pitcarin

Did a search but couldn't find the answer. I am an AA flyer but have Two questions

1. I am flying MCI-IAH-SAP on an award ticket in First-shows (E) on my confirmation. Assuming that means First and not Business/first.

Will this get me free access to the Presidents club in IAH?

2. On the return from SAP, because of availablility of award ticket in first I will have a long layover in IAH. I have since seen an earlier connection out of IAH on an RJ but when I spoke with a CO agent they said "Co does not allow standby on award tickets" and I need to stay with the original ticketed itn. Is this correct?

sbm12

Yes. You are flying in F on an int'l itinerary. Supposedly CO is removing Mexico and Canada from the eligible int'l routes, but Honduras should still be OK. It does not matter that you are on a reward in this particular case.

I'm pretty sure that once you are in en route the stand by thing won't be a problem, but CO won't make that change for you now unless the availability is there and you pay whatever change fee you may need to pay. If you don't get the earlier flight you can still hang out in the PClub, since you're still on an int'l F itinerary. You also may have to convince the GA that you don't mind flying on the RJ even though you're on a F ticket.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

PC admission is allowed on BF destination basis. Honduras is not BF.

markk

Do you get access to the presidents club with that ticket? Technically it is not international, but it is an official business first ticket.

pitcarin

this is what is throwing me on the PC access:

On the CO web site it says the following:


"BusinessFirst customers are also welcome to visit the Presidents Club. A BusinessFirst boarding pass is required for admission. BusinessFirst customers can also bring up to two guests, or a spouse and children under the age of 21. Domestic First Class or International Business Class do not qualify for admission. "

so since my ticket says "First", the question becomes: is SAP considered domestic? If it is then I guess the answer is no access. But if it is considered international and the ticket says "first" rather than business/first then the answer should be yes for the access.

mbreuer

I believe the answer is no, it's not Businessfirst. Pulling up the schedule, the flights are currently operated with a 737. BusinessFirst is available on 757-200, 767's and 777's.

CO 1E

Yes. This is an oft-discussed issue on this forum. If traveling BF to or from HNL, one gets access to the P Club.

Jaimito Cartero

I've always gotten PC access for myself and or any family members flying Intl F, paid or reward, usually to Costa Rica. This was even before the SkyTeam Elite+ came into play.

I'm pretty sure that the OP will be allowed in.

Jaimito Cartero

As Ed McMahon would say, "You are cooooreeeect".

Unless I've eaten too much Valentine's chocolate, I'd say that the CO folk are pointing you in the wrong direction.

channa

As for catching an earlier flight, it depends if you have bags.

If you do not have bags, it will not be a problem.

If you do have bags, collect your bags in IAH, and proceed to the rebooking/recheck counter. Talk to someone and advise them of your desire to SBY for the earlier flight. They can put you on the standby list and should print a tag that puts your bag on the earlier flight. NOTE: the agents there may see that your bag is already tagged and encourage you to just toss on the recheck pile and leave. DO NOT DO THIS. If you do this, your bag is going on your original flight, and you will NOT be allowed to go early. Tear off your bag tag if you feel pressured to just dump it on the belt.

You could try to set this all up in SAP, but I don't speak Spanish, and I get frustrated too easily in these situations with non-native English speakers, so I always wait til I'm in the U.S. But you may have better luck than I do...

pitcarin

I don't have checked bags so I will just try to standby for the earlier flight and hopefully they will let me on it.

However, I will still have 3 hrs in IAH and by the looks of the responses it looks like it is 50/50% whether or not I will be allowed to guest into the PC. still looks like:

1. business/first gets in(assume this applies to intl. only)
2. domestic First doesn't
3. international business doesn't

and since I am "first" but not yet determined whether or not SAP is considered int'l then seems like that is the determining factor. So:

1. If SAP is not intl'-then my F ticket doesn't get me in.
2. IF SAP is intl'-then my F ticket gets me in

correct?

Jaimito Cartero

Is wagering allowed? I'll take $20 on the entry being okay.

UA Insider

Hi pitcarin, the short answer is yes, you’ll be allowed into the Presidents Club. The topic of “what type of ticket gets you into the Presidents Club” does come up often, so here’s a quick reference for which types of tickets will work, and which ones allow guests.

• International BusinessFirst customers. If you’re traveling on, connecting to or arriving from an international flight where you’re confirmed in BusinessFirst, your boarding pass will get you and up to two guests or your immediate family into the Presidents Club. For this policy, “international” does include Hawaii.
  
  
• International First Class customers. If you’re traveling on, connecting to or arriving from an international flight where you’re confirmed in First Class or International Business Class, your boarding pass will get you into the Presidents Club, but with no guests. Lounge access in these cases is limited to the date of the international First Class flight. For this policy, “international” does include Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In all of the above cases, it doesn’t matter if you’re on a paid ticket or a reward ticket. You’ll even get in if you’re confirmed in international First Class from a complimentary Elite upgrade.

crnk

So, would this also apply on CM flights through PTY that are EUA'd? I'm doing JFK-PTY-SCL, and it would be pretty awesome if a potential EUA would earn PC access in JFK outbound (same terminal issues?) and PTY either way. Seems like CM would operate the same as CO in this respect, but possibly not...

BenjaminNYC

OT, but I thought CO referred to this as International "Business" Class (not BF)?