Airlines keep cracking down on lounge access in ways travelers won't like

United became the latest to raise lounge membership fees.

Mar 25, 2025 - 19:45

Airlines keep cracking down on lounge access in ways travelers won't like

While designed as a luxury perk for a small percentage of high-income flyers, airport lounges have been growing increasingly crowded say some travelers and the airlines operating the lounges.

Citing overcrowding, United Airlines UAL justified raising the cost of Club membership, which grants holders access to its network of lounges.

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United to travelers: 'Yes, there are fee increases'

Contrary to many other airlines which offer lounge access exclusively through status, the Chicago-based airline has a United Club membership where travelers can pay $650 a year to access a network of 45 lounges at airports across the country — a price that United is now replacing with tiers that will start at $750 a year for a basic membership and go up to $1,400 for one which lets the holder bring in up to two guests.

Without the expanded membership, basic plan members can bring in guests by paying a fee of $59 per day pass.

Other not-for-the-better changes include scrapping the discount for the individual membership that United previously offered to its Premium status holders and only giving it for the All Access Membership — $1,300 for Premium Platinum, $1,200 for Premier 1K and $1,000 for Global Service.

All the memberships can also be purchased with miles, and the starting price for the individual membership will also go up to 94,000. United tied the bad news with announcing several sign-up bonuses for co-branded JP Morgan Chase (JPM) credit cards.

The annual fee for these cards is, however, also being raised from $95 to $150 a year for the United Explorer, $250 to $350 for United Quest, and $525 to $695 a year for United Club Infinite.

"Yes, there are fee increases but we were very, very cognizant of ensuring that the value increments and the benefits that are delivered outweigh any increase in the cost of those cards," Richard Nunn, who heads United's MileagePlus loyalty program, told reporters on March 24.

A new Delta Sky Club location opened at Newark Liberty International Airport in 2023.
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Alaska, Delta, and some other airlines to make lounge access more expensive

United's move mirrors that of several other competitors, who are also increasing the cost of accessing their lounges. In the fall of 2023, Delta Air Lines DAL took the first fall on passenger outcry when it raised the earning thresholds for gaining the status necessary to access its Sky Club lounges and placed caps on the number of visits a passenger with status would have per year.

While Delta CEO Ed Bastian eventually responded to passenger anger by raising some of the lounge visits, he did not budge on the need for caps themselves.

More Travel:

In February 2025, Alaska Airlines (ALK) raised the cost of its basic Alaska Lounge+ membership from $550 to $595 a year on Feb. 1, 2025. A more expansive membership offering access to more partner lounges has also increased, as of Feb. 1, from $750 to $795.

"Occasionally, we need to adjust our pricing to make sure that quality stays at the level our members appreciate and to keep pace with the improvements we're making," an Alaska Airlines spokesperson said when the changes were announced in November 2024.