An influencer decided to get an Amex Platinum card because she’d heard that airport lounges were a place she could “network with rich people” — but she walked into a lounge where everyone was just eating, scrolling, and sleeping. She declares “0 connections were made.”
$895 isn’t really a screen for wealthy entrepreneurs and executives, especially when it comes with statement credits several times that size. And while the median traveler is better off than the average American, and the median lounge passenger is better off than the average person in the terminal,
- most lounges are hardly exclusive
- lounges accessible with a credit card aren’t exclusive
- most people in the lounge are trying to mind their own business and not looking to connect
@nikkipindor 0 connections were made #amexplatinum #amex #centurion #blackcard #airport ♬ original sound – DilJot
It’s another twist on the failed social media life hack, the the data coach who offers advice on “how to meet rich men” by going to the airport with plenty of time to kill, and instead of buying snacks buying a day pass for the United Club. The bet is that (1) the cost of the access can be amortized across free food and drink, and (2) it’s a target-rich environment.
Of course United Clubs, when full, often don’t sell day passes (or accept the passes issued by Chase for credit card customers).
I’ve been married for more than 20 years, so I missed an entire generation of swiping left and right. My best advice is that marriage is a 50-year conversation, so choose the person you’ll never want to stop talking to. And since you may share 50,000 meals together this is really the most important thing.
If your criteria is income-based, you can do worse than meeting someone while traveling. They or their employer spend discretionary funds, plus they’ve managed to clear a TSA checkpoint as a personal safety screen (even better if they have PreCheck).
Still, airline lounges aren’t the exclusive domain that those without access seem tothink they are. And United Clubs don’t afford the level of exclusivity you might find even in their Polaris lounge, or in the Qantas First lounge at LAX (which at least requires oneworld emerald status, if not an actual first class ticket).
Ironically, perhaps, I’ve actually seen more proposals and weddings involving Southwest Airlines than other domestic U.S. carriers. So maybe it’s all about LUV, and the serendipity of whom you’re sitting next to (or, more likely, that someone who finds you attractive purposely sits down next to you – a side effect of their open seating). I wonder if that’ll be an unintended victim of the carrier’s move to assigned seating later this month.
Ah the Qantas First lounge at LAX…
Heard a teenage daughter flying to Asia with her father talking about her friend who used the private terminal and asked why aren’t we flying private? Why are we flying business class? To which dad said, well private costs a lot more. And she asks how much.
So curb your enthusiasm / westsidela
Not sure why a useless so called “influencer” deserves any mention
They exist only because people write about them
Works better the hotter you are.
Go to an airport lounge to network with rich people? My goodness the world is doomed if this is the garbage that influencers are publishing.
The real question is if her post got the clicks and conversion she was looking for
This poor Florida influencer (with probable adverse credit) should qualify for the Capital One secured (collateralized) credit card. This would give her a line of credit opened with a one-time security deposit. Typically, this deposit is refundable and can be earned back by making on-time payments and paying more than the minimum. When she proudly flashes her new Capital One secured credit card with a $500 credit limit while loitering in front of the entrance or lobby to most Marriott or Hilton hotels, she should be able to network with rich people who are currently unhoused, experiencing housing insecurity or just want to poop on a clean toilet. Furthermore, by dumping her AMEX Platinum card, she will save the $895 AMEX annual fee and never face the indignity of wasting valuable hookup time while on the two-hour wait list to enter an overcrowded AMEX Centurion lounge.
Lounges are for food and comfort, not networking.
Also, let’s define ‘rich,’ because, there’s ample middle-class folks who think they’re ‘rich,’ but are actually just temporarily-embarrassed, modern-day working-class, especially when one major medical incident (cancer) can practically bankrupt anyone with less than a million dollars in liquid assets.
Anyway, enjoy that made-to-order macaroni at DEN Centurion. Yum.
Looks some some OTHER influencer got her good! Oh, and don’t forget to wear nice clothes to get the First class upgrade.
BA Concorde lounge at LHR T5 used to be the best, by far…the one at JFK is also great but mostly for people-watching.
The lounge is definitely not a bastion of exclusivity. That said, not everyone has access and there is probably some truth to the fact that those inside the lounge MIGHT be somewhat better off than the occasional traveler in the terminal. However, just like in life outside the lounge, your only shot to meet someone is sitting at the bar. Could it happen out in “seats”? Sure, anything can happen. But the bar just lends itself to conversation between strangers. Side bar (pun intended): I also read of a woman who utilizes the lounge AND through conversation finds out if the man she’s talking to has Global Entry. Her theory? If he does indeed have GE than he’s more trustable since the US Government did the background check on the guy for her.
Yeah, two summers ago, I sat in LHR BA First Lounge, charging my laptop at a table three feet from the Concorde Lounge door. A few footballers and their WAGS (quickly) passed by me. I was too civil to stick my foot out and trip any of them to initiate networking contact.
I mean, given that too many female influencers are making videos about future-husband hunting at Home Depot, I’m not ready to totally laugh at this far-fetched strategy.
As for US lounges, they tend to be baby/toddler/juvenile delinquent daycare centers, even AA Flagship to a lesser degree. But I would say that the champagne girls at AA Flagships, especially in MIA, are alright, and aren’t just eating, scrolling, and sleeping. Come to think of it, in last week’s normal UA lounge, there was some conversation, but it only was conversation was between two staff arguing about how to re-fill the self-serve coffee machine, and between a “blue-collar” passenger and the barmaid talking about where she was from.
@Greg When my daughter boarded a Delta flight she asked “why are we turning right, why aren’t we in first class” to which grandma responded “because first class is expensive”.
It’s all relative.
To the main subject, lounges are just a glorified holding area now for the masses. You’re not going to meet anyone useful in any credit card or priority pass lounges. Maybe the LH or Qantas F lounges….
This makes me glad that I have lounge memberships and absolutely no need whatsoever for women.
“Influencers.” Phht!
This blogger, who may have adverse credit, could qualify for the Capital One secured (collateralized) credit card. This card offers a line of credit backed by a one-time security deposit, which is typically refundable and can be earned back through on-time payments and paying more than the minimum due. When she uses her new Capital One secured credit card at most Marriott or Hilton hotels, she should be able to network with rich people in the hotel lobbies who are currently unhoused or experiencing housing insecurity. Furthermore, by dumping her AMEX Platinum card, she will save the $895 annual fee and never face the indignity of wasting valuable hookup time while she is on a two-hour wait list to enter an overcrowded AMEX Centurion lounge.
@Thing 1 — “Like and subscribe!” (Or, maybe that’s YouTubers…)
When the influencer wrote “POTS everywhere,” what did she mean? I haven’t found a sensible explanation for that acronym yet.
This might have worked to some degree 20 years ago, but now everyone and their influencer are in there slurping down Chex Mix and weird flavors of soup, as if it’s Golden Coral on a Friday night. Credit card access has ruined this, and upgrades for everyone who is a real frequent flyer. She could do better with ‘It’s just lunch’ ads in the old airline magazines.
@Ken A — “currently unhoused or experiencing housing insecurity” and “valuable hookup time”… my, my, you have a way with words, sir. *salute*
An Amex Platinum card is decidedly, middle class.