The Medal of Honor is the highest and most prestigious military award in the USA. Recipients of the award enjoy a host of benefits both inside and outside the military. United Airlines is adding to that list with free Global Services status and United Club membership that automatically renews every year.
Yesterday was National Medal of Honor Day. For the last four years, United has provided Global Services status, United’s top-tier status, to 74 Medal of Honor recipients. Global Servies status brings more upgrades, better service, and reduced fees. This year, United is adding free United Club membership as well.
Here’s a note from United President Scott Kirby to the Medal of Honor recipients about their free status and club membership:
The debt our country owes to your service can never be repaid; it can only be respected and honored. As a US Air Force veteran, I’m personally honored to send you this letter and thank you for the sacrifices you made for our country. In fact, I’ve collected about 40 signatures and challenge coins from living Congressional Medal of Honor winners and they are proudly on display at my home. All of us at United Airlines want to thank you for having earned our nation’s highest military honor and in that spirit, the United family is proud to offer you United Global Services status each year, our invitation-only program for our most valued MileagePlus members. With Global Services status, you enjoy our highest level of service and benefits.
In recognition of your exceptional service, it’s now our pleasure to also provide you with United Club membership starting March 23, 2019. United Club membership gives you — and up to two guests traveling with you — access to more than 45 United Club locations worldwide. You’re also welcomed to visit any of our participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges and other partner lounges. You will be receiving your membership materials separately but can access your digital card via the United app. Just like your Global Services status, your club membership will automatically renew next year, so there’s nothing you need to do.
Consider this our way of taking care of you in some meaningful, albeit small, recognition for all that you’ve sacrificed for our country. We greatly appreciate your service and we look forward to saluting you on board soon.
Thank you,
Scott Kirby
It’s a nice gesture. As United states:
It’s a small gesture in light of what these individuals accomplished on the battlefield, but it’s one way we can say thank you. When it comes to flying heroes, the honor is all ours.
image: US Army
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Great move by United.
Combat experience will come in handy for the battlefield upgrades
I think medal of bone spurs is much better. You can be racist, POS, sexually assault women, be a grifter, cheat, traitorous scum and still get elected president.
Your just as bad as the president. Not all stories or articles need to be about him.
@JohnC,
Don’t feed the troll. His mom has been on his case to stop playing xbox in the basement and get a job. Unfortunately, no one wants to hire someone with an associates degree in Teledildonics.
Excellent !!!
I saavy move by United. Lots of good press for doing something unequivocally good that costs almost nothing.
Wait until the travel hackers get ahold of this though.
“Earn lifetime United Global Services for free with this one simple trick!”
Metal of bone spurs?!?! Have some respect for the soldiers that earned those medals. As to your shitty OPINION of our great President Trump i do believe that nobody is holding a gun to your head to live in this wonderful Country that President Trump is and will make great again!!
Kudos to UA! Yet another example of another airline being more American than American Airlines.
This is an excellent move on their part.
I probably would have gone one step further and also extended it to the widows of MoH recipients, since so many of them are awarded to those who gave everything.
I agree on the Widows – with discretion to the partner who stood by the MOH when they earned it. However, sadly with divorce what they are in this country- there should be limits to number of partners.
Do they get the annual GPUs/RPUs though….
Where are all the holier-than-thou DL fanboys now? Big bad United strikes again, right?
Probably back in 2016.
https://news.delta.com/delta-recognizes-national-medal-honor-day
(On a serious note bravo to Delta, United, and all companies that recognize all Medal of Honor recipients)
I’m a little torn on this. On one hand this is a blatant publicity stunt, and I’m not a fan of using decorated veterans to facilitate publicity stunts. On the other hand, the Medal recipients actually get some tangible lifetime benefits. If United had wanted to do this with taste, they would have quietly offered the benefit while avoiding any press on the subject.
A classy move by United.
Class move by United even if they did spin some PR on it.
This is the best I have seen from UAL and Scott Kirby! Thank you Scott! As an Air Force veteran myself and a flight attendant with UAL it makes me proud of you and our airline. I hope they offer GS to family of those awarded Medal of Honor posthumously.