Admirals Club Benefits - Worth it? (consolidated)
Dec 15, 2007, 2:09 pm
#46
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Dec 15, 2007, 10:30 pm
#47
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: USA & UK -- AA EXP 3.5MM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, Avis President's Club
Posts: 6,411
my membership expired in october. prior to expiration i called the club and asked if free wifi was in the works as i would renew if it was. they ran me around and finally said no. obviously they didn't know what was in the works. the question is whether anyone has tried to renew after they let their membership expire and had the new member fee waived?
Dec 16, 2007, 8:13 am
#48
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: stl
Programs: AA LT Plat/8.1mm now with 1350 miles left in my account and proud of it.. SPG LT Titanium.
Posts: 3,082
They -may- allow you to continue your expired membership, but this option does not make economic sense. They will probably allow you to retroactively renew your membership as of November (i.e. pay for November and December even though you did not use the club). So that's $250 for 10 months, or $25 a month. (This is calculated at the EXP rate ... PLT and GLD would pay more). So you save the $50 new member fee, but you only get ten months of membership. OTOH if you buy a brand-new 12-month membership in January, you pay $300 and get 12 months months, which works out to the same exact $25 per month. There is no advantage to renewing your expired membership.
Dec 16, 2007, 8:29 am
#49
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 118
I would say get an AMEX platinum instead
AMEX platinum offers AC access except for the now free wifi, costs about the same and has many other benefits as well. Sounds like the OP is an occasional user and as such a membership is probably not worth it.
Dec 16, 2007, 1:50 pm
#50
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,481
Not worth it if you are going to use it once a month or less and that $350 is out of your pocket and can't be written off your taxes. On the other hand, if you know you'll use it at least 2-3 times a month, it may be worthwhile. Others on this board have raved about the ability of the club's agents to work miracles during irregular ops - and it would only take 1 or 2 of these a year for it to be a good return on $350. As far as facilities and services go, the AA clubs are spartan - a notch below CO and DL, though the AA clubs tend to be a bit better maintained than the UA clubs. Why not hold off until the first time you encounter a situation (long layover, cancelled flight ...) and join then?
Also, whoever said that international low status (GLD or less) ups the value was correct ... overseas ACs are wonderful ... domestic ACs arent in the same league.
Do the $50 day pass ... then put a value on one visit yourself. If you decide to go for it I think you can apply that $50 toward the membershio (ask first though).
Id say its probably realistically "worth" $5-$10 per visit to me, so if I had to pay, Id have to be fairly certain that I would use it somewhere between 3 to 6 times per month.
Even with high frequency usage, it still really only makes sense (IMO) if most of that usage is for long layovers. I drop in for 15 min or less sometimes and cant really say thats worth all that much.
Jan 11, 2008, 9:48 am
#51
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: 6E Westbound, 4E Eastbound
Programs: AA EXP & 3MM, Priority Club Plat since 1984
Posts: 6,293
I'm glad to read through this thread, as I was having second thoughts about my recent membership. I hit EXP for the first time in December, and got an AC membership.
My first experience with an AC lounge was at IAD (Dulles). I had to wait at the desk while the front desk woman finished talking to the bar tender in the next room. The bar is in back, so I had to get her attention to even acknowledge me.
After being there for about a half hour, I went up to her and asked her for some help with a flight I had from SFO to LAX later in the week. I wanted to change it to an earlier flight, and based on what I have read and heard, I was in for treat as I no longer had to go through hassles to get it done.
She told me to call the EXP desk, she is not a booking agent.
So it seems that I simply had awful luck "out of the gate" (forgive the pun) and I found the one rotten apple in what is usually a basket of gems.
Who do I shoot off a note to about this? Or is booking help an unpublished benefit?
My first experience with an AC lounge was at IAD (Dulles). I had to wait at the desk while the front desk woman finished talking to the bar tender in the next room. The bar is in back, so I had to get her attention to even acknowledge me.
After being there for about a half hour, I went up to her and asked her for some help with a flight I had from SFO to LAX later in the week. I wanted to change it to an earlier flight, and based on what I have read and heard, I was in for treat as I no longer had to go through hassles to get it done.
She told me to call the EXP desk, she is not a booking agent.
So it seems that I simply had awful luck "out of the gate" (forgive the pun) and I found the one rotten apple in what is usually a basket of gems.
Who do I shoot off a note to about this? Or is booking help an unpublished benefit?
Jan 11, 2008, 10:59 am
#52
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: MPC,CA,MU,AF
Posts: 8,171
* She should indeed greet you. I have not been in the AC in IAD, but the ACs I went to had at least two attendants at the front.
* She was right that she was not the booking agent, but should probably be more eloquent in explaining that. She would help people in emergency situations, especially those traveling outbound from IAD on the same day. But your flight was SFO-LAX later in the week.
* She was right that she was not the booking agent, but should probably be more eloquent in explaining that. She would help people in emergency situations, especially those traveling outbound from IAD on the same day. But your flight was SFO-LAX later in the week.
Jan 11, 2008, 4:45 pm
#53
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Dallas
Programs: AA EXP, Hertz #1 President's Circle, SPG Platinum
Posts: 275
I've never been told this, but I guess I don't ask for booking help often. I did, once, have an itinerary on hold and wanted to use a voucher I had gotten for volunteering on an oversold flight (they can't take them online)
She was willing to ticket it but was going to have to charge me a 15.00 airport ticketing fee. That was a bit of a slap in the face after having paid 300/year for the "services" in there
Side note - turns out I was able to call the Web Booking hotline and they processed the voucher, gave me an address to mail it to, and NO booking fee. Just makes me wonder why the AC can't do that for it's members?
She was willing to ticket it but was going to have to charge me a 15.00 airport ticketing fee. That was a bit of a slap in the face after having paid 300/year for the "services" in there
Side note - turns out I was able to call the Web Booking hotline and they processed the voucher, gave me an address to mail it to, and NO booking fee. Just makes me wonder why the AC can't do that for it's members?
Jan 11, 2008, 8:03 pm
#54
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: MPC,CA,MU,AF
Posts: 8,171
AC agents can handle whatever the check-in and ticketing agents do at the airport, but they are best used to assist in extraordinary situations. Unlike ticketing counters where waiting will not normally cause an issue, AC agents have to assist in connecting problems, etc., which need to be dealt with in real-time.
Jan 11, 2008, 8:42 pm
#55
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: 6E Westbound, 4E Eastbound
Programs: AA EXP & 3MM, Priority Club Plat since 1984
Posts: 6,293
I think I am beginning to understand this better. So the role of the person at the desk is to perform tasks that would revolve around that airport? That explains this portion of my experience a bit better.
Jan 19, 2008, 2:22 pm
#57
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Smellington, NZ
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, UA 2P, Marriott LTPP
Posts: 1,453
I'm on the fence right now, as was the OP, regarding purchasing an AC membership. I had once about four years ago, only to qualify that same year for BA silver, thus granting me AC access via my status... thus not money well spent, as it turns out. I enjoyed having a place to crash besides at the gate.
My current estimated travel is that I will be doing about 80 segments/100K miles this year. My weekly commute is DFW-PHL. While that may sound like a good case for AC membership, one caveat is that the PHL lounge is not air-side. That's a huge reason why I can't imagine ever using it... on the other hand, waiting there would still be better than at the gate. I don't know what other people's experience has been with PHL or with using AC's regularly that are land-side.
I'm about 60% leaning towards getting the membership, in spite of the few caveats. The free t-mobile WiFi is a big plus, too. Thoughts?
My current estimated travel is that I will be doing about 80 segments/100K miles this year. My weekly commute is DFW-PHL. While that may sound like a good case for AC membership, one caveat is that the PHL lounge is not air-side. That's a huge reason why I can't imagine ever using it... on the other hand, waiting there would still be better than at the gate. I don't know what other people's experience has been with PHL or with using AC's regularly that are land-side.
I'm about 60% leaning towards getting the membership, in spite of the few caveats. The free t-mobile WiFi is a big plus, too. Thoughts?
Jan 19, 2008, 3:47 pm
#58
Join Date: Jul 2006
Programs: AA EXP, PC PLT, HH Gold
Posts: 320
I'm on the fence right now, as was the OP, regarding purchasing an AC membership. I had once about four years ago, only to qualify that same year for BA silver, thus granting me AC access via my status... thus not money well spent, as it turns out. I enjoyed having a place to crash besides at the gate.
My current estimated travel is that I will be doing about 80 segments/100K miles this year. My weekly commute is DFW-PHL. While that may sound like a good case for AC membership, one caveat is that the PHL lounge is not air-side. That's a huge reason why I can't imagine ever using it... on the other hand, waiting there would still be better than at the gate. I don't know what other people's experience has been with PHL or with using AC's regularly that are land-side.
I'm about 60% leaning towards getting the membership, in spite of the few caveats. The free t-mobile WiFi is a big plus, too. Thoughts?
My current estimated travel is that I will be doing about 80 segments/100K miles this year. My weekly commute is DFW-PHL. While that may sound like a good case for AC membership, one caveat is that the PHL lounge is not air-side. That's a huge reason why I can't imagine ever using it... on the other hand, waiting there would still be better than at the gate. I don't know what other people's experience has been with PHL or with using AC's regularly that are land-side.
I'm about 60% leaning towards getting the membership, in spite of the few caveats. The free t-mobile WiFi is a big plus, too. Thoughts?
I hear ya about PHL, but my experience there is security is not that long of a line, plus you have the Elite line to walk through. The AC Angels have even told me if the line was too long they would walk me to the front. So I wouldn't let that be your reason for not getting one.
Jan 19, 2008, 4:49 pm
#59
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Smellington, NZ
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, UA 2P, Marriott LTPP
Posts: 1,453
I rarely get to DFW early enough to use the lounge, though during irregular ops, it could be nice to have the agents there on my side. Though, as an EXP, the phone agents should be sufficient, I would hope.
In PHL, the line's didn't use to be too bad. However, since Delta moved over to the same terminal as AA, the lines have grown considerably. I sure wish the club wasn't land-side.
In PHL, the line's didn't use to be too bad. However, since Delta moved over to the same terminal as AA, the lines have grown considerably. I sure wish the club wasn't land-side.
Jan 19, 2008, 4:58 pm
#60
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NYC, USA
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, Lifetime Platinum, Marriott Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 10,967
The free WiFi is FANTASTIC! It just increased the value of my membership considerably!
Agreed...showers, showers, showers! (especially for those of us who take multiple long-haul redeyes each year)
And don't forget about the free food at international clubs (and booze, if you choose to partake).
Agreed...showers, showers, showers! (especially for those of us who take multiple long-haul redeyes each year)
And don't forget about the free food at international clubs (and booze, if you choose to partake).