Having access to an airline lounge can dramatically increase the qualify of your travel experience, whether you’re an occasional traveler or a professional road-warrior traveler. And if you fly on United frequently, then the United Club is the most relevant lounge program for you.
In this article, I’ll cover every way to get into the United Club, outline the restrictions and conditions of each way of accessing the club, and show you how to get access in the most cost-effective United Club access for you.
Overview: How to get into the United Club
There are a handful of ways to get into the United Club when you’re traveling on United or Star Alliance carrier. Here is the (very) high level overview. There’s much more on each of these below.
- United Club membership, either purchased from United or granted by having a United Club credit card offers the most consistent access to the United Club. United offers a few different “tiers” of membership, which offer increasing access for you, your guests, and your family.
- United Club one-time passes are a benefit of some United credit cards and can be used for a single entry into the United lounge for you, credit card authorized users, and your guest traveling with you.
- Business class and international first class tickets on United and its partners typically come bundled with lounge access.
- Frequent flyer status with United or its partners can get you access to the United Club on most international flights.
- Other ways to get into the United Club include having a lounge membership or being an active-duty U.S. military service member.
My recommendations: The best lounge access for you
Everyone’s situation is different, but my recommendations with respect to United lounge access typically will fall into the following buckets:
If you travel on United only occasionally, getting the single-use United Club passes with either the United℠ Explorer Card or the United℠ Business Card is likely your best bet. Those cards will give you a free baggage benefit, which is useful if you don’t get a free checked bag from having Premier status.
If you travel often, on a mix of airlines, then United Club access might not be right for you. Getting a credit card that offers a lounge network like Priority Pass, The Amex Global Lounge Collection, or the Capital One or Chase airport lounges might be a better fit, if those lounge networks have locations where you fly.
If you’re a frequent United flyer, then getting United Club access by holding either The United Club℠ Card or The United Club℠ Business Card is your best bet. If you’re after an individual membership, the annual fee of the credit card will save you $55 over purchasing a membership outright. Plus you’ll get access for one adult guest and dependent children under 18. (No guest access is included with a purchased membership.)
For most people the “Individual+” membership offered by the high-end United Club credit cards will probably be sufficient, but for more guest access or access to the wider network of Star Alliance partner lounges, you can upgrade to the All Access membership by spending $50,000 on your card in a calendar year or earning Premier Gold status and adding an authorized user to your credit card account.
Generally, airline credit cards are less rewarding for spending than no-annual-fee 2% cash back credit cards, so I wouldn’t try to spend $50,000 on a United credit card solely for the purpose of earning all-access membership. But I’d imagine that most people who fly on United frequently will have Premier Gold status or higher anyway, so adding an authorized user to your account is a small additional step that can get you the All Access United Club membership for no additional cost.
Finally, you may already have lounge access when flying internationally. Most business and first class flights internationally on United and Star Alliance will get you United Club access and your Premier Gold or higher status will get you lounge access on most international United and Star Alliance flights. If lounge access when traveling internationally is what matters to you, you might already have the loujnge access you need.
United Club membership: Levels and purchase options
You’ll receive the most access to United Clubs by having a Untied Club membership. United offers two tiers of United Club membership: individual membership and all access membership. Either tier of membership can be purchased annually from United or earned by having a credit card.
Here’s what you’ll get with each level of United Club membership. Note that with a United Club membership, you can access the United Club at your origin, connecting, and destination airports.
| Individual (purchased) | Individual (credit card) | All Access | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Club locations when traveling on a same-day United, Star Alliance or partner flight. | |||
| Star Alliance partner lounges when traveling on a same-day United, Star Alliance or partner flight. | – | – | |
| Guest access | – | 1 adult guest + dependents under 18 | 2 adult guests or 1 adult guest + dependents under 18 |
Purchased membership annual cost
If you choose to purchase a United Club membership, here’s what you’ll pay each year. Here were the current annual membership prices as of our last update:
Individual membership can be had for $750 or 94.000 miles annnually.
All-Access membership is available for $1,400 or 175,000 miles, but MileagePlus members with Premier Platinum and higher status get a discount. As of our most recent check, here are the discounts available:”
- Premier Platinum: $1,300 or 163,000 miles
- Premier 1K®: $1,200 or 150,000 miles
- Global Services: $1,000 or 125,000 miles
(Current pricing for United Club memberships can be found at United.com.)
You’ll usually get better value for your miles when redeeming them for flights, so we’d recommend not using your miles for a United Club membership.
Getting a United Club membership with a credit card
With either The United Club℠ Card or The United Club℠ Business Card, you’ll receive a United Club Individual Membership. These cards each carry an annual fee of $695, making them a cheaper option than buying a United Club membership outright if you want an individual membership.
But it gets better because the individual membership you get with the United Club card offers some measure of guest access, while the purchased individual membership offers no guest access of any kind. With the credit card individual membership, you can bring in one adult guest, plus dependents under 18 traveling with you.
If you want to upgrade to the all-access membership, you’ll get upgraded automatically if you either spend $50,000 on the card in a calendar year or if you have Premier Gold status or higher and have an authorized user on your account. The all-access membership earned through the credit card is the same as the purchased membership.
There is currently not a way to pay money to “buy up” to an all-access membership from the membership you get with a United Club card.
United Club one-time passes
United Club one-time passes are a benefit of the The United℠ Explorer Card and The United℠ Business Card. If you hold either of these cards, you can get two passes each account anniversary year. Here are the rules for getting lounge access with these passes
| What you need | Club access | Guest access |
|---|---|---|
| United Club one-time pass + Same-day boarding pass on a United, Star Alliance or partner flight. + Be the primary cardmember who earned the pass, be an authorized user of that cardmember’s account, or be traveling with either the primary cardmember or the authorized user. | United Club locations at the departure or connecting airports. Passes may only be used within 3 hours of the scheduled flight at the departure airport. Passes are good for a single entry of a single person. | Guests must use a one-time pass. |
Note that United added some restrictions onto the one-time passes in 2025. Previously, you could transfer your pass to anyone, who could use the pass when traveling United. Now, you must be either the primary cardmember of the card that earned the pass, an authorized user of that card, or traveling with either.
United sometimes imposes capacity controls on its lounges, and sometimes one-time pass holders are not allowed into lounges. Usually United will post a sign outside of the lounge if they’re not accepting one-time passes. Keep this in mind if you’re traveling during peak travel times.
International Business Class and First Class tickets
Like the vast majority of global airlines, United offers lounge access to travelers who buy international business and first class tickets.
Generally when you’re flying in a premium cabin internationally on United or a Star Alliance member airline, you’ll receive complimentary United Club access at your departure airport. When you’re traveling in an international premium cabin on a United flight, United typically allows access at your departure, connecting, and arrival airports.
| What you need | Club access | Guest access |
|---|---|---|
| United Polaris® business class United Business® international flights United First flights to/from Canada | United Club locations at the departure, connecting, and arrival airports | – |
| United Business® transcontinental flights | United Club locations at the departure and arrival airports of the premium transcontinental flight | – |
| First class on a Star Alliance™ member airline | United Club locations at the departure airport of your international first class flight | One guest |
| Business class on a Star Alliance™ member airline | United Club locations at the departure airport of your international business class flight | – |
If you’re flying somewhat frequently in international premium cabins on United Airlines, you’re likely to have Star Alliance Gold status. Keep in mind that Star Alliance gold status will get you access with a guest at your departure airport if you’re traveling with someone.
Frequent flyer status: Premier Gold or higher or Star Alliance Gold status
If you hold United Premier Gold, Premier Platinum, Premier 1K, or Global Services status, you’ll receive complimentary access to United Club locations at your departure airport on an international flight operated by United or a Star Alliance carrier. And if you hold Star Alliance Gold status on another airline, you’ll receive lounge access at the departure airport of any of your Star Alliance-operated flights.
| What you need | Club access | Guest access |
|---|---|---|
| United MileagePlus Premier Gold and higher status Same-day boarding pass on an international flight operated by a Star Alliance member airline. | United Club locations at the departure airport of your international itinerary | One guest on the same flight |
| Star Alliance Gold status on another member airline Same-day boarding pass on a flight operated by a Star Alliance member airline. | United Club locations at the departure airport of your flight(s) | One guest on the same flight |
United’s rules state that you can get access with either Star Alliance Gold status shown on your boarding pass or a Star Alliance Gold membership card. Conceivably this means that you could get lounge access at the departure airport for U.S. domestic flights operated by United while having your United frequent flyer number on your ticket, if you held Star Alliance Gold status with another Star Alliance member airline.
Other ways to access United Club lounges
Finally, there are a few other ways to access the United Club lounges. Most of these won’t be relevant to most readers of this blog, but here they are:
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Club lounge members can access many United Club lounges with the North America Plus lounge access package.
- U.S. active duty military as well as certain cadets and officers of U.S. Public Health and NOAA can access the United Club when traveling on United on a space-available basis.
Bottom line: Passes, status, or a credit card are your best bet for United Club access
There are a number of ways to access the United Club, from one-time passes, to frequent flyer status, to a full United Club membership. And the right level of lounge access for you will depend on how often you fly on United and whether you’re traveling alone.
If you need more than occasional access to the United Club, getting your United Club membership by holding either the business or personal variants. of the United Club card is probably your best bet.
