ONEWORLD Emerald Status - Benifits without card?
 

Dear all,

I’m actually a MALEV Duna Platinum Member.

Unfortunately I haven’t got received my new Platinum Card yet.
Since I continue to travel on different ONEWORLD flights I’m now wondering if there is any change to receive the benefits such as lounge access, priority check-in without having the Platinum card yet. Or do I need to wait until I receive the card?

Thank you all for your feedbacks.
Regards,

No problem with lounge access as Emerald should be printed on your boarding pass. As long as your MALEV Duna number is on your reservation, and Malev's system provides the required information to the other OW carriers then Emerald should show up on your BP. That is the way it works for this AAdvantage member.

Normally you should be fine as long as the OW status is printed on your boarding pass, as aaupgrade mentioned. This is always how it works for me when accessing an Admirals Club location, as well as the CX club at CDG.

However, on recently flying through NRT, I was asked for my AA Platinum card when accessing the Qantas Club there. I reminded the agent that Sapphire was printed on my BP, but she wanted the card to be sure, or to input my FF number, or something like that.

You don't make it clear if you've had OW Emerald or Sapphire status in the previous year; if so, you might carry that card with you until the new one arrives.

Peace.

It would be better to have a letter from Malev proving your status with phone numbers of Duna Club/Malev as a backup in case the above doesn't work.

One word of caution - BA pretty much universally require the card to be presented for lounge access even for their own FF.

Hi guy,

Thank you for your kind feedback.

I will be actualy flying with IBERIA and MALEV.
Do you think with IBERIA it will be OK too? Any one have experience with IBERIA and their Lounge Acces for Emerald members withouth the card?

Thanks and best regards,

Sounds like something BA would do. I must admit, I have only used BA's lounges when flying F so all I needed was a BP. It is the CX lounges where I have been allowed in as EXP when flying J (darn regional flights). Sorry, absolutely no experience with Iberia.

I have the same issue on an upcoming trip. 23 sectors on QF, JL, CX, AA, BA and AY. I'm QFF Silver (OW Ruby) now. I'll earn Gold (Sapphire) on the 5th sector. My member year ends while I'm away (after another 2 sectors after earning Gold). I'll earn Platinum (Emerald) off the last sector.

I'll be travelling while my new gold card is sitting in the mail at home. Will any of the airlines have issues with my having a Ruby card and a Sapphire boarding pass? It is a Business class ticket.

J ticket will get you in all of the non-First Class OW lounges except days when you are only flying AA domestic (which for AA is North America/Caribbean excluding MEX).

If you are a QP member then that will get you in AA domestic lounges TTBOMK.

With you getting OW Emerald on your last sector, then no F lounges for you.

I don't think sapphire status will get you anything that your business class boarding passes will not anyway get you.

Unless the person wants to take a guest in...

No problem accessing IB lounge in MAD last week. Didn't need to show my card, and I was travelling coach on AA.

It's often that way at many BA lounges, but BA's present-the-card demand used to be far more routine in practice than it is nowadays.

I've got the following AA domestic flights, all of which would be after I get to QFF Gold:
JFK-DFW
DFW-ORD
ORD-MCO
MCO-DFW-SEA
SEA-JFK (connecting to CDG)
Are there any lounges that I would be able to use for those flights?

Don't have Qantas Club. Can get it at a discount from work, but isn't really worth it...

I'll earn the status credits needed on my flight back into Australia, but need the next two flights afterwards to get the 4 flights on QF.

I don't know.

As a non-AAdvantage Sapphire yes you should (I think), but since your boarding pass shows Sapphire and QF Gold card (Ruby) I don't know if Admirals Club gate keepers will be able to discern from that where your OW Sapphire status printed on your BP originated.

Perhaps somebody who is not an AAdvantage member could provide better insight as to US Domestic lounge access under the scenario you describe.

I had a different experience at LHR. My AA card did not arrive on time, but I did not have any issues getting in with boarding pass and email confirmation of my status (which wasn't asked in both cases).

Thank you guys for you very usefull feedbacks.
Best regards,

The times that I have used the BA/QF F class lounges the front desk has always asked to see my AA EXP card to confirm OW Emerald status.

Not anymore! Changed around Xmas time. Story goes that a BA Gold made a fuss that nowhere in the BAEC T&Cs does it say that you have to show the card to get into the lounge, so they now let you into the lounges by checking the status on your boarding card. ^

Have entered a number of Terraces and Galleries in the last few weeks without having to take my QF FF card out of my wallet.

A welcome change.

As a BA Gold (OW Emerald) I have never had to produce my card except when traveling AA domestic (without an international connection). For some reason around 50% of the time they insist on seeing the card. Never a problem getting in though, but still.

The only lounges where I've been consistently asked to produce my card are the BA ones at LHR. CX in HKG is a hit/miss. QF will let you in without a card so long as your status is already in the PNR, and this was also true when I held status with AAdvantage rather than QFF.

Check in staff are more relaxed about status benefits without card, presumably as they can see your status in the PNR. Of course a card is necessary when someone mans the queue due to crowding.

Never a problem with priority boarding without card - a flash of the BP with requisite status suffices.