We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
United Polaris Lounge Chicago
A few years ago United unveiled a new league of lounges called Polaris lounges. While I’ve flown Polaris business class a few times now ( Check out our EWR to TLV and GRU to ORD flight reviews ) I’ve only ever visited the Polaris lounge at Newark airport. It’s a wonderful lounge, and as luck would have it, on our Christmas flights to London we would be able to visit the newly reopened Polaris Lounge Chicago.
Quick note…make sure you visit the dining room in the back for a proper sit down waiter served meal. A rare treat in an American lounge.
United Polaris Lounge Chicago Location
- Terminal 1
- Next to gate C18
What’s the difference between Polaris Lounges and United Club lounges
Polaris lounges are exclusive lounges reserved for International Long Haul passengers whereas United Clubs are accessible via membership, or when a non US based Star Alliance Gold member is traveling within the USA.
As an example, a lot of people matched to Air Canada’s Aeroplan 50k elite status in 2021 which yielded Star Alliance Gold status. This means that if they were to fly United within the US they would be able to access the United Club lounge but not the Polaris lounges.
While United Club lounges have small buffets and are usually quite crowded, Polaris lounges come equipped with dining rooms offering waiter service, refreshed interiors, multiple showers, and has a much more elevated feel.
Who can enter the United Polaris Lounge
This is straight from United, but you can see that you can access the lounge when flying on United Polaris Business Class long haul ( no guests), on a Star Alliance partner long haul in First Class or Business Class. When in first class, you’d be able to bring in a guest as well, but not in business class.
First Impression of the United Polaris Lounge Chicago
I was immediately transported back to 2019 when I visited the United Polaris Lounge Newark, although this lounge feels considerably smaller, it still had a very modern vibe and had far fewer people than we’d have encountered in a United Club. My wife wasn’t aware that we’d have a sit down dining experience and multiple times suggested grabbing something quick before the lounge…so happy we waited
You can see in the pictured below, the main area is lined with eating sections for groups while the center section is partitioned off for individual work/eating/etc
Buffet
Remember when a lot of people thought buffets would never come back to lounges or Vegas. Well, I can attest from multiple lounge visits this year, they’re back, and for the most part, people aren’t scared away from them due to Covid. Interestingly enough, I was surprised at how many people were going in and out of the buffet, but weren’t frequently the dining room at the back of the lounge
Showers/Rest area
Located just behind the buffet are the showers and daybeds where you could get some peace and quiet or perhaps take a quick nap during your layover or preflight. The bathrooms are massive and luxurious.
Work Stations
If you’re looking to get a few emails off, write the next chapter of your book, or hop on a zoom – there is plenty of space to do it semi-privately.
The Dining Room
One of the coolest parts of the United Polaris experience is the dining room. The only thing that comes close to this in the states is Qantas First Class dining or AA’s Flagship dining experience – both of which are first class lounges. Since United doesn’t have a true first class product anymore, this is offered for business class customers.
You can choose a booth or table.
The menu…
We were given glasses of Prosecco to begin with…the wine selection has been downgraded over the years and champagne wasn’t an option.
I had the wedge salad to begin with, which despite having a few brown lettuce bits, was quite tasty.
Chicken Paillard…was better than most lounge food, but lacked any distinct flavor. My wife had the trout which, despite being a bit salty, was markedly better
I had the gooey butter cake…it was fabulous. While quite small it was power packed with flavor and dangerously delicious. I have a massive sweet tooth and I could have eaten my way to an early death if this was given in unlimited supply.
Overall
This is a fantastic US based lounge that offers a commensurate experience in the lounge as you’d get on United’s Polaris business class in cabin. Often times, with new business class products in air ( I know Polaris isn’t exactly new ), the ground experience is quite disappointing. Our experience in this Polaris lounge offered great service, fast internet, and solid food.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.