Using the Maple Leaf lounge without a card?
 

I'd been elite for a couple of years and made extensive use of the lounges in Montreal and Toronto. Lately I've been doing all my flying through Montreal. I lost my wallet a year ago, and with it my Aeroplan card. I never bothered to get a new card and just showed my ticket to the lounge attendant for access. I think I received a new card a few weeks back, but left it at home because, let's face it, we all carry too many cards anyway and I didn't really need the Aeroplan card. Lately they've been pestering me that I have to bring my card so they can swipe it. Yesterday they half-jokingly said they wouldn't let me in if I didn't bring my card. Why? Why do they need that card when my ticket shows that I am eligible to use the lounge? What if I wasn't an Aeroplan guy but had purchased lounge access? I appreciate that they like the convenience of being able to record my trip to the lounge, but I am actually inconvenienced by flying Air Canada to begin with (curse those loyalty programs)!

Sorry go off on a rant here, but has anyone else experience this?

They're inconsistent for sure. I often fly J and use the lounge just by showing my boarding pass. Occasionally I fly Y on very short legs or on regional jets that only have a Y cabin, and I hand them my platinum Aeroplan Amex to get lounge access.

Sometimes they only want to see the card. Other times they ask for the boarding pass with the card. There seems to be no rhyme or reason.

I too have found it to be inconsistent (but then isn't inconsistency what Air Canada prides itself on?).

I am SE, so I use the MLL often in Canada. I just have to mention here, after spending a week travelling in New Zealand my experience with the NZ lounges. I had three colleagues travelling with me, none of whom were *G or travelling on business class tickets, and in three difference cases and three different Air NZ lounges, the attendant let them in with me as guests even though I was only entitled to one guest - never an issue, never a hassle, and no attitude from officious lounge attendants. If that isn't contrast enough with the Air Canada MLL experience, the Air NZ lounges blow AC's lounges out of the water in terms of amenities, food and beverage.

So while AC staff obsess over rigid protocol (such as presenting a physical aeroplan card, despite what is on the boarding pass), Air NZ staff obsess over creating a positive customer experience. What a novel concept!

There was a lengthy thread about this a while ago, but it was a little nasty because of the personalities involved, so I will not suggest reading it for enlightenment.

Anyway, the T&C are perfectly clear from the AP website:

I personally don't think it is reasonable to suggest that having to carry the AP card on trips where you want to enter the lounge is inconvenient. It's not like it's one of those massive coins with the hole through the centre for a log to be inserted so that three or four men can haul it to the next village to purchase a wife. It's a little plastic card.

Also, any inconsistency on the part of the lounge people was in your favour, not theirs. Apparently there is pressure on them to scan the cards. They aren't making up those rules, although some of them will relax the rules for people from time to time. That's good service, not bad service.

I think your best bet, to avoid disappointment, would be to bring your card when you want to enter the lounge. You never know when the agent won't (or can't) bend the rules for you.

It depends what Dragon is working the lounge... :)

Remember American Express...?
 

...don't leave home without it! (That's for the younger board members)
Look, there is a simple solution...bring the card with you...end of story.
Forget the dragon lady working the counter...the lack of rhyme or reason...just punch a hole in the thing and use it like a bag-tag.
Ending this thread will allow us to move back to more important topics...like how angry we are that the warm nuts are gone from J class...

"I personally don't think it is reasonable to suggest that having to carry the AP card on trips where you want to enter the lounge is inconvenient."

How heavy was that straw that broke the camel's back?

I have three credit cards, each of which get used on every trip. Driver's license, health insurance card (not needed yet), food discount card (used nearly daily with savings of ten to twenty bucks a week), debit card, and chipped corporate ID card that gets me into the office. I don't carry my birth certificate because I have to carry a passport. Air Canada wants me to carry around a card I use only once per trip? I know that Hilton, Marriott and National Car Rental would like me to carry their cards, I use their services every trip, but they know better than to insist. I won't carry a card for American Airlines, Continental, Best Western, Delta Hotel, Hertz, North West Airline, Starwoods, Thrifty or United Airlines either.

It is not for our convenience they want us to carry these cards around.

With people now having the ability to print their own BPs... it's all to easy to "upgrade" your BP to give you lounge access.

So, I don't blame AC for wanting to see the plastic.

Brilliant! Here I was, fretting about how I could pay off my debt from all the flights I bought just so I could get elite status and get a personalized luggage tag..and you solved the problem so simply and cheaply! :D:D:D

Presumably six cards wouldn't do it. :-:

Presumably you should carry whatever cards you need in order to get the services you want. If AC, or any other airline for that matter, requires your card in order to access their lounge, as others have pointed out above, that is their business. And their business to refuse you entry if you refuse to follow their rules.

Simon

Hmm . . . if someone is falsifying their boarding documents, I think lounge access is the least of the airline's worries.

I always carry my SE card, but I guess the point is that AC has designed their policies around pedantic compliance and enforcement rather than from the customer perspective. What is the realistic level of probability of the status printed on a boarding pass not being accurate? And if it is innacurate, what risk does this present - one in five hundred passengers using the lounge who shouldn't be? Weigh this against the inconvenience caused thousands of passengers who are entitled to lounge access . . . seems like a no brainer to me. Anyway, what is the barcode for on the boarding pass? - scan that thing - surely no one can be accused of trying to alter than in their favour.

How inconvenient can it possibly be to carry a small piece of plastic? :confused:

Five grams?

(That's what my kitchen scale said about my E card.)

Agreed. I've gone to the same gym for 20 years. They know me, they know why I'm there, they see my gym bag in hand. Nevertheless for 20 years, they've asked for and swiped my card. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

The requirement of the card has been well publicised, it is on the ckin desk of the MLLs.

Once I have put myself back together after security, I get out my E card, hold it with my BP and present them together entering the MLL. It really is not very difficult.

Maybe I'll tell the next merchant I deal with in person, that they should take my word on the CC number I rattled off verbatim, no need for the card itself.

Come to think of it, the GAs should no longer ask me for picture ID given the amount I fly, don't they know who I am.

Next time I'm pulled over by the police, I'll see how they are with not requiring a DL.

Life is brutal, isn't it?

Clever but not really analogous to requiring TWO forms of documentation to confirm the same thing. I think you missed my point completely, which wasn't about the weight of a card, or whether the requirement is published clearly. Perhaps the police officer should require both a valid drivers license and a passport - to ensure the drivers license which he/she has in their system anyway is actually valid.

This is yet another tragic travesty [TM]!!

I also resent having to show my BP to those people in the lounge. What business is it of them what my name is?? :mad:

Simon

Further: all the BP does is confirm that you had status when you made the reservation. Not today.

I wonder as well whether in swiping it, they can be sure that there has not been a "hand back" of the card to someone else...

Wow, I guess some folks love hauling around a wallet stuffed with every frickin' card ever given to them, but I'm not part of that crowd. I try to keep the bare minimum in my back pocket. Turning the card into a luggage tag is a good one (I just have to remember to change tags when I change bags).

Most organizations recognize that all they really need to determine your status is your membership number (and a photo ID if necessary) - plug it in and your worthiness is established. For some reason, this simple solution has escaped the brilliant minds that run the Air Canada lounges (and a few folks here, I guess).

Since it appears to be lost on a few people, I'll explain "the straw that broke the camel's back." It's an ancient Arab proverb which refers to loading a camel beyond its capacity by the addition of a single straw. It's used to remind us how a cataclysmic failure is achieved by a seemingly inconsequential addition. The phrase "the last straw," used when something is deemed to be the last in a line of unacceptable occurrences, also comes from this proverb. Hope this helps!

You could just put them ALL on your bag and become the King of DYKWIA. It would also make a cool rattling sound as you walked through the terminal, so other passengers would know the King was approaching before they even saw him. :cool:

More lies! Mine weighs in at 6.2 grams...I guess all the extra letters tip the scales!;)

One of the main purposes of loyalty cards is tracking consumer habits... maybe Air Canada wants a definate answer on who, and how often you're actually using the lounge?

Ron.

Well, I can think of one police officer who may not ask to see your ID...at least I hope that's the case! ;)

HA! You *read* my mind!!!!!!!!!!! ^^

I actually stopped carrying a wallet years ago. I now just have a little card holder thing that I got when I used to work at the bank. It happily holds my license, health card, two CCs and my ATM card, along with Costco, and *gasp*, my AP card!!!! Very lightweight, and I'm no longer developing a callous on my ... from sitting on an overstuffed wallet all day!

Remember back in the day when you had two car keys -- one for the door locks and one for the ignition? The happiest day of your life must have been when you got your first car that only had ONE key!!! You must have strutted around a LOT faster after you got rid of THAT dead weight!!!!!!!!

When you travel on business do you not carry a briefcase or similar item that holds your papers and other necessary items? I can't see how adding one more card -- or set of travel cards -- into that case is such a big thing? Most travelers actually have a separate folio in which they keep travel papers, passport, receipts and membership cards they're likely to be using on the trip. It's called organization. Basic travel documentation is certainly not a Last Straw. Only a slob would stick all his cards into a fat wallet bulging out of a rear pocket! But if that's the image you are happy to convey, it says a lot about why you think this is a stupid requirement.

Touche!

When I lost my wallet on a trip, I actually got away with that. Once. It was probably very illegal though. Being on the same flights every week helps.

You guys are nasty. I thought Data Lounge was mean before I started reading these threads.

Asking for the card is reasonable. And the pleasant way they have been hitting Alt F7 to check that I qualify when I don't have my card (lost with my passport a couple of weeks ago) has come as a welcome surprise.

We only appear nasty.

We continue to be willing to answer any question the OP might have about travel, and we would be happy to buy the OP a round should we ever meet (ideally, in a MLL ;)).

But if someone persists in holding a view that I think is unreasonable, I (and others) will also continue to express contrary views.

Welcome to FlyerTalk.

Indeed. Contrary views, expressed con gusto.

Thank your for your welcome Mr. Zorn.

Well, you folks can continue to lug briefcases full of loyalty cards. I'll stick with the seven cards, keep my wallet slim and travel light. It's called organization through minimization, Shareholder.

I personally feel that it's unreasonable to present a physical card if the information required can be easily obtained by other means.

Taupo, I guess you're unaware that you actually can make a credit card purchase without using the physical credit card. I've done it on numerous occasions.

It's worth reiterating: Most organizations recognize that all they really need to determine your status is your membership number (and a photo ID if necessary).

Seven cards? You lug more cards around than I! 2 CCs, Aeroplan, Debit. It comes down to choices as to which ones you decide are important. The only reason for 2 CCs, is one business and one pleasure.

No point in arguing over that, agree to disagree. We switched grocery stores over having to carry a loyalty card. Overwaitea required the card, Safeway a phone number. Carrying the Overwaitea card was a PITA. I of course would prefer that AC could establish my MLL eligibility via my BP, however I am fine with having to produce the card. Hypocritical? Yes.

I make online purchases frequently without the physical card, just never in person.

Who said anything against a planned, slim travel wallet or other type? My comment related to exactly what you're saying: before each trip you slip in the various cards required. That really should not be an inordinate burden; one maybe two FF programs (STAR, ONEWORLD and/or SKYTEAM) if you are flying more than one alliance carrier, a card related to the hotel(s) being used, and one related to any rental car that might be on order. Then have a Visa, Amex and MasterCard and what more is there to be in your wallet? The passport or drivers license is the final standard travel document to get you pretty much anywhere on any trip.

Furthermore, with AE being turned into a frequent shopper program, the whole point of carrying the card as you might any other shopping card, is to get you to use merchants who give credits, thus requiring the card to be a basic piece of plastic carried around all the time. You may not adopt that extreme an approach, but otherwise anyone who continues to have an overstuffed wallet in the back pocket needs to re-examine their organizational skills.

Organization through minimization, Shareholder, organization through minimization. You want to spend time figuring out what cards you'll need on each trip and then putting them in a separate wallet? You go right ahead, my friend. I don't carry a card for rental companies, I give them my number and I get a car. You want to carry a few cards because it's more convenient? Go for it. I don't bother with hotel cards either, but I'm a patron of four programs. You want to carry some more cards you don't really need? Well, I'm sure you have plenty of room in your second wallet. Anyone who needs two wallets needs to re-examine their organizational skills. ;)

You're right that any given card is not an inordinate burden, but neither was that last straw on the camel's back.

The point I'm making, and I want to make this clear, is that organizations want you to carry a card for their convenience, not yours. You want to subject yourself to their rule? That's your choice. There is absolutely no viable reason why you should have to show your card in a Maple Leaf lounge in order to gain access. (For those who missed it, the reason a card is unnecessary is that your name, number and status can be easily verified on the lounge administrator's computer.)

True. But they own/rent the lounge, they make the rules, they provide the free booze, magazines, soup and showers. If you want to play on their court with their ball, you play on their terms. If you don't want to subject yourself to their rules, that's your choice too - but they don't need to let you in.

Who cares whose convenience it is?

You want to be sure you enter their lounge (or a partner's) then you have to follow their rules.

It doesn't get much more complicated than that, Arabian desert creatures notwithstanding.

Simon

Ah, I see - and if their rules say you should dance like a monkey, you'd dance. ;)

Just out of curiosity, when you were a child and asked your parents why you had to do something they asked, did they often respond with "Because I said so"?