Inside The 2017 United Airlines Global Services Welcome Kit

Global Services is the top-tier, invitation only elite level that United Airlines offers to an undisclosed number of travelers each year.  As a general rule, you earn your way in by spending a lot of money with United.

And, it’s not just a lot of money, but how you spend it.  For example, United doesn’t really enjoy your money as much when you’re flying on a codeshare with Lufthansa.  Nor is your money the same value to them if you live in San Francisco than if you live in Madison, Wisconsin.  Only the top spending fliers get these perks, and only a certain number per “station”, such as San Francisco, Newark, Houston, Dulles.

But, the perks are great.  I’ve done a detailed write-up of the benefits in the past for reference.  The service is a bit tailored to the individual at times, but you can expect to receive things like car transports for tight connections and unbelievable flexibility when it comes to finding last-minute seats.  Just the other day, my best friend David (who supplied the pictures for the kit) had a situation while traveling with his wife.  In a matter of minutes, a Global Services representative had his flight changed to a different day on a sold-out flight.  This happened without change fees and without weather impacting his airport.

I’m insanely jealous that he qualified again for Global Services.  It’s the type of status I’ll never qualify for.  David had 300,000 PQMs with United in a calendar year recently, an unbelievable amount.

Anyway, David was nice enough to share pics of this year’s kit again with us.  It’s pretty similar to the 2016 kit.

The luggage tags really are my favorite element.  They’re made of carbon fiber, similar to the material used extensively on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  Here’s a closer look:

The tags appear to be the same as last year, though with a different cityscape.  In 2016, they featured Chicago.  I was lucky enough to get one with a very special designation from a friend.  It’s a welcome sound every time it clinks against my backpack.

There’s a nifty re-do on the beverage vouchers as well.

The Final Two Pennies

I suspect I’ll always live vicariously through David as it relates to Global Services.  It’s the one service where United truly distinguishes itself from their peers.  They go out of their way to make these members feel appreciated.  And, it’s with good reason.  As a general rule, you’re not earning Global Services if you don’t spend at least $50,000 a year on United travel.  In exchange for that level of business, you can expect them to do cool things like open up saver award inventory for your spouse in business class when you’re paying to fly somewhere.  That’s a huge perk.

Oh, and some pretty cool luggage tags too!

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