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ARCHIVE: HELP DESK: Will I Have Lounge Access? Access, Rules (2017)

Old Jan 4, 2017, 9:24 pm
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Last edit by: JDiver
HELP DESK: Lounge Access, Access Rules. Will I Have Lounge Access? (2017)
Please read this wiki carefully; some fine nuances exist.


PLEASE DO NOT ALTER THE CONTENT OF THIS MODERATOR NOTE

The Lounge Access Help Desk

To assist members with questions about Lounge Access Rules that they have not been able to answer on their own using the above resources, the AA Moderator team has decided to institute this thread, the third in a series of "Help Desk" threads. N.B.: If you have questions about physical access to a specific lounge (e.g., airside vs. landside, different terminal, etc.), please search for and post to the appropriate specific thread for that lounge.

New threads on this topic will be merged into this one and bumped by the moderators as necessary. As such, we do not expect that this thread will develop into a searchable database, but that it will nonetheless provide a valuable resource to members. As well, we may shed / pare down posts from time to time to a trailing thread or similar device.

Our goal is to provide a place where members can feel welcome to post such questions and expect helpful, accurate responses. In this way, we hope to accommodate the needs and desires of both new and veteran members - those who aren't sure they are interpreting the available resources correctly can ask for help without fear of snarky-appearing responses; those who do not wish to participate in such threads are invited and, indeed, encouraged, to ignore this thread.

Please be forewarned: This thread will be subject to heavy moderation. Posts that are incorrect will be subject to deletion without notice - DO NOT POST answers unless you are 100% sure your answer is complete and correct. Posts that are unhelpful or off-topic will also be subject to deletion without notice - DO NOT POST unless you can be friendly, helpful, concise, and salient.

Finally, a few guidelines for members posting queries to this thread:
  • Please DO make an effort to review the listed resources before posting here.
  • Please DO try to give as much information as possible, including your entire itinerary, with carrier for each segment and codeshares and stopovers clearly designated, your class of service and fare class purchased, whether or not you have Admirals Club or Qantas Club membership, a Citi AAdvantage Executive card (which includes full Admirals Club membership), and the number of guests and your family relationship with them, if any.
  • Please DO understand it could take some time for answers (especially on holidays and weekends.)
  • Please DO thank helpful members volunteering to reply to your questions.
Note: Members interested in arranging AA lounge meet-ups or offer guesting in should use this thread: Admirals Club / Flagship Lounge Meet Up & Guest Offer (master thread)

Also see the future changes in lounges and access: Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge Changes, Renovations & Additions

Sincerely,
The American Airlines | AAdvantage forum Moderator Team
(Help Desk established by dstan)

=================end mod note===================

oneworld Lounge Access
Wizard by kduarte.

Help Desk: Lounge Access Rules / Will I Have Lounge Access?

Lounge Access can be obtained in a number of ways during travel on AA and its oneworld partner airlines. These include purchasing an Admirals Club one day pass, or via Citi AAdvantage Executive MasterCard (including, as of Dec 2015, authorized card users), reciprocity agreements with other airlines, traveling on certain transcon flights in F or J, or traveling internationally with Platinum (oneworld Sapphire) or Executive Platinum (oneworld Emerald) status or in F or J classes of service - except if flying solely within North America inc,Using destinations other than MEX or the Caribbean. The last is often the greatest source of confusion, despite lounge access rules being described clearly on aa.com. Threads about these are linked to in the American Airlines LOUNGE DASHBOARD thread.

Admirals Club members paid or Executive cardholder members) are entitled guests as follows:

Up to two guests or household members (spouse, domestic partner and/or children under the age of 18) may accompany the member.
* Note that AA no longer offers a 30-day membership as of July 25 2016.

For AA status-based access (PLT, PlatPro or EXP),* passengers must: (1) be traveling on an international itinerary (Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and Mexico City, excluding the Caribbean and other destinations in North America (other than on certain three class transcontinental flights) including other destinations in Mexico, and (2) have an onward flight on a oneworld airline marketed and operated flight on the same day. PLT and PPRO members are eligible for access to all oneworld Business Class lounges, now including Flagship Lounges, including Admirals Clubs; EXP members are also eligible for access to all oneworld First Class lounges, including Flagship Lounges.

Lounges operated by third parties or premium lunges operating outside of oneworld rules (e.g. BA Concorde Room, Qatar Al Safwa or Al Mourjan lounges) may be excluded, and all may may refuse admittance if they claim they are crowded. There are other exceptions.

*Non-AA oneworld Sapphire and Emerald elites are not subject to rule #1 above.

Emerald / EP on CX JFK-YVR are not subject to AA limitations and are issued Flagship Lounge invitations for use at JFK.

Another confusing rule relates to transcontinental access. From member FriendlySkies:

Traveling on a Non-Stop Transcontinental* Flight? http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/trans-con-access.jsp

More changes:

If you are traveling in the First or Business class cabin (on flights sold as three classes) in one of the following non-stop markets, we welcome you to visit the lounge as indicated below.

The following exceptions apply:

First and Business Class customers who do not hold Emerald or Sapphire tier status are not eligible to access American Airlines lounges when travelling on solely domestic flights within the U.S. or between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico [except Mexico City], the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean; customers travelling in First or Business class on U.S. transcontinental flights between JFK-LAX, JFK-SFO and MIA-LAX (and vice-versa) are eligible for lounge access. one world lounge access page - link
On February 17 2016, AA announced an addition to the above. As stated on their Reimagining our lounges page, in the Flagship Lounges section, "Starting in 2017, lounge access will be extended to customers booked in Business and First Class on A321T, Trans-Atlantic, Trans-Pacific and deep South American flights."

In the Flagship Dining subsection, they state:

Beginning in early 2017, the Flagship Dining experience will be available in select cities with 3-class service:

● Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)

● New York (JFK)

● Miami (MIA)

● Los Angeles (LAX)

First Class customers on Americans 3-class international and transcontinental flights will have exclusive access to Flagship Dining in 2017
All Admirals Club visitors receive free Wi-Fi access at Admirals Clubs (password is available at front desk and throughout the Club on signs), some non-alcoholic and "well" (lower price tier) alcoholic beverages and counter snacks (fruit, some kind of snack mix, cheese cubes, hot cereal mornings and soup evenings are the most common - recent additions have been made); free computer terminals are available for all passengers, and many Clubs have Business Centers and tethered Samsung Galaxy tablets in seating areas. Passengers accessing Admirals Clubs based on status or class of service on international travel are entitled to free drinks coupons usable for higher-tier non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and bottles of water.

Flagship Lounges (JFK, LAX, LHR and ORD) offer extended beverages and upscale snack services as well. See below for link.

NOTE: Some Lounges and Clubs are undergoing refurbishment.

Citi Prestige MasterCard holder Admirals Club access ended July 23, 2017.

American Express Platinum cardholder Admirals Club access ended 21 March 2014.

NOTE: It has been verified more airports are allowing multiple terminal access on one's day of departure. LAX has been one since mid-2014.

Admirals Club access is granted the day of flight for statusholders flyingone world and those flying F or J, or the following day at the first port of arrival if flying overnight and arriving by 0600.

Airports requiring Lounge users have a same day departure boarding pass include BOG, CCS, CDG, GIG, GRU, LHR, MEX, NRT, SCL, YYZ.

N.B. Qantas Lounges and Clubs require Smart Casual (sic) dress as of May 2015; those not meeting the standard may be turned away. They also require AAdvantage members be traveling on a departing AA marketed flight.

Please see the following resources for full details on Lounge Access Rules: (and see below)

. . . ● AA.com: Lounge Access Rules

. . . ● AA.com: American Airlines Flagship Lounge Access Rules

Beginning later in 2017: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ge-updates.jsp opens Flagship access to many more pax.

. . . ● AA.com: Reimaging our lounges

. . . ● AA.com: Admirals Club Membership Guide in a downloadable PDF format.

. . . ● oneworld.com: Lounge Access Rules and Search Tool

. . . ● Wiki: Lounges

. . . ● FT: American Airlines LOUNGE DASHBOARD


For various threads on membership, access by status, transcon service, class of service, Flagship lounge access, lounges directory with links to specific lounge threads, Club member access to partner lounges, recipripocity agreements, etc.

. . . ● Last year's thread:HELP DESK: Will I Have Lounge Access? Access, Rules (2016)

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ARCHIVE: HELP DESK: Will I Have Lounge Access? Access, Rules (2017)

Old May 3, 2016, 1:09 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
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ARCHIVE: HELP DESK: Will I Have Lounge Access? Access, Rules (2017)

so i booked a flight on AA.com a few months ago. however a few hours after booking the flight i decided to cancel as i found a more direct routing. so i logged in online and cancelled the flight. no problem as it was only about 4 hours after booking it. it cancelled the flight with no issues. now, about 2 months later, i'm reviewing my credit card statements and realized that i never received a refund for that flight! i called AA, and they said you have to request a refund! are they serious? so cancelling a flight within the 24 hr cancellation window isn't enough, but then you have to go to prefunds.aa.com and request a refund. so i did that about 8 days ago, and it still shows up as "pending review". now first off, how can this possibly be legal? shouldnt they automatically refund it once you cancel the ticket? and then how long does it usually take to get the refund? thanks

Last edited by JDiver; Oct 22, 2016 at 7:55 pm
omaralt is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 1:18 pm
  #2  
 
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You do realize that you will loose some $ due to canceling. Seeing that you booked the flight a few months ago, AA did not have the 24HR cancelation rule. They had a 24hr HOLD notification.
arollins is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 1:45 pm
  #3  
 
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I'm sorry to hear of your frustration.

Different airlines operate different policies but I know that some require flights cancelled within the 24 hour period after purchase to be cancelled on the phone for a full and immediate refund. Not sure how AA does it.

Usually, when you are cancelling, you are not cancelling the ticket as a whole, you are cancelling your booking on certain flights. For some tickets it is possible to not have any flights (because your plans have changed and you have cancelled them) and then you have up to one year, to find and fly replacement flights (with appropriate change fees and fare differences paid by you, of course.)

How is it legal? I suspect it's all in the fine print (usually terms and conditions, and fare rules) that one agrees to when one purchases the ticket (but very few read, and even fewer understand.)

It appears that airlines are usually a littler slower to return money than to take it - they like to keep that working capital. Actually that applies to almost all businesses.

I imagine you will get your money back in full (assuming the ticket was fully refundable and/or you have met other full refund requirements!)

rb211.
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Old May 3, 2016, 1:53 pm
  #4  
 
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If you cancelled it on aa.com, it very clearly states you must contact the refunds department (or fill out the refund form) to get a refund for the cancelled reservation.
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Old May 3, 2016, 1:55 pm
  #5  
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Cool

Originally Posted by DWFI
If you cancelled it on aa.com, it very clearly states you must contact the refunds department (or fill out the refund form) to get a refund for the cancelled reservation.
Sneaky way to steal from the unwary. That really should be illegal.
Doc Savage is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 1:56 pm
  #6  
 
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Originally Posted by RB211
I'm sorry to hear of your frustration.

Different airlines operate different policies but I know that some require flights cancelled within the 24 hour period after purchase to be cancelled on the phone for a full and immediate refund. Not sure how AA does it.

Usually, when you are cancelling, you are not cancelling the ticket as a whole, you are cancelling your booking on certain flights. For some tickets it is possible to not have any flights (because your plans have changed and you have cancelled them) and then you have up to one year, to find and fly replacement flights (with appropriate change fees and fare differences paid by you, of course.)

How is it legal? I suspect it's all in the fine print (usually terms and conditions, and fare rules) that one agrees to when one purchases the ticket (but very few read, and even fewer understand.)

It appears that airlines are usually a littler slower to return money than to take it - they like to keep that working capital. Actually that applies to almost all businesses.

I imagine you will get your money back in full (assuming the ticket was fully refundable and/or you have met other full refund requirements!)

rb211.
Sorry but you aren't familiar with AA policy and this is not the best advice.

AA used to have a 24hr HOLD policy thus giving you the ability to determine within that time if you wanted to purchase the ticket or not.

Just recently (but most likely after the OP purchased his ticket) they switched to a 24hr REFUND policy.

Specifically your last statement is the most troubling as I highly doubt the OP bought a fully refundable ticket (in the US it is rare to buy a refundable ticket but not unheard of). Most likely what will actually happen is the OP will get a credit/refund less a service charge (probably $200).
neo_781 is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 2:19 pm
  #7  
 
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Originally Posted by omaralt
now first off, how can this possibly be legal
For tickets purchased at least 7 days prior to departure, the DOT requires airlines to offer a free 24-hour hold or a full refund within 24 hours of purchase. Up until last month, AA chose to comply with this requirement by offering a free 24-hour hold and was therefore not required to offer a refund within 24 hours of purchase.

In part because of customer confusion, AA has now changed to the more common 24-hour refund policy, which is actually less convenient for those of us who enjoyed being able to place a ticket on hold without any money coming out of our pockets.
ThreeJulietTango is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 2:30 pm
  #8  
FSU
 
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You can follow this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-but-read.html
on how they are handling refunds. Look at my post #291 for my experience.

Also as the previous poster has mentioned, you most likely wont get a refund based on AA's previous policy concerning holds.
FSU is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 5:12 pm
  #9  
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Thanks for all the replies guys. All airlines have a 24 hr free cancellation (I believe it may be US law) and this was confirmed by the AA rep. My issue is that once you cancel you have to call/request online a refund. IMO this shouldn't be allowed. They are obviously hoping that most people don't realize this and will not request a refund. Very sleazy practice

Edit: here is the link to the 24 hr cancellation law

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/notice-24hour-reservation
omaralt is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 5:26 pm
  #10  
tyr
 
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From the pdf you posted

"This notice provides guidance to U.S. and foreign air carriers regarding compliance with the customer service rule that requires carriers to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without payment or allow a reservation to be cancelled within 24 hours without penalty (the 24- hour reservation requirement)."

Until recently AA were offering the 24 hour hold option and not ability to cancel without penalty within 24 hours. Both methods are in compliance with the regulation.
tyr is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 5:30 pm
  #11  
 
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Originally Posted by omaralt
Thanks for all the replies guys. All airlines have a 24 hr free cancellation (I believe it may be US law) and this was confirmed by the AA rep.
this is incorrect ... please read the posts above. AA only changed to the 24HR REFUND policy last month.
neo_781 is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 5:31 pm
  #12  
 
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It would appear from the document that "...compliance with the
customer service rule that requires carriers to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours
without payment or allow a reservation to be cancelled within 24 hours without penalty"

Given the "or," I would imagine that AA's point is they are obligated to offer one or the other. When they were still doing the 24-hour reservation (without requiring payment) process, I always understood it to mean that I was not allowed any refund if I chose to actually ticket the reservation within 24 hours. As an example, I could hold a reservation for up to 24 hours and let it expire without any cost/penalty to me. Alternatively, if I chose to ticket it immediately, I was waiving my 24-hour hold option, but was also not availing myself of a non-existent (at the time) 24-hour refund policy.

Is that the rule? Or everyone else's understanding of AA's policy at the time?
OskiBear is online now  
Old May 3, 2016, 5:33 pm
  #13  
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Thanks for the info; I had no idea. However I still believe they should refund me whatever is left without having to necessarily request it. The ticket was $500. Say there was a $200 cancellation fee; I should be automatically refunded $300.
omaralt is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 5:43 pm
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by OskiBear
It would appear from the document that "...compliance with the
customer service rule that requires carriers to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours
without payment or allow a reservation to be cancelled within 24 hours without penalty"

Given the "or," I would imagine that AA's point is they are obligated to offer one or the other. When they were still doing the 24-hour reservation (without requiring payment) process, I always understood it to mean that I was not allowed any refund if I chose to actually ticket the reservation within 24 hours. As an example, I could hold a reservation for up to 24 hours and let it expire without any cost/penalty to me. Alternatively, if I chose to ticket it immediately, I was waiving my 24-hour hold option, but was also not availing myself of a non-existent (at the time) 24-hour refund policy.

Is that the rule? Or everyone else's understanding of AA's policy at the time?
Yes you are correct. When they offered the hold and you ticketed it (at any point - before or after the 24hrs) you gave up your DOT right as AA fulfilled their obligation by offering the hold time. (Now of course there always were some exceptions that they would refund within 24hrs but that was courtesy and not official policy).
neo_781 is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 5:46 pm
  #15  
 
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Originally Posted by omaralt
Thanks for the info; I had no idea. However I still believe they should refund me whatever is left without having to necessarily request it. The ticket was $500. Say there was a $200 cancellation fee; I should be automatically refunded $300.
That's not how a nonrefundable ticket works. You have the leftover credit (less change fee) to use on a future ticket within 1 year of the original purchase date.
aamilesslave is offline  

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