United Club passes are plentiful and cheap on eBay. That’s because everyone with a United Explorer card gets two passes every year after their cardmember anniversary.
What’s more since they’ve been paper and mailed people would even call up Chase and ask for me, it was difficult to ascertain whether the originals had even been delivered.
For anyone visiting a United Club less than 20 times a year it’s been cheaper to buy passes than to buy a membership even.
This may begin to change. Starting next month United club passes issued to cardholders will be digital. They’ll be available in the United app to be used electronically. They’ll also be available for printing, but each one will be single use and tied to an account (otherwise someone would just be able to print the same one multiple times).
Credit: Jazzy_Josh on Reddit
The change will make passes easier to use, customers won’t have to remember to bring them and won’t lose them. It will also make them harder to sell, although no doubt some will print them and try. That’s riskier to the seller, since a pass is tied to a specific account. And that’s riskier to the buyer since there’s no way to know if a given pass being purchased was already sold and used by someone else.
It’s hard enough to use the Chase pass at some clubs, so now it’s even harder. What about the poor slobs that don’t have an App enabled phone? This is another way for UA to ‘waste’ these club passes.
How will I be able to gift the pass to my wife, and vice versa?
UA clubs are worse than even the worst PP lounges. It’s ludicrious how much they charge for club membership, and for what? Nowadays, airport food is getting better and better and you’re much better off eating in the terminal. It’s just another dumb status symbol.
@dhammer53 I think it’s fair to assume that at this point in the 21st century everyone has an phone that is capable of running the United app.
Seems to me you can gift to your wife by printing the pass and handing it to her.
> And that’s riskier to the buyer since there’s no way to know if a given pass being purchased was already sold and used by someone else.
It is, but more risk means lower prices for the passes and PayPal typically comes through on things like this. I’m all for making it easier to get these delivered digitally.
Will United continue to allow those flying on competitor’s metal to use their clubs (or must one fly with United)?
After many years I finally gave up my United Club membership two months ago and never looked back. It got to the point that membership was only useful as a bathroom stop and/or a way to pick up a copy of the Financial Times. I have four passes that expire next June and don’t expect to use them or any future digital application.
I’ve had Chase card two years and yet to receive a single lounge pass despite numerous calls to both Chase and United and reassurances that they were in the mail! Paid over $3000 for EWR to GLA flight last night in the overhyped “Polaris” class – joke on a 757 still no Direct aisle access! Lounge at EWR undergoing “renovation to make things better”, it was way overcrowded (surprised Fire Marshall wasn’t informed of the overcrowding) yet I was told no showers to be fitted, they used to have shower rooms reminiscent of high school, food shockingly low standard and being asked to pay for spirits at the bar due to lounge mixing cheapie internal flight passengers with international passengers (as was food on board last week from GLA to EWR – gourmet breakfast choice was traditional Scottish fry up, who considered that nutritional or gourmet? Or steak and scrambled eggs. I took latter which turned out to be small over cooked leathery piece of meat and unrecognisable rubbery chunk of what looked like rice but turned out to be inedible eggs, this all topped off by red wines colder than either the white wines or cheap champagne… all reminding me why I go out of my way to fly to USA via LHR with BA rather than give United my hard earned cash for such a crappy product and poor lounges and facilities. Why do Americans (and more specifically United Airlines) think this level of service and quality of product is acceptable for this much money???
@dhammer53 The “poor slab” without a smartphone a) is not a typical consumer who would have a United credit card but no smartphone; or b) ask their grandkid to print the pass for them.
I know a few people that will hurt by this move. They dont have any smart phone due to religion reasons.
@Nate
No, they won’t be hurt. They can log in to united.com and print their passes. And if their religion is so bizarre that they can use airplanes but not computers or telephones I suppose they will just have to forego using the lounges..
@Rob.
Really? Is your editorial comment necessary?
I feel guilty now. Really !
Henry : Ebay , it’s easy .
@dhammer53: Well, I suppose it’s at least as necessary as your comments. You (and @Nate) made comments regarding the difficulties of people without technology using the passes, and you wondered how you could give a pass to a wife.
I observed that one could print the passes and give/use them that way. And that in the 21st century you’d be hard pressed to find a traveler without a smartphone.
Just FYI: I just got my first “smart” phone three months ago and it is only because my daughter upgraded and gave me her old one. And, I’m considering going back to my flip phone. Some of us don’t like being connected 24/7.
They do realize that a lot of people who sell them use the proceeds to help justify keeping the United Card and not dumpling it because there are so many better ways to earn United miles on a credit card (at least for those who are elites)?
Over 3 years, I received 8 passes. I was only able to use 2. Since I’d rather go to the Centurion Lounge in LAS, that was the only place, I routinely travel with a United Club. I can’t remember how many times, they said that I could not use the passes because, the lounge was over-capacity. I downgraded the credit card. And I haven’t thought twice about it.
@Chris +1
I love my dumbphone (aka flip phone), and am procrastinating the switch to a smartphone as long as possible.
I do appreciate the internet and my Mac, when I choose to use them, and I am also learning to enjoy the iPad that I just inherited from my spouse (who upgraded in order to play the latest versions of fave video games). But I enjoy reading paper books a tad more than my Kindle, and one iPhone between us has been sufficient so far during our travels and our daily life.
I have the UA club credit card, but often see people being turned away with passes at IAD due to capacity. They definitely have a crowding problem, but I’d be curious whether this makes much of a dent in it. Lounges around the world often seem pretty crowded in general. I think some of this is the PP effect.
I just threw away my last 6 passes. UA lounges are awful and only worthwhile if your other option is sitting at the gate.
the previously mailed paper passes should still be good/valid?
@RR I bet United has an Ipad app. Just a thought.
If UA allow people to legally sell the UA one time pass, it will help UA credit card holder feel it is worth to keep this credit card, even the card yearly fee is $99. Because it will help card holders to reduce the annual fee, especially if they have no chance to use them.
In the beginning of this year, I was so exiting that I am going to use my first 2 UA Club One time Pass, and it is from my UA credit card benefit.
Guess what happened? The UA Club was closed for renovation in Newark NJ at that time! I was so disappointed.
That terminal is only for UA flights, digital menu （iPad size) is glued on every table in all restaurants and bars. It also keep flipping screen automatically, customer be forced to face/look the screen wile dining. No way to turn the screen off or move the screen to other side.
It just like someone keep using flash light on-n-off in front of your eyes!
Very poor design. You almost had no way not seeing these flash lights (digital menus) in this UA terminal, even just walking to your gate, except restrooms.
It was a very unpleasant experience to me, especially after a early morning flight, I need to rest in this terminal, and waiting for my next flight.
Now, I have 2 UA Club digital passes, no way to use them. I am think about to cancel my UA credit card, because I have no way to use them, and I am really no good at dealing their on-n-off flash lights (digital menu) in UA terminal in Newark, maybe I should save my UA credit card annual fee to get other flights which are not transfer flight in Newark in the future.
can i use someone else’s digital UA club passes (names on boarding pass & UA mobile app info dont match)? thanks