ghsbass0406

I'm sitting in the N gates Alaska Lounge in Seattle after having spent 15 minutes trying to convince the lounge dragon that non-AA and non-AS Sapphires and Emeralds (from British Airways, JAL, Qantas etc.) have access on purely domestic itineraries within the US. I'm BAEC gold (One World Emerald) and showed the dragon my card but he insisted that I had to be on an international itinerary. I had to get out my laptop to try to point out the rule, but he wasn't having it, scoffing at me that I was even calling him out on his error. His co-worker at the desk checking in other people (by now a line had formed since I was going on 15 minutes with this guy) told him that I was correct and then he gets all huffy puffy about it and doubles down saying I was wrong. At this point, I asked for a supervisor; however, once I did that, he just begrudgingly let me in saying that I shouldn't be allowed in, but he'll make an exception this time. Eye roll. And completely unprofessional. And a lounge dragon that REALLY doesn't know the rules. It's been nearly 2 years with One World, AS, what gives?

anteater

I�ll have to go back to check but..

I believe your OWS/E FF# must be on your ticket for this use case. If you're purely showing your BA card without using the associated FF# on your ticket, the agent was correct to deny entry.

StevenSeagalFan

Sorry you had to struggle, glad you got in. Pretty straightforward on the AS website:

I am a oneworld Emerald or Sapphire via a oneworld member airline other than American or Alaska, do I need to be on an international itinerary to enter the lounge?

If you are a oneworld Emerald or Sapphire member that has been earned through an airline other than American or Alaska, you are not required to have an international itinerary. For valid entry, the qualifying frequent flier number must be in your reservation.

ghsbass0406

Ahhh, maybe that's it- I was flying on my AA FF# since I'm EXP and wanted to try for upgrades (nothing cleared) and sought access to the Alaska Lounge through my non-AA/AS OWE BAEC status. Rookie mistake. When I fly AA, I always credit to AA for upgrades but just show the BAEC gold card when I'm seeking admittance to a lounge and I'm good to go w/o issue at the Flagship Lounges and Admirals Clubs. But this AS policy is crystal clear- must have the FFN in the reservation.

TravelingZoomer

While having your BAEC (or other non AA/AS) number on your reservation is technically in contradiction of OW guidelines, I find AS lounge agents specifically (no issue most of the time for BA/AA/QF/JL lounges in US) want the number on the boarding pass. It�s easy enough to text the customer service number to change it out and for it to appear on the app or have it corrected downstairs at the service line (if you are in the N terminal). I find that it credits my flights to my AS account regardless but it doesn�t hurt to then ask an agent to change it back later

beckoa

I think having your FQN in the reservation allocates AS $ for your visit. No # in the res, nobody pays for the visit. I could be wrong however.

keitherson

I'm not sure why AS uniquely struggles with this and requires the number in the reservation: I think it's a made-up policy to hide the fact that they can't search up (or agents don't know how/weren't trained on) or validate oneworld numbers.

All other oneworld lounges: AA - QF - BA - JL - CX - everywhere else in the world - "real" oneworld airlines - they can search up your number and let you into the lounge if it's a different number than the one you have in your boarding pass.

Being based in LAX, I don't even bother going to the Alaska lounge anymore, I just go straight to AA Flagship or QF First when flying Alaska. People in other airports sadly don't have the same options.

eponymous_coward

Huh? Why would it be "in contradiction of OW guidelines" to credit an AS flight to BA while using BA OWE status to access a lounge using that AS boarding pass that has your BA FFN in it?

They don't want people double-dipping elite benefits by flashing OWE status then crediting AS for the flight/getting upgrades/etc. Basically they want you to pick either lounge access using other airline OWE status or AS mileage accrual/upgrades. Not both.

keitherson

Not to mention that in Amadeus you have FQTS and FQTV fields for this reason... the Japanese carriers have no issue at all using both of these.

e.g. it will show on the boarding pass

"NH*G
AC123456 Accepted"

Meaning *G benefits to get into the lounge, etc. by NH
miles going to AC

TravelingZoomer

I�m fairly certain we had this exact same discussion in the AS lounge thread but happy to show you again here


Emphasis on �and� mine, verbiage clearly indicates a OW departing boarding pass and a OWS/E membership card is sufficient, regardless if the the crediting program is on the boarding pass.

This follows the experience nearly everyone with dual OW statuses in AA/AS and non-NA has with every other oneworld lounge, including US based BA, QF, JL, CX (when open), and even AA lounges. AS Is the exception here

TravelingZoomer

As a JFK based flyer, same exact experience. The AS agent will literally see me walk out of the BA F lounge next door and give me a hard time when I just wanna grab a to go coffee.

TravelingZoomer

I do agree that it�s more AS agents are generally clueless rather than a malice thing. I had a connecting flight DOH - SEA - SAN this year in J (SEA - SAN in Y) so regardless I should�ve gotten entry easily the itinerary alone but it took me a lot of convincing the D lounge dragons to let me in

eponymous_coward

Right but you said, "having your BAEC (or other non AA/AS) number on your reservation is technically in contradiction of OW guidelines". That is literally what you wrote. IOW, "crediting an AS flight to BA is technically in violation of OW guidelines".

Perhaps you mean "AS requiring" instead of "having"? Which, IDK, go beat on the door of a OW exec and tell them how naughty, terribly naughty AS is being. At which point they can add wording to the OW website just like "oh, you can't go to the Concorde Room or Al Safwa lounge as a OWE".

TravelingZoomer

I think context is clear that yes, �requiring� is what I meant but regardless of being a pedant, I�d tend to agree with you if (and as others besides myself have pointed out), this is a uniquely AS requirement that goes against both written rules and precedent of other US lounges

ZenFlyer

I've been reading this thread with interest due to upcoming travel with two different OW partners (AA and QF). While it doesn't address the issue of AS's policy in particular (which has already been cited above) fwiw I found the explanation of this issue in the following article helpful: https://www.australianfrequentflyer..../amadeus-fqtv/