Originally Posted by
SeattleWanderer
Due to snow-related changes in plans, I got to DCA earlier than planned today, so I used that as an excuse to get the lounge pass I’d been pondering. Is it worth the money? Time will tell. Probably not, but I’m going to indulge myself with it for the next year anyway.
I went to both the American Admiral’s Club and the United Club. The American lounge was hard to find because the location description (“Mezzanine level, after security”) doesn’t seem to be accurate anymore. It looks like they recently moved the TSA security checkpoint. I’m also not even sure if I was in the Terminal B or Terminal C lounge because I didn’t see wayfinding within DCA referring terminals, just gates. The American lounge I used was near gate 24 I think, whatever terminal that is.
The United lounge was much easier to find because the location description gave a gate (Gate 11). Overall I personally liked the United lounge better. Possibly the same amount of space for each, but American’s lounge was broken up into more rooms. The United lounge just felt nicer, more spacious, and quieter (fewer people there—might have just been my timing). My partner really enjoyed the quietness of the United Lounge too.
Lounge memberships should always be driven by your flying patterns. For me, it is a case of flying out of SEA to mostly AS destinations. I tend to book my return flights later in the evening or day, so as to be sure to finish my project on enough time to return to my airport. When I get done before my return flight the AS clubs and partner clubs make a great place to await my home flight, There are many times though when I do not have enough time between my return to the rental car/airport to take advantage of a club or lounge access. You have to look at your flight patterns to decide what works for you. I have been VERY pleased with my AS lounge memberships especially when connecting out of ORD. The Admirals Club has gone above and beyond what is need for me many many times.