Just wondering which lounge AC uses at Buenos Aires airport? I can only find a UA Red Carpet Club there (yuck ) and even that isn't open before my AC EZE-SCL flight leaves.

Yes, AC uses the UA RCC at the new EZE international terminal. However, if you have an AMEX PLAT card -- the real one not the AEROMILES version -- you can use the AMEX Lounge which is actually located right next to the gate AC generally uses. The RCC is about six gates down the terminal, which is a fair hike. The AMEX lounge has free PCs and internet, which the RCC does not.

You will also check in with UA agents. Then be guided to the kiosk where you must purchase the Departure Tax not included in your ticket, and costing about US$18. It can be purchased with US cash, travellers cheques or charge card.

Also note that if you are thinking of buying any last minute gifts of local wines or Afajores, you can only purchase this stuff airside at the "Duty Frees" and shops [the new departure area is more like a shopping mall than an airport] with US$s and not local ones. And the prices are actually higher than in the city. So do any shopping before going to the airport.

[There are a couple of local currency shops, but their prices are about three times those at shops downtown.]

Caveat Emptor!

Thanks for the info, much appreciated and comprehensive. I'm not especially worried about net access, just somewhere pleasant (preferably where I can also have a smoke). Which of the two fits the bill?

I've recently travelled to EZE and can attest to the accuracy of the above mentioned post.

Try the wine store in EZE departure lounge for exceptional Argentine vintages. Very, very good.

cheers

"(preferably where I can also have a smoke). "

Last time I was in EZE (March 2005), there was a smoking room in the departures area.

Thanks, I never knew I could use the Amex lounge. Will try it next week.

The AMEX lounge isn't bad- the last time I was there (about a year ago), the furniture was really tired, but compared to most of the terminal it is an oasis! IIRC you cannot bring guests in without paying a 25 USD fee- can someone else verify?

The UAL RCC really sucks. Small and really not much. I was in the AA lounge and the KLM one which are much better. Never visited the AMEX one even though I am an AMEX PLAT but I find they never tell me where their lounges are. Is there an easy place to learn this info?

The lounge is free to the cardholder, but like all lounge programs, charges for guests. While I agree it is not the spiffiest of lounges, it is far more convenient if you are flying AC than the RCC.

As for a list of Amex Airport lounges, I thought there was a link on their international website. But remember, this is not to be confused with the AEROPLAN AmexPlat card lounge program, and you cannot use that version of the AmexPlat to access these other lounges.

As long as you are a Canadian Platinum Card (the Charge Card) holder, you can access all the CO, DL, and NW clubs. The listing of their locations is here:
http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif...1,14547,00.asp
To me, this is the best benefit of the Platinum Card, and alone worth the $399 CDN a year. Probably of interest only to a few FTers, but the Italian version of the card includes Priority Pass with free unlimited entry into the Priority Pass lounges globally- this card can actually be received for no fee if your bank invites you (Unicredita Banca and their affilitates will do this). I keep both versions for the lounge access flexibility.

What about the supplementary card holder (if accompanied by the main).

Call Amex to confirm, but I would expect since one pays a fee for the Plat Supplementary card, their access would be free too, based on the package of services that have been paid for.

As for the other airline lounges [NW, DL, CO, and the variants based on local country card programs] my understanding is that access is only provided when flying those particular airlines, not unrestricted.

Also note that if you are on one of the EZE flights that has an hour stop at SCL, where you are offloaded for 45-minutes, there is no lounge that can be used by AC Es and SEs or J customers. Even though AC does have a contract lounge for passengers boarding at SCL, it is not open to "transit" passengers. Myself and another passenger checked out every lounge at that airport in search of one that would let us in on this brief stop but had no luck. I could get us into the lounge used as the PRIORITY PASS lounge, but it would have cost U$26 each, and for a cup of coffee, danish and orange juice, neither of us thought it worth the outlay. And by the time we had done our walkabout of the SCL terminal and tour of lounges, it was time to reboard...