Several American Airlines Clubs Now Serving Complimentary Premium Drinks

by Gary Leff

American Airlines introduced complimentary beer, wine, and spirits in its lounges in late 2010. However, premium brands are for pay.

They’ve opened up the bar a bit though because of their club lounge renovation project. Right now 3 American Airlines Admirals Clubs are currently offering complimentary premium beverages to guests. Each person can have two premium beverages during their visit.

  • Chicago O’Hare – L concourse
  • Dallas-Fort Worth – A terminal
  • New York JFK – C club across from gate 42

They’re offering this in or because of clubs that are currently under renovation. For instance, the L concourse club in Chicago has been completed (and is looking quite nice). The main H/K club is under renovations, and has limited space available. So to take some of the ‘sting’ off of customers walking to a club they might not otherwise visit, they can have a better cocktail when they get there.

American has been doing a nice job letting customers know when their itineraries involve a lounge that’s being renovated. For instance I flew through Chicago last week and two days before received this note:

I don’t really do cocktails in the American lounges when I visit. In fact, most of the time I only stop off during irregular operations because the lines are shorter and the agents usually more helpful than if I had to seek help in the terminal (though more often than not I’ve got things set up over the phone before I get there). I avoid long layovers, but the lounge access is still worth it for the few times a year the agents have saved my bacon.

Of course if two drinks aren’t enough, you can get all the drinks you want on a self pour basis in the Miami E Concourse club.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. LAX lounge is truly awful right now. I wouldn’t have taken advantage of free drinks, premium or otherwise at 6 a.m., but the offer would have been noticed and appreciated.

  2. I fly mostly LAX-MIA and if it wasn’t for IRROPs, of drop my membership. The renovations take forever.

  3. Cheap. Delta offers complimentary premium adult beverages at all times in all SkyClubs, and they have for a couple years now. They do sell super-premium as well, but their free stuff blows away the crap served by AA an UA.

  5. @Michael as I understand it guacamole is available in certain clubs, usually late afternoon (eg 4-7pm) during the week, in some cases early afternoon weekends. It’s available at least sporadically at BOS, CLT C/D, DCA C, DFW C and D, JFK C, LAX, MIA D30, ORD G, PHL B/C, PHX, SFO

  6. I was at the lounge in CLT and received 2 free premium beverages on 11/15 last year, in the form of coupons. The person traveling with me received only one. We were on a Intl J award ticket connecting from FRA-CLT on to CLT-DFW and DFW-AUS (both in domestic F). No elite status.

  7. International premium cabin passengers (and platinum elites and higher traveling internationally in coach, and partner elites with lounge access) get drink chits already, of course.

  9. AA lounges are not what I expected. I usually fly with long layover in DFW the Admirals clubs have little to offer. The food is sparse and the drinks are bottom shelf unless u want to pay. That’s on top of the membership you already pay. If u have time go to the AMX LOUNGE concourse D

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