Tag Archives for admirals club.
Back in the fall I wrote that Citi would be ending the benefit of no annual fee authorized users with Admirals Club access, and likely raising the annual fee on the card itself as well. The ability for a single $450 annual fee to generate 11 cards (primary plus up to 10 authorized user cards) each with the ability to enter Admirals Clubs and also bring up to two guests was simply too good a deal.
One thing that most people miss when visiting the Admirals Club on the E concourse at Washington National is the VIP Room. It’s tucked right behind the checkin desk on the right as you get off the elevator.
This space is unique among clubs, built because the airport sees a large number of Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, heads of Executive Branch agencies, as well as visiting dignitaries from abroad. You and I aren’t be invited in (usually).
American Airlines is getting a huge new Admirals Club lounge in Charlotte. In fact, it will be the airline’s largest lounge, but it will take a couple of years to come to fruition.
American Airlines seems prepared to raise the price of access to its Admirals Club airport lounges, but this will make sense only if they improve the lounge product. I alluded to this in my explanation of how each of the major U.S. airlines is at a crossroads. Fortunately the lounge product is improving and this will make a higher fee worth it.
The Honolulu airport Admirals Club is a shared lounge with Japan Airlines. It’s actually controlled by JAL, but is branded both a Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge and an American Airlines Admirals Club.
Airline lounges in Honolulu (and Hawaii generally) are quite weak, so this is hardly one of the inferior lounges at the airport. It’s an air conditioned place to sit, but not worth coming to the airport early for.
The premium American Airlines credit card, the Citi Executive AAdvantage card, is a bit of a throwback. The card has been largely unchanged since it launched in summer 2011. So it doesn’t have many of the benefits of other airline premium cards. However, it is by far the cheapest way to gain club access with American Airlines, since the price of membership has risen while this card’s annual fee has not. The card is overdue for a refresh.
Back in August American Airlines teased a new design template for its Admirals Clubs, starting with the new club opening on the E (regional jet) concourse at Washington’s National airport.
We got clues to what American was thinking design-wise when they shared renderings last year of the delayed new Austin club. It’s a total departure from the current design template that’s most generously described as sterile and institutional. It’s gorgeous and feels genuinely high end. In other words it feels too nice for American Airlines and I’m struggling to know what to make of it.
For the next week a Qantas Club membership is half off. That means it will will cost ~ US$251 (AU$300 for the membership plus AU$99 joining fee).
Qantas Club membership includes American Airlines Admirals Club access when flying American.
The current ‘new design’ of American Airlines Admirals Clubs feel very institutional, from the lighting to the furniture. The perfect example of this is the A concourse club in Dallas which I think of as having hospital lighting. The smaller club in Charlotte follows this same motif.
Great news – they’re walking away from that design in upcoming new builds and renovations with a much more attractive template!
I highlight this because it raises interesting questions, I think. Airplane attire is nothing like it was when I was a young kid just after deregulation. But are costumes appropriate in the airport and on board? What if it’s May 5th (Star Wars Day)? Should we all just ‘come as we are’? Maybe so.
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 »
