United to try delivering luggage directly to select Marriott hotels
Some United Airlines flyers arriving at London's Heathrow Airport will soon be able to send their bags directly to their hotels.
Through United's partnership with Marriott, business-class customers flying from Newark Liberty International Airport to London will be able to have their checked bags delivered to select properties in the English capital.
The program starts Nov. 1.
Luc Bondar, United's Vice President of Loyalty and head of the MileagePlus program, announced the new program Friday in Chicago at the airline's first media day in recent memory.
"We think it will be awesome and a real game-changer," Bondar said.
Related: The ultimate guide to United Polaris
The program will initially only apply to passengers flying in United's Polaris premium cabin from Newark and staying at five Marriott properties in London.
Those hotels are the JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, London Marriott Hotel Canary Wharf, London Marriott Hotel County Hall, Sheraton Grand London Park Lane and St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London.
Passengers will proceed through immigration and customs as normal. Then they need to look for the bag drop desk in the arrivals area of Heathrow. It will be open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to noon. There is no need to pre-register for the service.
As the program expands, Bondar said United will focus on markets where passengers are arriving early in the day and don't want to drag a suitcase all around the city. The initial push will be for business travelers.
Eventually, it could be expanded to leisure markets and maybe domestic flights. However, neither of those options appeared likely in the first round or two of markets based on Bondar's tone in describing the plan on Friday.
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month

