I have to do a quick refresh on United’s rules since I’m a few years behind. I’ve written a few posts with the information but since we weren’t flying with the airline, I wasn’t paying much attention since it was information I wasn’t going to use. I only needed to make sure it was correct.
Now that we’re flying United again, there are a bunch of things I need to know. Baggage rules. Check-in policies Wi-Fi availability. In-flight purchases.
But the one thing I ignored was the United boarding process. Like most major airlines, United divides boarding into many groups depending on the type of ticket you purchased and your status.
The last time we flew on United I didn’t worry about it because we still had the United MileagePlus Explorer card which provides cardholders an earlier boarding group. At the time, I didn’t realize how important it was to have a United co-brand credit card.
Now that I’ve dropped the card, when would I be boarding the plane and what could I do to improve my boarding group?
Preboarding includes the following passengers:
- Unaccompanied minors
- Customers with disabilities
- Active members of the military
- United Global Services members
- Families traveling with children age 2 and younger
- Premier 1K members
No luck there. What about boarding group 1?
- Premier Platinum members
- Premier Gold members
- Star Alliance Gold members
- Customers seated in premium cabins: United Polaris, United First and United Business
While there are some tricks to get Star Alliance Gold status, I’m not going to go through the hassle for a few flights. I could have upgraded to business class but it’s not worth it for earlier boarding.
Maybe there’s something in group 2?
- Premier Silver members
- Star Alliance Silver members
- Customers who have purchased Premier Access® or Priority Boarding
- United Explorer, Club, Presidential Plus and Awards Cardmembers
Here’s where you get earlier boarding with a United credit card, even if you’ve purchased a basic economy ticket. If you have a United credit card, you can also bring a carry-on bag when flying in basic economy. You can also purchase Priority Boarding, with prices starting at $15 per flight segment. Basic Economy passengers aren’t eligible to purchase Priority Boarding.
For my flight, I was able to board with group 2 because of the Premier Silver status I received from Bilt.
If you can’t get into group 2 and don’t want to pay for Priority Boarding, you’ll be in groups 3 through 5:
- Economy Plus
- United Economy
- Basic Economy
This is different from other airlines because even if you purchase Economy Plus seats, which can cost $100+, it doesn’t include a better boarding position.
While Basic Economy passengers are last to board and aren’t allowed to bring a bag for the overhead bins, Premier members, Chase Cardmembers of qualifying cards and Star Alliance Gold members still receive their priority boarding.
Final Thoughts
United’s boarding process has a few quirks that can throw off casual travelers. Remember that buying an Economy Plus seat assignment does not include earlier boarding. If you regularly travel on United, it makes sense to have a United co-brand credit card for earlier boarding, free checked bag and increased access to award ticket inventory. It also makes traveling on a Basic Economy ticket less terrible.
Besides that, your only option is to pay for Priority Boarding, which might make sense if you only fly once a year or less and want to make sure there’s space in the overhead bin for your bag.
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