Price hikes and access changes are here as United Airlines overhauls lounge policies, membership

If you're looking to enter the United Club, you might want to pay attention to this news.

The Chicago-based airline announced major changes to United Club access policies on Monday. The updates include new membership options, guest policies and timing restrictions. The changes aren't as sweeping as what Delta Air Lines announced for its (often overcrowded) Sky Clubs, but there are some big updates that are sure to catch your attention.

Savvy readers shouldn't be surprised to see these updates — after all, United Airlines' head of lounges teased them exclusively to TPG last month — but now that they're official, here's what you need to know.

United launches membership tiers

Effective immediately, United will offer two tiers of club membership.

United Club individual membership

This membership will offer unlimited access to all United Club locations for the primary member only. The annual price will be $750 or 94,000 miles, and there are no discounts available for United Premier members. Note that Individual members can pay to bring guests into the lounge on a one-off basis; you'll need to pay $59 for a one-time pass per guest.

United Club All Access membership

This membership plan offers unlimited United Club access to primary members and up to two guests. This membership also includes access to all Star Alliance member lounges, as well as other select partner locations listed on this website. All Access members can use any Star Alliance member carrier-owned or Star Alliance-branded lounge. In effect, purchasing this membership will give you de facto Star Alliance Gold status, at least in terms of lounge access.

The annual sticker price for this plan is $1,400 or 175,000 miles, but Premier members gain access to the following discounted rates:

• Premier Platinum members: $1,300 or 163,000 miles
• Premier 1K members: $1,200 or 150,000 miles
• Global Service members: $1,000 or 125,000 miles

While these new membership plans are effective immediately for new sign-ups, existing members won't see any changes until their membership year expires. Upon renewal, you must choose between an individual or All Access plan (and pay the associated higher fees).

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Note that lifetime United Club members will be converted to All Access plans, and Global Services members will still get lounge access for free on domestic itineraries.

United Club membership via credit cards

While you can purchase a stand-alone United Club membership at the rates above, you can also get discounted access via several cobranded credit cards.

In addition to the membership policy changes, United also overhauled its entire portfolio of cobranded credit cards on Monday.

Lounge access will be included with the following credit cards:

• United Club℠ Card (see rates and fees)
• United Club℠ Business Card
• United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Card (no longer accepting new applications)
• United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Business Card (no longer accepting new applications)

Note that lounge membership earned via a cobranded credit card offers a unique access policy that includes entry for primary cardmembers, one guest and any dependents under 18.

Cardmembers can unlock an All Access club membership (that bumps up the guest allowance to two and unlocks access to partner lounges) in one of two ways. The first is to earn Premier Gold status or higher in a given year, and the second is to spend at least $50,000 in eligible purchases on their cobranded card in a calendar year.

Note that the annual fee on both the United Club Card and the United Club Business Card is just $695, so having a card to enter the lounge remains a more attractive option than outright buying membership.

The information for the Club Business, Presidential Plus and Presidential Plus Business has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

3-hour time limits

In recent years, several airline- and credit card-branded lounges have implemented restrictions on how early guests can arrive. This prevents travelers from turning the club into their office (or cafeteria) for an entire day. Now, United is joining the bandwagon — but in a far more limited way.

Starting May 1, travelers using a one-time pass can only enter a United Club up to three hours before their scheduled departure time. This exclusively applies to departure flights, and there will be no time limit for entry on connecting flights. There are also no time limits for club access for members or travelers flying in eligible premium cabins.

Furthermore, grab-and-go Club Fly locations will no longer accept one-time passes. (Note that United sells one-time passes for $59, so be aware of the new restrictions before purchasing one.)

Bottom line

Of course, United's new membership tiers (and associated annual fees) sting for those who are used to paying for the airline's existing pricing tiers. Plus, the new time limits on entering the club with a one-time pass will hurt those who enjoy spending lots of time in the lounge before their flight.

But as a whole, these changes aren't actually all that bad. As we noted earlier, they're nowhere near as sweeping as what Delta has done with its Sky Club network; that carrier is now limiting cobranded credit card members to a fixed number of annual visits.

Plus, the new three-hour rule only applies to a small subset of travelers who use the lounge with a one-time pass.

But perhaps the best news is that those with select United credit cards will continue to enjoy unlimited access to the United Club network. They'll just be permitted one fewer guest until they earn Premier Gold status or spend $50,000 on the card. Once you hit either of those milestones, you'll enjoy a much-upgraded All Access membership that includes partner lounge access and an additional guest.

Related reading:

• Best credit cards for airport lounge access
• The ultimate guide to United Club access
• The do's and don'ts of visiting an airport lounge
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• 9 domestic lounges that are worth going out of your way for