Two questions: (1) should I join the American Airlines Admirals’ Club and (2) if yes, should I pay cash or use miles?
I fly round trip cross country about twice a month on business. For example, last month I flew once roundtrip from LA to Chicago and once round trip LA to New York. I almost always fly American Airlines, just because I’ve built up miles there so I’m now Gold Status, and also the American terminal at LAX I find easier to deal with than the United terminal.
But I believe it comes out to around $400 per year to join, or 55K frequent flyer miles. I kind of think it would be cool, but not sure if it’s worth it? Has anybody had good/bad experiences with this or other airport clubs like this? If I do join, am I better off using my miles or paying cash?
The easiest way to figure it is to honestly figure the number of hours a year you would use it and then divide it by the cost. $400 cash seems like a better deal than 55K FFM so we can use that. Let’s say you use it 2 hours each way 2 twice a month. That is $400/(8 hours a month * 12) = $4.16 an hour.
It seems like a good deal especially if it can help you get work done. Parents and in-laws have joined those clubs off and on over the years (some used to be free!) and they like them of course. It is mainly just a matter of how much you use it.
I should add that frequent flyer miles have only whatever value you can get for them but the common redemption values are 1 - 2 cents per mile. That would make the FFM payment option generally more expensive than using it on a ticket and just paying for the club.
I belong to United airlines Red Carpet club. I pay for this myself. I find that the membership is worth every penny or mile I pay for it.
I have had the agents in the club get me on flights when my flight was cancelled, get me upgrades and really go the extra mile when I needed it.
Back before 9/11 my daughter was flying from Europe back to LA, and did not arrive on the scheduled plane. Needless to say I was somewhat paniced. I went to the RCC and asked for help. The agent started tying away like mad, and after about 5 minutes found my daughter at the Denver airport (Her plane into DIA was late so she missed her connection) Anyway using my frequent flier number she got her bumped from #50 on the waitlist to #2, and put a note in the record that she was an unaccompined minor and must be on the flight. She then called the gate at DIA had my daughter paged, so I could talk to her. Was that worth $400 bucks? IMHO hell yes.
I sent a thank you note to United, and mentioned the agent by name.
if you fly a lot (I do) I find that the club gives you a quiet place to contemplate your navel, do work, make a phone call, get a soft drink (free), buy a beer, or whatever.
Worth every penny if you ask me.
I would use cash if it is available otherwise use miles.
I’m an Air Canada Elite customer, which lets me in to the United club, so I’m good most anywhere.
I dunno about joining for cash; I earned it by flying so much. I will say, though, that if they told me it would cost $400 to join, I’d write that check so fast the paper would catch fire. For a guy like me who travels a lot, having all those perks is just a huge, huge stress reliever; a comfortable chair, FREE BOOZE, stuff to read, snacks, Internet access, little perks here and there, it’s just terrific. I probably consume $400 worth of beer and snacks every year in Air Canada Club lounges. I cannot begin to tell you how much nicer air travel became when I made Elite.
My dad used to be a Delta Gold Medallion whatever, and it really was great for him - he used to travel an awful lot, and that nice quiet Crown Room can be a huge lifesaver sometimes. We still get it because now our family American Express cards (I think they’re the platinum kind) let you and a guest into the Crown Room. When my mom was trying to get up to Pittsburgh as her dad was dying and got the call in Atlanta that he was gone, the lady at the Crown Room gave her a nice empty conference room to sit in by herself and call all the people who needed to be called. That one kindness (admittedly over and above what you’re supposed to get with your membership) would have been worth $400 to her, easy.
Plus, I don’t know about American Airlines, but the Delta Crown Room people make the world’s best Bloody Marys.
If you’re flying two long round trip segments each month, let’s say they total 10K miles, so you’re building up those frequent flyer miles pretty quickly.
The question is, how fast are you using them. If you’re one of those road warriors I know who has one million-plus miles stacked up, you may as well get some use out of them.
On the other hand, if you’re banking the miles for that once in a lifetime trip with you spouse, $400 doesn’t sound exorbitant.
If you fly frequently enough on AA to have an elite AAdvantage status, you may qualify for a reduced yearly Admiral’s Club rate–so look into that if you decide to purchase it.
You can also purchase a “One-Day Pass” for $50 that will gain you entrance into any Admiral’s Club for one day. You might want to buy one and check out the Admiral’s Clubs in the airports you’ll be frequenting.
Also, if you then decide to join within 30 days then you can deduct the $50 from your membership fee.
One alternative to consider which will initially sound odd, is to join the Qantas Club. This allows access to AA’s Admirals Clubs as well as the US Airways clubs, Qantas Clubs (of course) and BA’s clubs.
Upsides:
Qantas Club membership is A$625 (approx. US$450) for the first year and A$325 (approx. $240) each subsequent year. There are also multiple year discounted rates available. So assuming you aren’t joining for only one year, it is substantially cheaper. Even if you attain elite status on AA, it doesn’t take long before QC is cheaper (AC renewal rate for their top tier Executive Platinum members is US$250 a year with no multiple year discounts)
Reciprocal rights which allow access to clubs operated by AA, Qantas, US Airways (for the moment), and BA.
If you access an Admirals Club using Qantas Club membership you receive two drinks vouchers each visit (drinks at the bar cost in the region of $6). In theory you can ask for more if you use the two you are given, but some lounge attendants seem to be confused which AA they represent.
Downsides:
With Admirals Club membership you can access the clubs even when not flying. With Qantas Club membership you need to be flying AA, QF or BA (or US to get into the US Airways clubs).
The reciprocal arrangement won’t necessarily last forever. For instance it is quite likely that the arrangement with US Airways will end soon, although nothing has been announced. I feel however that this is very unlikely to happen any time soon with oneworld partners AA and BA. In fact the club at LAX Terminal 4 is a jointly-owned and operated Admirals Club/Qantas Club.
If you are interested, it’s worth taking a wander over to Flyertalk and check out their discussion board. They have separate forums for most airlines, including AA and Qantas.
For the record, I’m a life member of the Qantas Club. I’m top-tier with AA (Executive Platinum - oneworld Emerald) and I live in Australia, but travel a couple of times a year to the US.