Originally Posted by
IAN-UK
Not sure you have grounds for complaint about being denied access to the BA lounge - it's small, and they worry about not being able to accommodate their own passengers.
But you surely need to protest about being charged for drinks in the AA facility. They've always seemed pretty good at handing out vouchers - though perhaps these don't cover premium brands (and at $11 you may well be a premium gin person
).
The vouchers are actually specifically for "premium" drinks. "Well" drinks are supposed to be complimentary in Admirals clubs.
My experience in many Admirals Clubs is that they don't proactively offer the vouchers. Whenever I'm entering on my BA Gold card, I politely ask them if BA still invites me for my drinks. That's enough to get them looking for the vouchers (last time it actually took awhile, as though they hadn't even handed any out that day), but I've never had to pay for a drink in an AA lounge.
Although they may only hand out one at first, if I'm stuck there for awhile and go back later to ask if I can have another, it's never a problem.
All that said, would have been better to avoid the whole matter and use the BA lounge, which as a Gold card holder with BA is not such an enormous thing to ask.