scubadu

I've read this paragraph several times and I'm kinda confused with what you are actually saying here, but I guess I'll ask the obvious question; do you wish for the AA lounges to become as crowded as the Cent Lounges and then have to implement the type of policies we are discussing in this thread? Because it AA made access any "easier" than allowing up to 10 additional cardholders without more $, that is exactly what would happen. You do get that "easier" access means more crowding, right?

Regards

iahphx

No, I'm talking about the AA Admiral's Club being an ALTERNATIVE to the overcrowded Centurion Lounge. The problem right now is that it's easy to game your way into the Centurion Lounge, but difficult to justify paying for the less-crowded Admiral's Club. Like I'm not going to pay $450 for an Admiral's Club membership when I don't really have to pay for the (usually better and more prevalent) Centurion and PP lounges.

Admittedly, most people DO pay something for their Centurion access, but it's still a better deal than getting a less-valuable Admiral's Club card.

QtownDave

Add me to the confused column. How is it 'gaming' when someone pays for it?

Both clubs have pretty simple entry requirements which costs about 450 each.

mia

While the nominal cost of American Express Platinum is $550 - $450/year, the net cost after credits and retention bonuses is substantially less, and may be less than zero:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...-one-year.html

SP03

If they want to impose access restrictions, they should just set scheduled limits, like XX-XX hours of the day. So I known what to expect when I arrive at the airport. Unpredictability is the worst.

QtownDave

I forgot exactly how much I was paying per year and I never figured it out exactly but my actual out of pocket cost must be very close to zero or less.

iahphx

That is correct. It is quite gameable to get Centurion Lounge access for little or no money. It is gameable to get AA lounge access with a nice mileage bonus, but (in general) $450 needs to leave your pocket. Many of us don't bother because the lounge perks of having the AMEX Platinum card are significantly better than the lounge perks from the AA Citi credit card. PHL is one airport where this is true. Why bother getting AA lounge access when you can get in the Centurion Lounge? The only reason would be that if the Centurion Lounge is so crowded that it's unpleasant to visit, or they bar you from visiting because of over-crowding.

Kacee

Between IAP, FHR, 5x, AMEX offers, the cash equivalent benefits, plus various other benes, I'm net positive a couple thousand dollars this year. If you buy the "spend money to save money" theory that is

scubadu

And that, my friend, is exactly why these lounges are so crowded. My Amex Platinum card is via Charles Schwab, so I also get some credit towards the annual fee from them as well. Add the Uber credits, annual airline credit, etc. and we get to an incredibly low effective annual fee for this card. If people truly had to shoulder the full $550 annual fee, lounges would be significantly less crowded. It's strange to me that so many in this forum are unable to wrap their head around this; simple supply and demand. Adam Smith, the invisible hand and all that. All the other bizarro schemes that people recommend here to reduce crowding would have little effect (mainly because the recommendations are always something that impacts everyone else's lounge "use case" but conveniently leaves their own lounge usage model undisturbed).

Regards

QtownDave

For me the FedEx discount pretty much pays for the card. Everything else is just gravy and there’s lots of gravy.

But the reason for the overcrowding is that the lounge is too small. It’s not like Amex doesn’t know how many people have their cards, their home airport, their travel habits, etc.

scubadu

And you believe it's just simple to acquire abundant and limitless physical space in the worlds most popular airports? Seriously?!

They literally just expanded DFW and it's already struggling with capacity again at certain times of day.

When it comes to physical real estate in airports its far simpler to manipulate demand than supply.

Regards

QtownDave

Why would you believe that I believe that since I never said anything such thing? But that doesn’t change the fact that the PHL lounge for example is very small which results in overcrowding. Not sure why how that got translated into acquiring limitless spaces.

Perhaps it would be better if you offered your solution.

krazykanuck

the low effective AF, and the Ameriprise loophole, definitely contribute to the issue; I dont disagree.

Part of the issue IMO is the sheer level of connecting traffic at some of these airports. Add to that at DFW, AA doesn't have a Flagship lounge open at terminal D.

I think connecting vs. O&D traffic is another impact. LGA is one of the smallest lounges yet doesn't seem to suffer the same crowding fate as DFW/MIA/SEA. I think the lack of connecting traffic and it being landside cuts down on visits and shortens the stays of people who do visit

safari ari

The biggest issue with SEA is just the size and lack of other options. SEA doesn't have as much connecting traffic as DFW/MIA and is not a hub for one of the big 3. In the end people realize the value of the Amex Platinum and use it for the lounges, there just isn't enough space/supply to cut down on the crowding.

Kacee

It's all the bloggers' fault.