The last couple of years I’ve been regularly flying United Polaris Business Class. Obviously taking a seat in Business Class is always a joy, certainly compared with a seat in the back of the plane. The Polaris business class is by no means a bad product but for me, it’s certainly not the best. The hard product is decent, but food is mediocre and the service is very inconsistent. I’ve experienced total ignorance from the crew but in contrast, I’ve also experienced pretty good service. The latter is a rare occasion with United though….
Upgrade Potential
But there are 2 good things about United Polaris Business Class. Number 1 is the opportunity to actually upgrade to Business Class and experience total ignorance from the crew. After you have booked a ticket, you can immediately see what potential upgrade options you have. There are 3 options;
- Money
- Miles (and money)
- Pluspoints
Pluspoints is obviously the best option here since it won’t cost you any money or miles. You need to have reached at least United Platinum status to get Pluspoints. In the case of Platinum status, you receive 40 Pluspoints which could give you one intercontinental upgrade to Business Class.
The next best option is miles, eventually with additional money. The amount of miles and money required, depends on the fare class. I’ve seen offers in the past starting from 15K miles which is a pretty good deal.
In most cases, you won’t get the upgrade immediately when choosing Pluspoints or miles. Instead you’re waitlisted, so you’re not guaranteed an upgrade. I think my percentage of successful upgrades is between 30 and 40 percent.
The Polaris Business Class Lounge
But the best thing about the United Polaris Business Class is the Polaris Lounge! I don’t think it’s a secret that the US airline lounges have been pretty miserable places in the past. Things are getting better now, but when I recently visited the lounge at the Las Vegas International terminal, I was reminded of the sad state of some of the US lounges. Even though I must admit, the Las Vegas lounge was probably the worst one I had seen in ages – it was even worse than the lounge at the Chennai, India International airport which is quite an achievement.
But back to the Polaris Lounge. I first visited the Polaris lounge at SFO airport last year and I was pleasantly surprised; this was a lounge in the US from a US airline? I wasn’t lost somewhere in Doha or Dubai? The lounge in SFO was very spacious, they had a very friendly staff and the best thing was; besides a good buffet, they offered an a-la-carte restaurant. I must admit that I was very sceptical when I first ordered something from the menu; after all, this was a US lounge! The scepticism faded a bit after I got some nice Chardonnay and after I received my main dish, I was left in total shock. This was actually very good! Since then, I also visited the Polaris lounge in Houston several times. Everytime I had the same pleasant experience. Highlight was the taco’s they once served in the Polaris lounge in Houston; these were excellent!
Shocking conclusion
So who would have thought; a US business class lounge setting the bar for Western and Asian lounges! Do you agree? Are the Polaris lounges one of the best lounges you have experienced?
Also read my blog on biggest airlines in the world and see how United scores there.
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