Dec 18, 2015, 12:53 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
American Airlines ConciergeKeySM / "CK" Program (by invitation only)
(Includes Executive Platinum status and Admirals Club membership)
NOTE: For questions such as "How can I get Concierge Key?" or "This is my spend: will I get CK?" Please refer to the How do I make / making AA Concierge Key / ConciergeKey / CK?thread
Also see AA Concierge Key invitations / renewal for 2019 status (out early 12/2018).
13 Apr 2020: AAdvantage extends CK status is extended automatically until Jan 31, 2022.
"The ConciergeKey Program is an exclusive program that American Airlines has for our very top customers. This is by invitation only and a very exclusive club." (Billy Sanez for AA)
ConciergeKey Services are provided to a select group of VIPs to facilitate travel on AA. The program is offered on an invitation basis only and is targeted at customers who control travel policy for large organizations. Customers who generate a high amount of revenue for AA may also be invited into this program (possibly those who spend upwards of US$60k a year on travel with AA).
Services provided include airport escorts and pre-boarding (seems variable, more likely during OSO?); assistance with flight changes, seat changes, and upgrade requests via their own dedicated telephone line. In addition, there is the ability to communicate directly with ConciergeKey associates via a dedicated email address. ConciergeKeySM representatives will also monitor day of travel of ConciergeKey members and will proactively reroute or rebook travel when necessary. ConciergeKey status allows check-in at First Class counters, as well as access to elite lines through security at certain airports. Miles and copay upgrades with copay waived.
ConciergeKey is now a distinct elite tier, above Executive Platinum. ConciergeKey benefits include membership to the Admirals Club, international miles upgrades with copayment waived, as well as two additional System-Wide Upgrades (SWU's) as part of CK membership.
CK members have access to Flagship Check-in on any flight, and CK will have Flagship Lounge access when flying a OneWorld airline.
As of 1 Jan 2017, Concierge Key members have upgrade requests prioritized over all other tiers: CK members have an upgrade window of (up to) 120 hours (Executive Platinum member's will retain the 100 hour upgrade window). CK members will board ahead of other passengers.
Regarding Concierge Key tier benefits coming in 2017, please see: New Concierge Key Benefits for 2017: New CK Elite Status Tier
Please: do respect members' privacy by refraining from asking for overly personal information and details relating to ConciergeKey membership or nomination. If your question receives no response, consider the member chooses not to reply, as is his/her right.
Boarding Area's AAdvantageGeek's blog shows the card and documents here.
Previous threads:
ConciergeKey AA Premium Service (ARCHIVED)
ARCHIVED: AA Concierge Key / ConciergeKey / CK (2014 consolidated)
Updated 18 Aug 2019 by ikwia to reflect CK being a distinct elite tier and to clarify the FL access requirement
Updated 25 Jul 2017 by JDiver
(Includes Executive Platinum status and Admirals Club membership)
NOTE: For questions such as "How can I get Concierge Key?" or "This is my spend: will I get CK?" Please refer to the How do I make / making AA Concierge Key / ConciergeKey / CK?thread
Also see AA Concierge Key invitations / renewal for 2019 status (out early 12/2018).
13 Apr 2020: AAdvantage extends CK status is extended automatically until Jan 31, 2022.
"The ConciergeKey Program is an exclusive program that American Airlines has for our very top customers. This is by invitation only and a very exclusive club." (Billy Sanez for AA)
ConciergeKey Services are provided to a select group of VIPs to facilitate travel on AA. The program is offered on an invitation basis only and is targeted at customers who control travel policy for large organizations. Customers who generate a high amount of revenue for AA may also be invited into this program (possibly those who spend upwards of US$60k a year on travel with AA).
Services provided include airport escorts and pre-boarding (seems variable, more likely during OSO?); assistance with flight changes, seat changes, and upgrade requests via their own dedicated telephone line. In addition, there is the ability to communicate directly with ConciergeKey associates via a dedicated email address. ConciergeKeySM representatives will also monitor day of travel of ConciergeKey members and will proactively reroute or rebook travel when necessary. ConciergeKey status allows check-in at First Class counters, as well as access to elite lines through security at certain airports. Miles and copay upgrades with copay waived.
ConciergeKey is now a distinct elite tier, above Executive Platinum. ConciergeKey benefits include membership to the Admirals Club, international miles upgrades with copayment waived, as well as two additional System-Wide Upgrades (SWU's) as part of CK membership.
CK members have access to Flagship Check-in on any flight, and CK will have Flagship Lounge access when flying a OneWorld airline.
As of 1 Jan 2017, Concierge Key members have upgrade requests prioritized over all other tiers: CK members have an upgrade window of (up to) 120 hours (Executive Platinum member's will retain the 100 hour upgrade window). CK members will board ahead of other passengers.
Regarding Concierge Key tier benefits coming in 2017, please see: New Concierge Key Benefits for 2017: New CK Elite Status Tier
Please: do respect members' privacy by refraining from asking for overly personal information and details relating to ConciergeKey membership or nomination. If your question receives no response, consider the member chooses not to reply, as is his/her right.
Boarding Area's AAdvantageGeek's blog shows the card and documents here.
Previous threads:
ConciergeKey AA Premium Service (ARCHIVED)
ARCHIVED: AA Concierge Key / ConciergeKey / CK (2014 consolidated)
Updated 18 Aug 2019 by ikwia to reflect CK being a distinct elite tier and to clarify the FL access requirement
Updated 25 Jul 2017 by JDiver
AA Concierge Key / ConciergeKey / CK members lounge (master thread)
Jul 4, 2022, 1:50 pm
#1621
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
What bothers me is that we have no other option to Australia since AA cut it. I am considering AA to Japan and then Japan Airlines to Australia just to get more AA metal, but it seems silly. I wish AA would just make it clear how they want us to travel since they have cut SO MUCH international that those of us that are traveling have few options than partners (or other airlines entirely).
Totally agree. About to book USA-SIN. Not many options even pre-COVID, but now it's basically taking the DFW-NRT flight and connecting to JAL as the lone viable option. Several decent options on JAL, QR, QF, and even AY, so hopefully those will give 'credit' towards CK math.
I'm not sure I'd go crazy out of your way like that, but can you book and AA code on QF on AA's website? That would be the most proximate to booking an AA flight. Do AA and QF have a JV TPCA like AA/BA TATL? That would further reinforce the "CK credit" of this. We're all just speculating though.
Jul 4, 2022, 3:22 pm
#1622
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,977
what has been your experience with AA status/OWE recognition on OW partners? one big thing for me when losing international routing are the upgrades. unless flying AA metal, i just dont get lucky enough on OW partners for Y to J/F. so i book accordingly. and of course, a bigger priority for me is the ease of comms when fixing issues if everything is on AA. i find myself doing too much admin work when OW partners are involved. and babysitting correct partner mileage accrual is also a headache. maybe just me.
Jul 4, 2022, 3:44 pm
#1623
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
Jul 4, 2022, 6:50 pm
#1624
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Dallas/Orlando
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 2,716
Another thing that just occurred: Back in the day, when I was UA Global Services, one of the things we knew about the qualification was that it was very location deponent. This meant that having a home address near Houston or New York/Newark meant you had to spend more to qualify vs. having a home address in a non-UA focus city (i.e. DFW or, even better, a foreign base.)
I wonder if there's still something to this? As a foreign resident, I've been trying to change my address in AA.com to my real home outside the US, but the website simply says "Please check the address and try again." Guess I'll have to call AAdvAAntage CS.
I know there are approximately 100 CKs in my foreign city of 30M people, so maybe the threshold is lower.
I wonder if there's still something to this? As a foreign resident, I've been trying to change my address in AA.com to my real home outside the US, but the website simply says "Please check the address and try again." Guess I'll have to call AAdvAAntage CS.
I know there are approximately 100 CKs in my foreign city of 30M people, so maybe the threshold is lower.
Jul 4, 2022, 7:12 pm
#1625
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: STL/ORD/MCI/SAN
Programs: AA CK MM, AC SE100K, BA Gold, UA 1K, DL Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 1,989
My spouse is CK, I am not. We have the same address in the system (not an AA hub) but his routings almost always start from MCO while mine from DFW. My spend with AA is more than his. I think AA’s systems are smart enough to determine that I am hub captive and he is not, hence no CK for me :/
I'd be curious whether your spouse's fares are more "profitable" (higher cents per mile) or are higher fare class bookings on average compared to yours. It's been speculated that full fare tickets are somehow more heavily weighted and that high cost per mile (while not a perfect measure of profitability) is taken into account.
Jul 4, 2022, 8:19 pm
#1626
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: DFW
Programs: AA ConciergeKey, Marriott Ambassador Elite
Posts: 367
That's an interesting thought. I would be quite surprised, though, if the algorithm took specific routings into account in the way you're describing. Perhaps high premium route bookings like JFK-LHR are taken into account somehow. Also, remember that getting CK over EP is not purely about having higher spend... it's believed to be more about profitability (though clearly some degree of spend must be there for members nominated via this pathway).
I'd be curious whether your spouse's fares are more "profitable" (higher cents per mile) or are higher fare class bookings on average compared to yours. It's been speculated that full fare tickets are somehow more heavily weighted and that high cost per mile (while not a perfect measure of profitability) is taken into account.
I'd be curious whether your spouse's fares are more "profitable" (higher cents per mile) or are higher fare class bookings on average compared to yours. It's been speculated that full fare tickets are somehow more heavily weighted and that high cost per mile (while not a perfect measure of profitability) is taken into account.
Jul 4, 2022, 8:55 pm
#1627
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2022
Posts: 230
Jul 5, 2022, 6:11 am
#1628
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2019
Programs: AA: CK
Posts: 2,230
My spouse is CK, I am not. We have the same address in the system (not an AA hub) but his routings almost always start from MCO while mine from DFW. My spend with AA is more than his. I think AA’s systems are smart enough to determine that I am hub captive and he is not, hence no CK for me :/
Jul 5, 2022, 12:11 pm
#1629
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
my understanding is the opposite. BA GGL gets YMMV treatment as CK. not consistent, but happens often enough and a nice surprise. sounds like BA flyers are sometimes classified under CK in their passenger list.
example:
Consistent Concierge Key treatment at ORD for BA GGL
but i have not read anything about CKs being treated like BA GGL. even CKs getting CCR access seems to be YMMV and very limited to LHR departures. and not sure about class of flight.
in general, my basic expectation and experience has been that OW status is how partner airlines within an alliance recognizes people, but def lower priority vs the airlines own super elites. the special exception is how well BA GGL gets treated like CK at certain airports.
example:
Consistent Concierge Key treatment at ORD for BA GGL
but i have not read anything about CKs being treated like BA GGL. even CKs getting CCR access seems to be YMMV and very limited to LHR departures. and not sure about class of flight.
in general, my basic expectation and experience has been that OW status is how partner airlines within an alliance recognizes people, but def lower priority vs the airlines own super elites. the special exception is how well BA GGL gets treated like CK at certain airports.
Last edited by GundamWing01; Jul 5, 2022 at 12:38 pm
Jul 6, 2022, 9:44 am
#1631
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: DFW
Programs: AA ConciergeKey, Marriott Ambassador Elite
Posts: 367
Jul 6, 2022, 2:57 pm
#1632
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Dallas/Orlando
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 2,716
Jul 6, 2022, 11:57 pm
#1633
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,536
the main advantages of ggl are a specific line, some back office benefits (eg booking hold, no fee on cancelling awards etc) but nothing on the ground apart from ccr access and nothing in the air.
Jul 7, 2022, 7:53 am
#1634
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2019
Programs: AA: CK
Posts: 2,230