Originally Posted by
golfingboy
When entering the lounge, everyone is supposed to get a free premium drink chit that is good for one free drink.
Normally that is reserved for those in international J/F or Oneworld elite members traveling internationally. However, I was under the impression that SAN is an exception and this is AA's workaround.
Or is this no longer the case?
Something may have changed recently, but previously, no, not everyone got a free drink chit. There were zero drink chits distributed back when the club used to be a pure AC (and you could actually get free premium drinks if a BA or JL flight was about to depart even when flying AA since no one ever asked which airline you were flying). Even after the lounge became an Airspace lounge, it was still the case that not everyone got a free drink chit, though.
If you entered using an Amex PLT/Centurion card, you got a smart card (like a hotel room key) that you could use at the bar for up to $10 of food/drink, including alcohol.
OTOH, if you entered using an Admirals Club membership, you got nothing (unless you would normally entitled to drink chits for traveling internationally or being a non-AA OW Emerald, etc.).
For this reason, I always used my Amex PLT card to enter, and at one point I even asked one of the AAngels whether people doing so would be hurting AA or the AC, and she said that the club actually benefited more from people entering with an Amex card.
Even after the transition to an Airspace lounge, I thought that house drinks were still complimentary, just as they are at every other AC, but perhaps I'm misremembering. It's been a few months since I actually used the lounge at SAN since it's such an easy airport to access, and I'm generally able to time my arrival to be just prior to departure.