Who Can Access United Clubs? A Complete Guide

Understanding United Airlines lounge access can be quite confusing, especially with the distinction between United Clubs and United Polaris Lounges. United operates over 45 United Clubs and six United Polaris Lounges, so that’s quite a large network. In this post, I’d like to take a comprehensive look at how United Airlines lounge access works. There are a variety of ways to access United Clubs, from buying a membership (either directly or through a credit card), to booking certain types of business class tickets, to having eligible Star Alliance elite status. What amenities do United Club lounges have?Where are United Club lounges located?How can you access United Club lounges?Buy a United Club membership (with miles or cash)Get the United Club CardGet the JP Morgan Reserve CardBuy an Air Canada Maple Leaf Club membershipBuy a United Club passGet United Club passes with credit cardsBook a United Airlines premium transcontinental flightBook a United Polaris or business class ticketBook a Star Alliance business or first class ticketHave United MileagePlus elite statusHave United Global Services statusHave Star Alliance Gold status with an airline other than UnitedBe an active duty military memberWhat about United Polaris Lounge access?Bottom line What amenities do United Club lounges have? I’d say United Clubs are about average as far as US airline lounges go. In my opinion they’re on par with American Admirals Clubs (maybe a little better), and not as good as Delta Sky Clubs. Conversely, United Polaris Lounges are very good, and among the best business class lounges offered by any US airline. At United Clubs you can expect complimentary Wi-Fi, comfortable seating, free drinks and snacks, and some premium drinks available for purchase. As you’d expect, the quality does differ by lounge. Some of the newer hub lounges have things like barista coffee and showers, though that’s not a standard offering. It’s also worth mentioning that there’s the United Club Fly concept, which is essentially a grab & go lounge alternative, for those with United Club access. For travelers with limited time, this can be a great option for grabbing a drink or snack before boarding a flight. It’s currently only available at two airports, though. United Club Chicago Where are United Club lounges located? There are currently over 45 United Club locations, and you can find them all in the below chart, along with the number of locations at each airport. Airports with United ClubsNumber of United ClubsAustin-Bergstrom (AUS)1Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL)1Boston Logan (BOS)1Chicago O’Hare (ORD)5Cleveland Hopkins (CLE)1Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)1Denver International (DEN)4Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL)1Guam International (GUM)1Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye (HNL)1Houston Intercontinental (IAH)5Las Vegas International (LAS)1Los Angeles International (LAX)1Minneapolis–St. Paul (MSP)1New Orleans Louis Armstrong (MSY)1New York LaGuardia (LGA)1Newark Liberty (EWR)3Orange County John Wayne (SNA)1Orlando International (MCO)1Philadelphia International (PHL)1Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX)1Portland International (PDX)1Raleigh-Durham (RDU)1Washington National (DCA)1San Antonio International (SAT)1San Diego International (SAN)1San Francisco International (SFO)3Seattle-Tacoma (SEA)1Washington Dulles (IAD)3London Heathrow (LHR)1Mexico City International (MEX)1Tokyo Narita International (NRT)1Hong Kong International (HKG)1 How can you access United Club lounges? United Clubs are membership lounges, meaning that they’re primarily intended for members. However, there are lots of other ways to access United Clubs, including with eligible tickets, with elite status, through day passes, or in conjunction with the right credit card. Below are all the best options for United Airlines lounge access. Buy a United Club membership (with miles or cash) The most obvious way to access United Clubs is to outright buy an annual membership. This can be done with miles or cash, and the cost varies based on your elite status. Below is the United Club membership cost. MileagePlus statusIndividual membershipAll Access membershipRegular member$750 or 94,000 miles$1,400 or 175,000 milesPremier Silver$750 or 94,000 miles$1,400 or 175,000 milesPremier Gold$750 or 94,000 miles$1,400 or 175,000 milesPremier Platinum$750 or 94,000 miles$1,300 or 163,000 milesPremier 1K$750 or 94,000 miles$1,200 or 150,000 milesGlobal Services$750 or 94,000 miles$1,100 or 125,000 miles As you can see, there are two membership types: A United Club individual membership allows access to United Club locations worldwide, but with no complimentary guesting privileges (though you can pay $59 per guest) A United Club all access membership allows access to United Club locations worldwide, plus access to eligible Star Alliance partner lounges; at United Clubs, all access members can bring two adult guests, or one adult and any dependents under 18 With this you’re paying $750 annually (for an individual membership). If you are going to buy a United Club membership, I’d highly recommend paying cash over redeeming miles. As you can see, you’re getting under 0.8 cents of value per MileagePlus mile this way, and that’s just a really bad value, as there are better uses of MileagePlus miles. Keep in mind, you can only use United Clubs when flying same day on United Airlines or a Star Alliance partner airline. With an individual membership guests are not allowed. Get the United Club Card The best United Airlines credit card for lounge access is the United Club℠ Card (learn more), which includes a United Club membership for being a cardmember. This is valid for the primary cardmember, but not for any authorized users. Regardless of your status, this is a less expensive way to get a United Club membership than paying for a membership outright, given the $695 annual fee. The catch is that the lounge membership offered by the card is pretty quirky. As a standard, this offers somewhere between an individual membership and an all access membership, in terms of guesting privileges. Those who have an eligible card are able to bring one guest and any children under the age of 18. If cardmembers want to unlock an all access club membership (which would allow them to bring two guests, and access partner lounges), they can do so in one of two ways: By having United MileagePlus Premier Gold status or above By spending at least $50,000 on their eligible card in a calendar year United Club Los Angeles Get the JP Morgan Reserve Card The JP Morgan Reserve Card is an invitation-only credit card that most of us will never have access to. However, the card does offer a United Club membership, if you are someone lucky enough to get it. Buy an Air Canada Maple Leaf Club membership Those who have an Air Canada Maple Leaf Club membership also get United Club access. However: Those with a Maple Leaf Club North America Plus membership only get United Club access in North America You need to be flying a Star Alliance airline same day from the airport where you’re trying to access the lounge Your guesting privileges are limited; Maple Leaf Club members with a North America Plus membership aren’t allowed any guests, while those with a Maple Leaf Club Worldwide membership are allowed one guest A North America Plus membership costs 495 CAD (~358 USD) per year, while a Worldwide membership costs 665 CAD (~481 USD) per year. The catch is that these memberships have been suspended for years, so people can’t actually currently buy them. A Maple Leaf Club membership could be a good way to access United Clubs Buy a United Club pass You can buy a United Club pass for $59 per person. These passes are valid for one person each, and are only valid for entry to United Clubs in one city, with access allowed up to three hours before a flight’s scheduled departure. Unlike American Admirals Club day passes, you can’t use these to enter lounges at multiple airports the same day. Children under two may accompany someone accessing a United Club with a pass at no additional cost. You can buy a United Club pass directly at the lounge, though there may sometimes be capacity controls on these. Alternatively, you can buy a United Club pass through the United app. Like all other methods of accessing United Clubs nowadays, you also need to be traveling on United or a Star Alliance partner airline the same day. Buy a United Club day pass directly at a lounge Get United Club passes with credit cards Some of United’s credit cards with reasonable annual fees offer United Club passes as a perk. For example, you get two United Club passes annually if you’re the primary cardmember on the following cards: United℠ Explorer Card (learn more) United℠ Business Card (learn more) These are valid for 12 months from when they’re issued, and you can either show the passes to an agent through the United app, or you can print them from your MileagePlus account on united.com. Note that in situations where United Clubs are at capacity, those trying to access lounges with day passes might not be admitted. Much like outright buying United Club passes, these are valid for a single visit to one location, within three hours of a flight’s scheduled departure time. Book a United Airlines premium transcontinental flight A standard domestic first class ticket won’t get you access to United Clubs. However, there are certain domestic tickets that will get you United Club access. Specifically, if you’re traveling business class nonstop on one of the following routes you receive United Club access on arrival and departure (though not beyond that if you’re connecting): Between Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX) Between Newark (EWR) and San Francisco (SFO) You can’t bring any guests with you into the lounge, though. You can access no matter how you ticketed that business class flight, whether you paid cash, redeemed miles, or upgraded. These are the only types of exclusively domestic tickets that offer United Club access. Flights to Hawaii, and other domestic journeys, don’t offer lounge access. Premium transcontinental flights offer United Club access Book a United Polaris or business class ticket If you are taking a same day United Polaris or United business class flight, you get access to United Clubs throughout your same day journey, on departure, at connecting points, and even on arrival. You can’t bring any guests with you, though. What’s the difference between Polaris and business class for these purposes? United Polaris is the name of United’s long haul international business class product, and you’ll see the flights marketed as such. Meanwhile international flights where the forward cabin isn’t marketed as Polaris, instead have the forward cabin marketed as business class. Polaris flights include all international transpacific and transatlantic flights, as well as flights from the United States to the following South American destinations: Buenos Aires Lima Rio de Janeiro São Paulo Santiago Meanwhile United business class includes flights to the following destinations, which are also eligible for United Club access: Guam Canada Mexico Caribbean Central America Colombia Ecuador Let me emphasize that while those booking “basic” United Polaris tickets can’t access United Polaris Lounges, they can still access United Clubs, so that’s an important distinction to be aware of. United Polaris tickets offer United Club access Book a Star Alliance business or first class ticket Traveling in business class or first class on a Star Alliance partner airline also potentially offers United Club access, but with more restrictions. When traveling on a Star Alliance partner airline in business or first class you can access United Clubs, but only on departure at your international gateway. In other words, if you fly United first class from Houston to Chicago, and then Lufthansa first class from Chicago to Frankfurt, you could only use the United Club in Chicago. Personally I find the policy to be ridiculous, as Star Alliance is more punitive here than oneworld and SkyTeam. That’s especially true when you consider the joint ventures that United has with other carriers, where they essentially split revenue. When eligible for access, business class passengers can’t bring any free guests, while first class passengers can bring one guest with them (who must be traveling on the same flight). Star Alliance travel also comes with access, but with more restrictions Have United MileagePlus elite status Those who earn Star Alliance Gold status through United MileagePlus (including Premier Gold, Platinum, and 1K members) can access United Clubs during same day international travel. Access is allowed on departure, during connections, and upon arrival, and these members can bring one guest with them. All international itineraries are eligible for this, including flights to Canada and Mexico. Have United Global Services status In addition to the above access perks for United MileagePlus elite members, invitation-only Global Services members can access United Clubs on entirely domestic itineraries. They aren’t allowed any guests when accessing lounges this way, though. Have Star Alliance Gold status with an airline other than United If you’re a Star Alliance Gold member who earns status through any program other than United MileagePlus, you can access United Clubs whenever you’re flying Star Alliance same day, even if you’re not traveling internationally. Eligible Star Alliance Gold members can bring one guest, who must be traveling on the same flight. Status with another Star Alliance member could also get you into United Clubs Be an active duty military member Active duty US military personnel with a military ID can use United Clubs when traveling on United within 24 hours, assuming one of the following is true: They are dressed in uniform They have leave orders They have rest and recuperation papers Eligible military personnel can bring family members with gate passes or traveling on the same flight. What about United Polaris Lounge access? In addition to United Clubs, United Airlines also has Polaris Lounges in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington. These are among the best business class lounges run by US airlines, in my opinion, as they have beautiful decor, and offer excellent a la carte dining. United Polaris Lounges are excellent How do access requirements for United Polaris Lounges compare? United Polaris Lounge access is available to: Those traveling same day on a United Polaris ticket, either on departure, at a connecting airport, or on arrival, excluding those on “basic” tickets; no guests are allowed Those traveling same day on a first class ticket on All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, or SWISS, though only at the international departure gateway airport; one guest is allowed Those traveling same day on a business class ticket on Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Lufthansa, and SWISS, though only at the international departure gateway airport; no guests are allowed Let me emphasize that those on “basic” Polaris tickets, as well as those in long haul first or business class cabins on Star Alliance carriers other than the above can still access United Clubs, but just not United Polaris Lounges. There’s no way to access Polaris Lounges based on status — not even if you’re a Global Services member. For more details, see my guide to United Polaris Lounges. United Polaris Lounge Newark Bottom line As you can see, there are a variety of ways to get United Airlines lounge access, particularly for United Clubs. You can outright buy a membership, you can buy a day pass (which you can also get as a credit card benefit), or there are lots of premium cabin tickets and elite tiers that will get you access to United Clubs. Hopefully the above clears up everything you could want to know about United Airlines lounge access. If I missed anything, please let me know.