Originally Posted by jjglaze77
It depends upon the cities you visit most often... but one thing to consider is this: DL/NW do not a have a complete reciprocity agreement in that, in order to visit the club you do NOT have a membership with, you must be flying on that carrier. A couple scenarios:
1. Let's say you are flying DL out of MEM. There is no CRC and there is one WC. With a CRC membership, you do NOT get access to the WC. With a WC membership, you will get access (I think most club rules state that you must be traveling with that carrier that day to gain access, but if I am trying to access a CRC when not flying DL, I have NEVER been denied entry when I show my PM card / ID.).
2. Let's say you are flying NW out of MEM. There is no CRC and there is one WC. With a CRC membership, you DO get access to the WC. With a WC membership, you will get access (of course!).
Another thing, a WC membership will get you in a CO PC regardless of who you are flying.
Have you considered the AMEX Platinum card? The fee is $395 / year which is less than you will pay for a yearly membership in either club with no status, and it gets you in both. The major issue with this option is it does not get you ANY guests whereas with either WC or CRC membership, you get 2 guests.
Some things to consider...
I'm a big fan of the AMEX platinum card, particularly when compared to a Crown Room membership. The AMEX card
does allow you to bring in guests (either two adults or your immediate family). You can use any Delta Crown Room, NW WorldClub, Continental President's Club, or AMEX Centurion Club. You also get the other AMEX plat perks, including SPG Gold, Hertz Gold, and Avis Preferred Select, the Amex Concierge, AMEX Fine Hotels and Resorts perks, and a free companion ticket when you book a first or business class international ticket. The
AMEX Small Business Platinum card is an even better deal, as it has the same perks (minus the double membership rewards points for everyday purchases) plus automatic discounts at places like Fedex and Staples, and it's $95 less per year--$300/year. See
http://corp.americanexpress.com/gcs/...s/airportclub/ for more info on the airport lounge access from Amex.
The major advantage to a stand-alone NWA WorldClub or CO President's Club membership is that you can use those lounges even when flying on another carrier. You can also use the Delta Crown Rooms when flying on Delta. With a Delta Crown Room membership, you can only use the Crown Room when flying Delta, and you can only use the President's Clubs and WorldClubs when flying CO or NW, respectively. Another advantage to the stand-alone clubs (and this applies to DL too) is that you can use their affiliate lounges internationally. With the AMEX Platinum, I couldn't use a KLM lounge in Amsterdam, but if I'd had a WorldClub (or even President's Club or Crown Room) membership, I'd have been able to get in without a problem.
-Merrick