United Airlines has clearly taken steps to correct what happened to my family over the summer when we were denied lounge access by a pair of vicious agents at SFO despite being eligible on the basis that we did not have a boarding pass with a barcode. Under nearly identical circumstances, we were recently welcomed into the lounge.
United Club Access Without Boarding Pass
You might recall that last summer my family was denied access to the United Club in SFO on the grounds that we did not have a boarding pass with a barcode. We were flying SWISS from San Francisco to Zurich and received a check-in confirmation that had all our flight information (including name, flight date, flight number, gate, seat assignment, boarding time, confirmation number), but no barcode. On that basis, we were denied.
United reached out after my post was published and put me in touch with Alex Dorrow, United’s Managing Director of Lounges. He apologized for my treatment, confirmed I should have been granted access, and assured me that the agents in SFO would be re-trained so this did not happen to me or any other passenger again.
Note that key point: you must be confirmed on a same-day Star Alliance flight to access the United Club, but you need not have a boarding pass. Agents have other ways to enter your flight information and confirm whether you should be granted access.
> Read More: Imperious Staff Throw My Family Out Of United Airlines Lounge In SFO
For my Christmas trip to Germany, United had a chance to redeem itself. Would this time be any different? We were flying from Burbank to San Francisco on United, then connecting on a separate ticket on Lufthansa to Germany. Just like with the SWISS flight, we were issued a check-in confirmation, but not a boarding pass with barcode since our vaccination records had to be checked.
After arriving in SFO, we proceeded to the United Club in Terminal G (this was just a couple weeks before the Polaris Lounge reopened). An agent named Eduardo greeted us at the door. I explained the situation and rather than turn us away, he welcomed us into the lounge. Well, not exactly. The lounge was so crowded there was a waiting list to get in, but we only had to wait about five minutes outside before getting in. There was no demand for a boarding pass: our Lufthansa itinerary was enough.
After getting my family settled, I headed down to the Lufthansa gate nearby, picked up the boarding passes, and returned.
See how easy that was?
CONCLUSION
I commend United for recognizing its agents (last summer) provided horrible service and improperly denied my family access to the lounge. It seems like the problem has been resolved.
Feel free to report in the comment section below if you have had any issues accessing a United Club with “check-in confirmation” versus a boarding pass with a barcode.
yawn.
Thanks for complaining and helping make this work properly for the next traveller.
Matt – Thank you for this. But a simple these bad eggs will be retrained does not seem like enough. Did United rep not offer anything extra like a large bag of points for the treatment?
Next time. Demand they be hung by their toes!
Thank you for keeping airlines accountable so that people without a voice don’t have to face such abuse when traveling.
Question: Due to a misconnection, I was placed on standby (in SFO). Initially the United lounge agent refused my entry. After asking to speak to the manager, I was immediately let in.
If one meets the usual credentials, how standby & lounge access work?
I have been denied entry into SFO United lounge because I only had a standby boarding pass with no QR code on my app. This was for a United flight connecting to a United flight, both domestic.
I am a United lounge member but I was sent out to go to United customer service so they could print out one boarding pass for my standby and another for my confirmed flight.
You should not have been denied in that instance. I have a friend who works for UA and travels standby but has club membership – access has never been a problem .
A waiting list to get into a United lounge? And I thought the Amex Centurion lounges were bad.
I was denied access in the American Express lounge because I was on standby and the said I needed a confirmed seat???
Yes, that is policy to prevent airline employees from having breakfast, lunch, happy hour, and dinner in the AMEX lounge each day.
This is a very clearly published policy for Amex lounges.
In 2019 I was denied access to the EWR Polaris Lounge when doing a self-transfer from United to Austrian. The check-in counter for Austrian wasn’t open yet and agents claimed there was “no other way” for them to get paid by Austrian for my visit.
Not the same thing as having a “check-in confirmation” but they explicitly said boarding pass or bust. In either event, thank you for taking this up with United.
I had a similar experience to your original; my partner and I were flying business class on Turkish to LAS, changing in ORD. The UN lounge in ORD would not admit us because our boarding passes were printed by Turkish Airlines. When I politely questioned that, she was rude and obnoxious, more rude than would have been appropriate even if I had been completely out of line. I don’t think being treated correctly on some later occasion “redeems” them in any way, and I have not given them any further opportunity to treat me badly or well.
I had a similar experience in a SFO United lounge last year. I did not have my boarding pass, but had my Mileage Plus status card, my United App open to my status and flight information, my Mileage Plus number, and my itinerary. The lounge agents (2 of them got involved) refused to look at any of this information, and told me that a ticket barcode was the only way to show that I was eligible for the lounge and to show I was not “sneaking in”. Totally offensive as I know they have a computer system that could access my ticket details.
United’s gate agents are nasty and rude so I guess that attitude extends to their lounged as well. I wish everyone had the same platform as yours to air our complaint and get noticed by the airline. There are many of us mistreated pax out there without a voice.
Gee that’s no sweeping generalization present in your comment. I’ve been flying UA in SFO since 1991. Sure there have been a few sour apples. But as a whole, the agents have been courteous and helpful; just like any airline in the US.
Agreed. For the most part, they’re fine. And like Goforride said, “vicious”? Just because Matt was denied entry. Geez a bit too entitled there.
We too have had issues twice in SFO when in route to Costa Rica on First Class fares. Not only denial, but rude and unwilling to review or consider anything other than their first response and when I did not immediately accept the ‘no’ their escalation was to call security!
Sorry, but you sound like an entitled elitist snob. The fact the agents at SFO had every right to deny access to the club without a boarding pass and barcode as per the regulations of the time. I was not permitted to enter alliance airlines lounges for the same reasons, and the agents were merely doing their jobs correctly. It wasn’t until there was a policy change for all alliance carriers that United changed the policy, which had nothing to do with your masterbatory “complaint”. You should really work at an airline and see how obnoxious fools like you treat employees before mouthing off. Your post is a joke. If United had any sense, they would ban you permanently.
Honey, you have no idea. But thanks for your click. Now go sashay away.
I’m not certain how a passenger would know about the interoperability of airlines in an alliance. Matthew was only asking for what he was entitled to according to published rules. I can’t think of a time where any literature stipulated the presence of barcodes for access to a lounge.
Thanks Fr. Low. It doesn’t – this was never a real rule.
That’s a weird way to describe a complaint, Chris. Don’t be such a jerkoff.
Am I eligible to use United Lounge fly first class one way
Only if flying in international business class or in business class between SFO/LAX-EWR/JFK or SFO-BOS.
Aloha Matt, thanks for explaining. We had a different situation where we were denied access. We landed in Philadelphia from Hawaii via Chicago, we had a very long layover to catch a plane to Salisbury/Ocean City, MD. The only airlines that flies to SBY is American. We were denied access to the Philadelphia lounge, as we had landed and our next ticket wasn’t on United. Is this right? Plesae LMK your thoughts, thanks Robin
PS we were flying first on United
Hi Rob, in this case United is correct unless you are a club member. (Club membership requires same-day travel, but access can be on arrival).
Aloha Matt. Yes we are both club members, we flew united from hawaii in business class landed in Philadelphia that morning. Tried to get into lounge in the afternoon prior to the American flight to SBY and was denied access. Said we weren’t outgoing on united.
I was turned away for not having a “same day” ticket. Red eye, Denver would not let me use the lounge because my international flight was out of EWR the next morning… but flight left from Den the night before. Lame.
“Vicious”?
Good Lord. I hope you never find yourself confronted by real dangerous people.
I was denied United lounge access at SFO in 2016. I was traveling from SFO to LAX in order to catch my connecting flight on a first class flight on Asiana Airlines to Korea. Said it was because my flight to LAX was not a first or business class flight. Even though they have no first class cabins on there 737 or A320 flights to LA. I’m glad you were able to get some accountability from United after your horrible experience. I swear some of the United staff at SFO in particular should not be working in a service role.
My husband and I were also treated poorly when trying to get in before our flight boarded. We had. proof we could join but the check in lady highly recommended that we not use up our pass for just 15 minutes of relaxation. I took her attitude to mean that she really didn’t want us there. My husband said she had a good point so we left. But he was just not wanting me to make a rude comment. This was at SFO. We were on our way to Disney World.
Now how about all those useless passes they give out as benefits to credit card holders that can never be used because every lounge is closed to passes every time I have ever tried to use them in the last several years. Just another useless loss leader to get you to buy a lounge membership.
2018 Flying home from SFO, only 2 agents at economy check-in, one at desk the other triaging long line of pax. My 14yo son and I use kiosk for self check-in. The kiosk makes a disgruntled sound and says we have to go to an agent at the check-in desk. [Turns out they changed planes on us and seriously jumbled seat assignments, and my 14yo son was now 2 rows away from me with strnagers.] We wait 45min in line, get to the front, and the male agent triaging tells the old couple in front of us they don’t need this line, the kiosk can help them. Shouldn’t the male agent be at the back of the line so people don’t waste 45min of THEIR time?? He then asks why we’re here. I explained the kiosk told us to see an agent. He tells me to try the kiosk again. I said no. I’ve waited 45min in line, I can read, The kiosk said agent, and we now have less than 10min before the cut off to check in our luggage. I want to speak with the agent, not the kiosk. The male agent tells me to try the kiosk again and then come back to him if it doesn’t work. From where he is standing he can’t see the kiosk screens. He isn’t offering to go with me. He’s brushing me off. At this point the female desk agent is done with pax and asks the male agent what we, my son and I need. The male agent loftily turns his head towards her, swear to God, and yells to her, “It’s nothing. B A S I C Economy.” He D R A G G E D out the word BASIC when he said it. He never ONCE looked at our tickets. We were NOT flying Basic! That’s when I raised my voice. I told him we weren’t BASIC economy. I have NEVER flown Basic, and even if we were that was NO WAY to speak about one of their customers ESPECIALLY right in front of them! I tod him we weren’t going back to the kiosks. The female agent waved us over to her desk and said she would help us. By then a supervisor showed up behind a different desk. As we walked to the female agent she told the supervisor they desperately needed more desk help. The supervisor told the male agent to start working at a desk. The female agent explained the Red Flag about seating change notification. Though sympathetic and apologetic, she said the flight was full and she could not move seats around. We would have to ask gate agents or pax on the plane directly. We checked our bags and then left. I later complained to customer care online, but got a generic sorry for the situation here’s a few miles, buhbye.
First World problem. My wife and I were denied access to Chuck E. Cheese because we didn’t have a kid with us.
Lol. You go for the pizza?
Last October 2021, I travelled on ANA from Manila to LAX via Narita with an immediate connection on UA LAX to SAN. The connecting time was a bit long and I was hoping a UA Club lounge access. I had one international business class ticket on ANA for the entire itinerary. Aside from ANA is a co-member of Star Alliance together with UA, both also operate under joint venture.
I found it quite strange to be denied access because my business ticket was on ANA. I was told that only tier members are granted access. This was the same on my return flight on the same return ticket, Cleveland to Manila via Chicagovand Narita. Again, I was denied access to the lounge in Cleveland for the same reason above.
In your case, UA was technically correct, though I think that is a ridiculous rule.
@Maria I was on LAS-DFW on AA when flight was cancelled and subsequent flights were overbooked. Was issued a flight coupon to get me through security but would have to wait for gate agent to assign seat. Was long layover until my assigned flight. AMEX Centurion Lounge denied me access even thought I showed my Platinum Card and itinerary. They called AA who said I was booked but AA could not assign seat just yet. While they were on phone to AA I poured a coffee and took a seat. They said I had to leave because I didn’t have a confirmed seat even thought I showed my Platinum Card and my itinerary was validated by AA. I refused to leave. They called airport police and physically escorted me outside. Took a seat in the concourse, called AMEX and cancelled my Platinum Card and never looked back. Haven’t used an AMEX product since and haven’t missed it.
I have flown hundreds of thousands of miles on United. Swore them off years ago when they expired all my miles without warning. These stories and Dr David Dao make me glad to be a FORMER customer.