noddie09

Hi Everyone,

Starting from tomorrow, I am due to fly in & out of T5 4 times in the next 6 days. I will be crediting all my CE flights to BA in order to try and reach Gold later this year. However, I am currently an Executive Platinum member (OneWorld Emerald) with AA since the recent promotion. Will I have have issues just displaying my AA membership card to use the first wing / galleries first lounge?

Obliviously I don't want to rock the boat and my boarding pass will just show me as a BA silver member.

Thanks

UKtravelbear

Emerald is fine to use the first wing and you end up in the F lounge without needing to show it again

trueblu

I have to be honest, in the days when I had BAEC status, but was trying to build up status in AA and crediting there, flashing a card didn't work. I would have to register my BAEC status (lowly silver) for my flight to get lounge access, and then ask for it to be changed to my AA number prior to boarding...which sometimes worked, and sometimes didn't. Does "flashing the card" work? Everytime I use the First Wing (as AA EXP), they scan my BP multiple times...surely it would bleep "do no let pass Go" if the BP showed OWS...

tb

noddie09

This is exactly what I was worried about. Is it going to cause needless delays and several questions!? I guess I will give it a go and see what happens. I appreciate all the replies.

flatlander

There is no problem using an AA card to enter the First Wing while crediting the flight to BA.
Simply present your boarding pass and AA card and say something like "Hello, I would like to use this card for access to the lounge today but keep the BA number on the reservation".
The converse situation also works.
The staff are quite used to it and it does not cause any delay.

trueblu

useful to know..

tb

noddie09

Thank you very much @flatlander

orbitmic

I suspect that's true. OP will ultimately get his way through after credentials are checked, but whether the time added for that makes this any better overall than just going through the regular fast track is a bit dubious in my view.

WickedStepMother

HIDDY

....a celestial orgasm perhaps?

WickedStepMother

chris87

noddie09

Thanks @chris87 - The F lounge isn't very important to me. I am just looking to get through security asap and head straight to my gate. One of my flights will be to Dublin and I know the gate will be directly below the F lounge so the aim here is to save time and spend as little time at the airport as possible. If I was flying from T3 I would arrive 5 hours early

orbitmic

… but my point is that precisely, those credential checks are not equivalent. Going through the normal fast track, OP would need to explain their circumstances once, at the entrance of the F lounge to people who normally know eligibility well. Going through the F wings, it is potentially three times that they would go through checks where their credentials would not be "obvious": the entrance to the F wing, and then two consecutive scans which I believe would normally beep red. That's assuming that the OP is travelling HBO as otherwise a fourth potential discussion could occur at the check in counter. In my view, the main entrance to the F wing will be no problem as the OP could just waive the card. The two scans are next to each other so it is possible that he could in principle be waived through the second after discussing the first, but in my view, the discussion will be a bit less cursory than the entrance of the lounge though it is just a guess.

There is of course not much between the two, but my point is that at most times there isn't much between using F wing or normal fast track - in fact, as someone fully eligible to use the F wing, I often pick the North fast track instead and I couldn't say that it is any slower, if anything, the route is even more straightforward for me (but in fairness my destination as I have the CCR card I don't have the addition of going down and up from normal security).

corporate-wage-slave

It's the same either way, yes the checks are equivalent, the scanners are just placed in different places. The last scanner in the First Wing doesn't check for lounge access, and it's the same as the scanner at Flight Connections - it's just a Ready to Fly Scanner, it doesn't check for eligibility. The scan before that in the First Wing, at the BA staffed podium before security does check for eligibility, and is the same as the First Wing lounge entrance by Elemis, same criteria. Then finally I assume your third check point is The First Wing entrance area itself - not that I have ever been stopped there - that is the same as the Rover staff at the top of the escalator between Flounge and Elemis.

If heading to the First Lounge after connecting it is at least 2 minutes quicker via landside and the First Wing on connections, purely from the geography, it's a straighter line to do that rather than going around the shops. Assuming of course that the e-gates are operating swiftly, which is usually the case.