Eurynom0s

I currently have a Chase Sapphire Reserve that I'm thinking of downgrading to a Freedom or Freedom Unlimited, and an Amex Biz Plat that I'm leaning toward canceling. This would leave me without Priority Pass or any other kind of lounge access, but it also means that getting an AA Exec card would not amount to spending money that I'm not already spending and would actually on net be $450 less than I'm currently spending on AFs. So between the AF being a wash in my situation, the signup bonus, and the lounge access I'd get from an AA Exec likely being more immediately useful to me than PP given that most of my flying is with Alaska, it got me to thinking about getting the AA Exec card. But I've literally never been inside of an Admirals Club, so I'm posting this to try to avoid making this decision blind to the quality of the lounges I'd be getting into.

In case the answer to my question will depend heavily on the specific lounges I'd be using, my main two airports are LAX (where I could use the card to get into the Alaska Lounge without having to roll the dice on the "no PP" sign being out) and EWR (at EWR, Alaska uses the A terminal where the Admirals Club is).

Thank you for any feedback on this.

donotblink

LAX has two pretty nice spacious admirals clubs. They do have the guacamole bar there, so there's some value there if you like guacamole. At both EWR and the LAX clubs, you'll get cheese cubes, carrots, snow-peas, hummus, a grain salad, two soups daily, house wine & beer, and a few other things. Nothing to write home about but can make a layover a little better. The EWR club is very small, but I've never seen it get very crowded.

lds89

Have you been in an Alaska lounge? (your post makes it seem that you might have at LAX). If so, the Admirals Club will be very similar - free basic beer / wine / well drinks; light snack foods (cheese, crudite, two soups, etc).

The T5 LAX lounge is very nice, it's the ex Delta Sky Club. They do avocado toast there in the morning and guacamole to order in the afternoon, and it's never that crowded. T4 is smaller than it used to and does get quite crowded. I can't speak to EWR.

IME the priority pass lounges outside of Alaska lounges tend to have nicer alcohol (mid-tier spirits and nicer beer) and sometimes have better food (the Club at's usually have a more fulsome salad bar or finger sandwiches) but the flip side is they're always absolutely slammed, even more so than ACs. The ACs usually also have some food for sale if you're looking for something more substantial (sandwich, salad, some hot options).

I'd also say the AA lounge is very useful if you have any issues with your flights, as I've had lounge agents go above and beyond - protecting me on future flights, etc. And you avoid having to wait in line on the phone or in person at the service desks in the terminal.

Eurynom0s

I've been in the LAX Alaska Lounge a bunch of times so yes, that's a perfect comparison point for me. Thank you a bunch for this response. Based on my past flying habits I think the LAX AC I'm most likely to wind up in is the one in the satellite American Eagle Regional Terminal (at LAX I'm much more likely to wind up using it to get into the Terminal 6 Alaska Lounge), but between Global Entry, Clear, and almost never checking a bag, I tend to have less than an hour to kill anyhow, so Alaska Lounge-level amenities are usually more than enough for me.

One last question I have here is that I know that I'm able to start getting into the ACs as soon as I'm approved for the card by supplying my AAdvantage number and don't need to have the card with me to get in. Do you have any idea if that works with the Alaska Lounges as well, or will I need to have the physical card with me to get into those?

LovePrunes

You you state that most of your flying is on Alaska. keep in mind that in November 2019 you won't be able to get into an admiral's club without a flight on American that day. Check the thread on here about new Admirals Club restrictions. They might affect your decision

Eurynom0s

I'm likely to cancel the card after the first year anyhow, but I thought that an Alaska boarding pass would be accepted given their lounge partnership with American and the fact that I didn't specifically see Alaska listed anywhere when I saw these changes announced? I couldn't find the FlyerTalk thread you're discussing when trying to search for it just now, but it says right on the AA page about this:

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...membership.jsp

worldwidedreamer

Both the CSR and AA Exec cost $450 a year, but the CSR comes with $300 of travel credit. If I were you I'd keep the CSR with PP access and spend $300 of travel credit buying an AS lounge membership which as an MVP will cost an extra $75 the first year and $25 each additional year. You get to keep PP access and for nominally more can use AS + AA and a bunch of other lounges.

worldwidedreamer

Also---Admirals Clubs have showers which are a dream after a red-eye.

lds89

this is incorrect. As OP notes below - this restriction will not be going away for Alaska as Alaska is a partner of AA. As long as you have an AS marketed OR operated flight you'll be fine.

Others may answer better than me but I know that I got in about a week after I used my business extra points to get a membership. I'd imagine as soon as you see the Citi Exec card show up in your profile you'll be on file. Usually takes a few weeks to get the physical card. If you don't have the AC card when you goto the AS lounge, I do know they can call AA to verify your AC membership, but some club agents may not be willing to do this. Just so you know - the AA regional lounge is very small - the T5 / T4 lounges are much more spacious, and the regional one doesn't have showers. Still has a full bar though and similar food offerings (no guac though).

Eurynom0s

Thanks for the suggestion, this is a great idea for what to do a year from now when it comes time to decide what to do with the AA Exec. For this year though I'm still leaning toward the AA Exec since it looks like I can sign up for a 50k/$5k signup bonus and then match it to 70k/$5k. And I don't expect to really be anywhere this year where having PP in addition to the AC access would be the difference between whether or not I'm able to get into a lounge.

Thanks. Knowing about the potential dice roll on the Alaska Lounge agents not wanting to call to verify your membership if you don't have your card probably won't make a huge difference in my timing but it's still definitely helpful to be able to account for it. As for the AA regional lounge at LAX, not having a shower won't matter for my travel habits and considering I'm always leaning toward not wanting to risk getting screwed by cutting it too close with the shuttle buses over to the satellite terminal, I always wind up sitting in that miserable satellite terminal for longer than I'd like, so I think I can live without the guac in that situation since it'll still be a nice upgrade over sitting out in the satellite terminal.

C17PSGR

If you're using the satellite terminal at LAX, there's only one choice. It's fine but no guac ... now that I think about it. And .. they sometimes only give me one drink coupon. Nice staff though.

Eurynom0s

This drink coupon thing is for if you want the alcohol you normally have to pay extra for, right? There's still a basic alcohol selection that you can get without one of these coupons, and just by being in the lounge?

lds89

Correct. Coupons (AA calls them chits) are for premium drinks (mid-tier liquors, better beer or wine). Well liquor, bud light / miller light, and house red / white still free without chits

C17PSGR

Yep.

If you're flying international or a member of the Qantas Club, you are supposed to get two of them. At DFW, MIA, JFK, and LAX main, they know to give me two. In CLT/PHX/ORD, they give me one and I ask for two.

And I do like the little Eagles Nest AC

IggySD

Dont think you need to worry about the willingness of AS lounge agents to check your Admirals Club membership details by calling. Ive entered several times without a card and they have been more than happy to take the initiative to make the call. AS staff in general are an anomaly in that they are friendly.

I would argue though that if youre primarily using the lounge in the Eagle's Nest it is absolutley not worth the annual fee. Last 5 or so times Ive been there in summer and fall its been crowded, full of screaming children and loud with the TV blaring. The actual Nest itself was much more peaceful.

With the increase in price and general sadness of the Admirals Clubs I wont be renewing. Much better value out of a card that gives PP and / or Centurion access. I agree with the poster above who suggested using the travel credit to offset a Boardroom membership. Much better value as you'll still have access to AA and AS lounges plus PP which seems the primary goal.