn't always like that). I'd say at SFO for example, the DL lounge offers at least 4x the variety of the corresponding UA lounge, and I'm not talking the 'gas station burritos' that UA puts out (shameful). DL food is hot, fresh, well presented, and easily - EASILY - meal-worthy. The cold selections are, often, vast. UAL? Snack garbage with minimal if any hot selections. Truly garbage and it's so incongruous (with the product improvement I've seen), that's why I posed the question by starting this thread.

xliioper

The DL Amex Reserve card does not actually provide an SC membership (it provides an SC access benefit). The distinction isn't very big these days (as SC memberships no longer provide access to DL partner lounges), but there are a few differences. Namely, you can access an SC when flying either DL or partners with an SC membership, but the Reserve card only provides comp access when flying DL metal (you can enter when flying partner metal, but there is a $39 fee). Although I suspect most people with the Reserve card have DL Gold or higher status as well and are able to use Sky Clubs when flying international partner flights based on their Skyteam status.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

So you've experienced first hand the differences in the lounges and already have a very distinct impression of the UA vs Delta lounges - what's your objective here???? Your opinion of the UA lounges is pretty obvious. Most flyers goes with the carrier most convenient out of their airport to/from their destinations and (if necessary) the best partners. If the Delta routes/partnerships work better for you, then fly Delta. Or are you saying UA works better for you in terms of flying and you'll go with a less convenient Delta because their lounges are better??? I guess that's one way to approach flying.

Out of a competitive airport (LAX or LAS for example) one person may find one carrier no more covenient that another and may make a decision based on lounges. Just hard to believe someone would make frequent flying more difficult by selecting a less convenient carrier than another because of the lounges. Add another stop or fewer flights and added travel time for a better salad? No thanks.

There's a Delta lounge at HNL - I'd be a moron to make DL my carrier as it's got the worst of the legacy airline schedules and is behind HA and WN in terms of frequency to Mainland.

HNLbasedFlyer

Have you been to the Rotunda club recently - they upgraded offerings at lunch last time I was there this past Thursday.

This is easily resolved - just fly Delta and use Delta Clubs

Kacee

At airports where there's real competition, lounge can absolutely be a determining factor. For example, DL typically gets my business (over UA and AA) LAX-PHX specifically because of their lounge.

PTahCha

Probably because it would cannibalize the United Club card, with no extra benefit to UA and all cost.

rrz518

If you need clarification, please re-read my original post; I was quite clear. However, should additional clarification be necessary: I enjoy similar status - and lounge access - on both UAL and Delta. Fly them roughly the same amount, each offers various plusses and minuses scheduling and upgrade wise, and cost is roughly equivalent (except lately UA is more expensive). So why does the UA lounge system suck so bad whereas Delta's is superior? All things being equal, I'd have to favor DL overall just due to their lounges. But often I prefer to fly UA, so (again) why do their lounges suck so bad???? Why can't they muster much more than cheese cubes and crackers, when DL lounges have a (relatively) lavish buffet, with far far better facilities? Why can't UA treat it's lounge customers with the same respect - and standards- that DL customers receive? (UA has improved it's service and fleet dramatically since the CO merger, why has this been neglected?)

findark

Perhaps not... I don't recall anything since what felt like a cutback from the mid-pandemic offerings (back to cheese cubes, cookies, soup, and perhaps a few other things if you're lucky). If the last month or two has seen an upgrade, it's news to me.

Duke787

I’m a long time Delta fan (it became my refuge in the Smisek era which was timed with moving back to RDU) and because of company policy am back on UA in a serious way for the first time since my 1K days.

I think that this sentiment was true for a long time but in the post(?) Covid era the SkyClubs have really taken a downward turn.

My home RDU club is still solid (as is the UC at RDU) but everywhere else (except maybe SFO but even their food has gone down a notch) I find the SC to be overcrowded, serving mediocre mass produced food, and they just don’t feel as refined as they used to.

Now the UC (outside of RDU) are still mostly a zoo but there are still some gems outside of Polaris — I think the new EWR club is better than maybe any DL SC (haven’t visited the new SLC or LGA ones) and the LHR UC remains a top club among the US3.

Of course Polaris Lounges are all a step above SC but that’s not a surprise because DL cut costs during Covid and no longer is making the SCs at JFK/ATL F/LAX into a hybrid SC/D1 lounge