American Airlines ConciergeKey is the ‘super secret’ level that George Clooney had in Up in the Air, in some sense equivalent to United Global Services and Delta 360.

ConciergeKey began mostly for corporate travel buyers and folks in their old VIP program back in 2007, and gradually expanded to individual high revenue customers.

• Benefits have primarily centered around assistance during irregular operations. ConciergeKey provides airport escorts and pre-boarding sometimes as well as a dedicated customer service line. And since 2012 they get access to Flagship First check-in.

• ConciergeKey supposedly gets proactive monitoring of flights for rebooking assistance.

• It also has come with Executive Platinum status (since 2012), an Admirals Club membership and members can use miles to upgrade without paying the cash co-pay required of other members.

Flagship Check-in, LAX

You cannot qualify for ConciergeKey with a specific amount of flying or a published amount of spending, however over $50,000 in a year may be enough (or buying a $50,000 ‘AAirpass’). ConciergeKey is also given out to decision-makers of big corporate contracts. Before the US Airways merger there were between 10,000 and 15,000 ConciergeKey members.

One nice benefit is that on tight connections they may be met on the jetway of their arriving flight and driven on the tarmac to their onward gate in a Cadillac (United uses Mercedes and Delta Porsche).

This year ConciergeKey became the de facto top tier in the AAdvantage program (in fact it is loaded as a status level in Sabre) because ConciergeKey members will receive top status on waitlists for flights and upgrades. ConciergeKey are ahead of Executive Platinums, and their domestic upgrades start to clear 120 hours in advance of travel versus the current 100 hour Executive Platinum upgrade window.

There’s also a a next flight guarantee for ConciergeKey members as well.

However with the opening of American’s first renovated Flagship lounge at New York JFK there’s a new benefit. Flagship lounges (as opposed to pre-renovation International First Lounges) apparently offer access to ConciergeKey members traveling domestic.

Yesterday a reader that’s a ConciergeKey member texted.

Flagship lounges, the newly renovated lounges that allow international and premium transcon business class passenger access, will be open to ConciergeKey members. Flagship dining which is for international and premium transcon first class passengers inside the Flagship lounges is apparently not a benefit.

Rendering of New Flagship Lounge Seating, Courtesy American Airlines

In addition to the new New York JFK lounge which is open, they are renovating existing lounges. Those are currently ‘International First Class Lounges’ and are located at LAX, Chicago O’Hare, and London Heathrow. American is adding Flagship Lounges at:

• Dallas Fort-Worth at the D concourse Admirals Club lounge, which hosts what was rolled out as Flagship dining but is now called International First Class Dining – the lounge will be renovated to add space.
  
• Miami at the D30 Admirals Club, which will be renovated to add space.
  
• Philadelphia at the A West club between Gates A15 and A16.

These lounges do matter. As I told Conor Shine of the Dallas Morning News,

“One amenity is never the deciding factor — schedule, corporate contracts and all of those things are often going to be much more important,” said Leff, author of the travel blog View from the Wing. “But the overall experience certainly does matter. The sense they’re offering a premium product or at least a competitive product is very important.”