nrr

I use JFK often: the B concourse lounge has shrunk to make room for the enlarged Flagship Lounge; the lounge near gate 42 in the afternoon gets very busy.
ORD, CLT seem to be crowded ALL the time.
DFW is less crowded now that the Amex Centurion Lounge has opened.
But in any case (even with crowding) you get nice snacks, more comfortable chairs than at the gates. AA agents can be super helpful if there are irrops.
If you are CITIGOLD the annual fee for the Executive card is $350.

bchandler02

I've found it pretty valuable for my 5-8 trips a year in the past. However, with my declining flights on AA, I am planning to drop my Citi Exec card and therefore lose AC access.
It will be replaced with a card that has Priority Pass as I do appreciate having a more relaxed place to wait on flights. AMEX with Centurion may be an option as well - but I haven't gotten that far in comparing the credit cards and how they align with my future flight plans.

AANYC1981

I've had so many issues with AA reliability and operations the AC and rebooking help etc has earned it's value (I pay for it on my own despite traveling for work a lot) for me.

QueenOfCoach

Right. I should have been more accurate.

I get AC day passes for 300 BE points.

When I have points that are about to expire, I just get a bunch of AC day passes and give them to clients, employees and to myself. I gave one to a visually handicapped person I met at a DFW gate who, though no fault of her own, had a five-hour wait for her flight.

Thanks, all, for the comments. I would love to hear if anyone has asked for or received a partial rebate of their annual fees due to the extended construction in LAX and other clubs.

maracle

There are some really dumpy clubs, but I visit AUS and PHL most often and they're nice enough. I find them much quieter than the terminal, if for no other reason than they don't play those constant security recordings. I do wish they were library quiet, or that the quiet areas were a little more isolated from the rest of the club.

As Prestige access comes to an end I'm on the fence about paying the $450 for the AA card. It feels like it's worth about $300 to me. But then again I haven't had any IRROPS in quite a while, if it were more fresh in my mind I'd probably value it higher

It's nice for international travel too. longer connections add value. I only do about one international trip a year these days but if it was more often that would make a big difference!

txpenny

I do about 120 legs per year. IRROPS make it worthwhile. Also, the new coffee machine in TPA (best one I've seen in any domestic club) probably saves me $250 per year (50 weeks @ $5 EA).

Kandiru

FYI re. earlier comment, with AMEX you do not need a $10k Centurion, a $400 Platinum will get you in the Sky Lounge.

Still not traveling enough to go past Premier Rewards, so like the wise men on this forum said earlier, whoring 15-30 minutes in front of the Lounge and asking someone to take you in as a guest works

ryan182

thanks, so one would have to pay the AF once at least to get that. As I read the previous post there was some quantity of spend that could get the fee covered without threatening to close the account but perhaps I misread that.

JDiver

When I was an active road warrior, it was indispensable.

Access for myself and a guest or two - in advance, I could arrange a guest pass for my colleague, interviewee, etc. (Today, they'll do this only if you rent conference space - though it does expand the number of guests. I rented conference facilities for interviews or workplace corrective counseling.)

Business center access and decent WiFi.

A place to relax - and as others have stated the snack selection has much improved and the new cappuccino machines are appearing in more Clubs.

Often, a place to shower.

I retired three years ago, so though I travel it's not like it was when I was working. This year I'm probably going to drop my (converted to) Executive card associated membership and am thinking I'll not requalify for Executive Platinum. (I've lifetime Platinum and occasionally find a non-AA partner airline that serves my desired route cheaper or/and with better service.)

QueenOfCoach

Sure, I have no problems with a statement that when the AC works as advertised, it could very well be indispensable.

I am wondering if it is working as advertised ENOUGH to still make it worth the annual fee, or if the construction, crowding and limited amenities are causing people to re-think the cost vs benefit.

I really have no opinion on this and was curious to hear what others had to say, especially if anyone has asked about some kind of discount or rebate due to what looks like an entire year of refurbishing construction.

So far, it looks like most, not all, are OK with their annual fee even though they are getting less than optimal conditions.

Fraser

The problem with all these "is it worth it" questions is that the answer is completely subjective.

kesco

Is that true? In branch only or someway else to get it?

taseas

When it comes time for the renewal fee or I see the fee on my statement, I call and ask for a retention offer. The past two years it has been the same, spend 5K per month for 3 months and they will then apply a $450 credit. I don't know what total spend you need annually to get that offer.

Biggie Fries

Like to hear more about this one ...

Two years ago both my wife and I got Citi Prestige and Citigold checking. Those were the days! A harvest of something like 250,000 TYPs between us. The Citigold checking cut the price of the Prestige cards to $350 for both of us. Easy to use the $250 air credit, and without going into the fourth night free at hotels, the 1.6 cents for TYP points on AA and -- to get back to this thread -- access to Admirals Club for each of us and our guest. Thus we kept my wife's card even though she doesn't golf and never (to my knowledge!) used the fourth night free thing, because at $100 a year ($350 - $250), it was a worthwhile Admirals Club "membership" for her.

Anyhow, the interesting thing is that even though we downgraded our official, original Citigold checking to whatever they call the non-Citigold Citi checking account (basic?), to avoid the monthly fees, they still only charged us $350 for our Prestige renewals in the second year. Now, like others here, I am anticipating in the next three weeks the loss of Admirals Club access via Citi Prestige. Thus am thinking about the Citi AA Executive card and trying to rationalize the $450. Would be a lot easier to rationalize $350 ... anyone with a "legacy" (faux Citigold) account seeing its magic work on the fee for a new card?

[Opinion re clubs: Agreed that they are ridiculous when crowded. ATL last summer comes to mind -- ridiculous. Bailed and took the train over to whatever the club was that Priority Pass got us into. Here at PHL, a Centurion Lounge seems to be coming. Overseas, AA status and J tickets get us into all sorts of places, from the obvious (MAD, CDG, LIS) to the surprising (BOR). And yet ... flying can be such a PITA for so many reasons that most of us have experienced but that can't be totally predicted for any particular trip that I have found that being able to use Admirals Clubs routinely is an important piece of the toolkit.]

QueenOfCoach

You are absolutely right. That is why I wanted to see a variety of opinions on the subject of "worth it" in light of the year-long "pardon our dust" process.

I appreciate hearing others's opinions.

Off topic, the subject of the Citibank credit card has been mentioned. I'll pass along my experience.

About 10 years ago we qualified for Citigold based only on investments. We signed up and got the annual fee (then $50) waived for the Citibank Aadvantage card. Sweet.

Then, they started changing the requirements. First, they allowed only a percentage of investments and required deposits to make the balance. We met that. About the same time, I noticed the waived Citibank Aadvantage credit card fee was no longer advertised as a benefit. I called and found out that my fee would continue to be waived, and it has, but new accounts would not get the fee waiver.

This year they changed requirements again. They upped the Citigold to (I think) $200k from $50K and thus automatically changed our account to the newly invented tier. I think it's called Citi Prestige or Priority or something like that, but am not sure.

I called to ask about that and specifically asked if my Citibank Aadvantage annual fee would be waived. They *DIDN'T* *KNOW*, except to say that I would continue to have all the same benefits I used to have with Citigold, but would not be eligible for the new benefits with new Citigold accounts. I have asked about four or five different people, including the local branch managers, and have heard the same thing. They do not know, but suggest I watch my statement to see if they charge the annual fee.

So, that is what I am doing. If I see a charge for the annual fee, I will call and get a retention specialist.