In this post, I wanted to take a look at United Polars Lounges, which are the carrier’s premium international lounges. Separately, I’ve written about United Clubs, which are United’s more basic lounges, accessible with a membership, based on elite status, etc.
In this post:
What are United Polaris Lounges?
While United Clubs are primarily United Airlines’ membership clubs and lounges for elite members, Polaris Lounges are United’s premium lounges for long haul business class passengers. Guests traveling long haul business class generally have higher expectations of the airport experience than what’s otherwise offered from domestic airline lounges, so that’s why United has created this network of lounges.
United Polaris Lounges really are pretty great, among the best business class lounges offered by any US airline. They feature everything from a la carte dining and buffets, to nap rooms and shower suites, to great decor, to cocktails and barista-made coffee.
Nowadays all of the “big three” US carriers have their own versions of these premium lounges, as there are also American Flagship Lounges and Delta One Lounges. Delta and United lounges are definitely more premium than American lounges, but also have stricter entry requirements, so which is best really depends on what you have access to.
United Polaris Lounge locations & hours
United Airlines currently has six Polaris Lounges, located in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington. Let’s go over the very basics of each of these lounges, including their locations, hours, and square footage.
United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD)
The United Polaris Lounge Chicago is open daily from 6AM until 9PM, and it’s located in Terminal 1, Concourse C, near gate C18. The lounge is 16,300 square feet, putting it in the middle of the pack as far as size goes. Note that this lounge will soon be expanded by around 50%.
United Polaris Lounge Houston (IAH)
The United Polaris Lounge Houston is open daily from 5:30AM until 9PM, and it’s located in Terminal E, near gate E12. The lounge is 12,500 square feet, making it the second smallest Polaris Lounge.
United Polaris Lounge Los Angeles (LAX)
The United Polaris Lounge Los Angeles is open daily from 6:30AM until 10:30PM, and it’s located in Terminal 7, between gates 73 and 75A. The lounge is 12,000 square feet, making it the smallest Polaris Lounge.
United Polaris Lounge Newark (EWR)
The United Polaris Lounge Newark is open daily from 5AM until 10:30PM, and it’s located in Terminal C, between gates C102 and C120. The lounge is 27,000 square feet, making it the second largest Polaris Lounge.
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco (SFO)
The United Polaris Lounge San Francisco is open daily from 7AM until 11PM, and it’s located in International Terminal G, between gates G6 and G9. The lounge is 28,000 square feet, making it the largest Polaris Lounge.
United Polaris Lounge Washington (IAD)
The United Polaris Lounge Washington is open daily from 6AM until 10PM, and it’s located in Concourse C, near gate C17. The lounge is 21,000 square feet, making it the third largest Polaris Lounge.
United Polaris Lounge access rules
The access requirements for United Polaris Lounges are quite strict. Elite status won’t get you into these lounges, regardless of where you’re traveling to. So whether you have Star Alliance Gold status or United Global Services status, don’t expect that this alone will be enough to get you into a Polaris Lounge.
Rather the only people who can access United Polaris Lounges are those traveling on a flight marketed as United Polaris, or those traveling in select markets in business or first class on a Star Alliance partner.
Accessing Polaris Lounges when flying United
You can access United Polaris Lounges if you’re traveling the same day on a United Polaris ticket:
- You must have at least one flight marketed as United Polaris, which is the name of business class on most international long haul United routes; if your United flight is marketed as first class or business class, you don’t get access to Polaris Lounges
- You can expect that flights marketed as United Polaris will be those to Asia, Europe, the South Pacific, and “deep” South America
- You can access a lounge either on departure, at a connecting airport, or on arrival
- No guests are allowed
- The same access restrictions apply regardless of whether you paid cash, redeemed miles, or upgraded
Star Alliance first & business class Polaris Lounge access
United Polaris Lounges are also open to premium cabin passengers traveling long haul on Star Alliance partners:
- You can use a United Polaris Lounge prior to a long haul Star Alliance partner flight in first or business class; this is only possible at the long haul international gateway prior to your long haul flight, and not at other points during your connecting journey
- Star Alliance first class passengers can bring one guest traveling on the same flight, while Star Alliance business class passengers can’t bring any guests
The policy on connecting itineraries is an area where the Star Alliance lounge access policy is stingy compared to the oneworld lounge access policy.
Just to be crystal clear about the policy, say you’re flying from Frankfurt to Chicago to Los Angeles, with the second segment on United. If you’re flying United from Frankfurt to Chicago, then you could use the Polaris Lounge in Chicago, while if you’re flying Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Chicago, you couldn’t use the Polaris Lounge in Chicago.
Bottom line
United Polaris Lounges are among the best lounges you’ll find in the United States, with a la carte dining, nice decor, great showers and rest areas, and generally friendly service.
The catch is that Polaris Lounges also have really strict entry requirements. There’s no way to enter them based on elite status, but rather these lounges are exclusively available to long haul first and business class passengers on Star Alliance airlines.
United Polaris passengers are prioritized in terms of the situations under which they can access (while connecting and even on arrival), while passengers on Star Alliance partners can only access these lounges prior to long haul flights.
Hopefully the above clears up any questions about accessing Polaris Lounges, though if I missed anything, please let me know.
What has your experience been with United Polaris Lounges?
Thanks for listing all of these! The SFO location is not between gates G6 and G9, though. It is located on the right side just after clearing security for the G Gates.
JK-SFO
I wanted to love the Polaris lounges. I found them underwhelming. The worst thing is the service. Might have had bad luck every time but it feels like they've adverse selected for service staff who don't want tipped work and do the bare minimum at the slowest speed possible even though they're only looking after a handful of tables. Hopefully Delta competition will inspire them.
Would be cool to see a head-to-head comparison of Polaris, Delta One, and Flagship lounges!
I remember learning the hard way that I didn’t have Polaris lounge access (and was relegated to the United Club) after FRA-ORD in Lufthansa First before a connecting flight on United.
To be totally fair though, they all have very different access requirements, I'm not sure a comparison is wholly fair because of that.
AA's Flagship lounges are closer to status lounges, where even economy flights w/ foreign OW status or Concierge Key can access all the way up to international First Class.
UA's Polaris is a strict international longhaul business class lounge with access to all Star Alliance partners.
Delta's D1 lounges are stricter on...
To be totally fair though, they all have very different access requirements, I'm not sure a comparison is wholly fair because of that.
AA's Flagship lounges are closer to status lounges, where even economy flights w/ foreign OW status or Concierge Key can access all the way up to international First Class.
UA's Polaris is a strict international longhaul business class lounge with access to all Star Alliance partners.
Delta's D1 lounges are stricter on the partner access, but includes the premium transcons and Delta 360s, unlike UA. I'd also add, JFK looks to be the only fully dedicated Delta One lounge, even LAX is a hybrid model, where lounge space and showers are shared with the SkyClubs. And BOS/SEA look to be the same model given their smaller planned footprints.
Polaris & Delta One > Flagship. However, the Chelsea and Soho lounges could arguably be called better than Polaris and Delta One.
"I remember learning the hard way that I didn’t have Polaris lounge access (and was relegated to the United Club) after FRA-ORD in Lufthansa First before a connecting flight on United."
Yeah, you Polaris access if you are departing on non-UA Star Alliance flights, not arrivals.
I’ve only visited the Polaris Lounge at ORD once. I got there around 7.00pm and almost all the food was gone. A la Carte was closed due to staff shortages. Alcohol was not available from the bar so you felt compelled to tip the bartender. A bunch of “golf bros” were sat at the bar getting shitfaced and all you could hear throughout the entire lounge were their loud voices that were basically yelling “dude!”...
I’ve only visited the Polaris Lounge at ORD once. I got there around 7.00pm and almost all the food was gone. A la Carte was closed due to staff shortages. Alcohol was not available from the bar so you felt compelled to tip the bartender. A bunch of “golf bros” were sat at the bar getting shitfaced and all you could hear throughout the entire lounge were their loud voices that were basically yelling “dude!” And “totally!” And other nonsense. The lounge didn’t live up to the hype.
Flagship at LAX was great on the other hand. Massive selection of help yourself booze. Great selection of food. Plenty of seating. Call atmosphere even though it was busy.
You must have had an atypical experience at the ORD Polaris Lounge. I've been there a handful of times and never had those issues. Never had those issues with the buffet, sit down dining, or the bar.
I find food at Polaris lounges really poor quality. I guess United wants to keep it consistent with what’s served onboard.
Nothing like standing in the buffet line at SFO Polaris and having some rude Chinese jerk cut in front and take the rest of some item. The Aussies told me to watch the Chinese. They were right.