TRAVELSIG

This is a bit of an understatement- at the AA "Admirals Club" i have found very little to "eat" that does not come in a plastic package. The lounge at EZE is also on my top 10 list of "worst lounges in the world" and even to drink there is nothing but warm beer.

eponymous_coward

Er, US isn't selling 100,000 EQM/RDM. They just wave a magic wand and call you a CP.

Also, CP includes some upgrades similar to SWUs.

Oh, and please tell me where I can redeem 90,000 AA miles to fly the following itinerary in C class: SEA-ICN(overnight)-HKG(stop)-BKK(overnight)-FRA(overnight, could have taken stop)-SEA, if you're going to get all about US redemptions. Because I've booked that using US miles. Incidentally, I've never had elite status on US. Ever. Never flown US for more than a few thousand miles a year.

Anyone who thinks that US miles don't have good value for redemptions is pretty clueless about the value of US miles.

MAH4546

All AA clubs have complimentary wine, beer and house brand spirits (premium brand is complimentary in clubs outside United States/Toronto).

Yes, I know.

US does not give eight SWUs that can be freely transfered and used on any fares. It gives two upgrades. And for some audacious reason it's the only way to use elite upgrades on Hawaii flights, while AA treats Hawaii upgrades like any other domestic flight (yet another reason to be excited about AAdvantage - you'll have real first class service to Hawai'i and can use regular elite upgrades to enjoy it).

I'm not denying that US miles can be used on a wider variety of options, Star Alliance is the largest, after all.

I am saying that AA miles are easier to redeem. Finding low-level redemptions isn't a chore like with everybody else.

peetahvw

Thanks for the response - and welcome to FlyerTalk. I'm really curious about the PHL Admirals Club because it is co-operated with BA (and the one time I was there the staff mentioned they were contracted). It does seem like the nicest lounge in PHL (compared to the giant US clubs in B and A but with better food, and leaps beyond Delta and United clubs)

That's one of the areas where Star Alliance has a VERY generous policy - LH clubs are actually accessible when traveling domestically, even with paid membership (and definitely with status). Although not amazing the SAS/LH club in EWR, and the LH clubs in IAD and DTW provide a decent spread.

Per my earlier comment, that would be sad to lose the BA/AA club in A - its much easier to get to (the US club has the escalator to nowhere), and the catering there is excellent.

jamar

Without a reliable free way to check availability on the Asian carriers, yes it is. At least with *A you have united.com and the ANA tool.

TRAVELSIG

The ONLY thing to drink at all in the very overcrowded lounge at EZE was warm beer in the can (no glasses available). Hardly what I would call "flagship service". The AA "club"/lounge in GRU is not much better but at least has a somewhat functional espresso machine (self serve) and usually has some fresh fruit.

And what about Heathrow where the majority of people prefer to go to the CX lounge or DEN where the BA lounge started to ask AA customers NOT to come in as they were getting overloaded- hardly the signs of a strong lounge program.

perseus11

IMO, BA will not close their Lounge and the existing US clubs will simply change to AA clubs. The BA lounge is designed to uniquely support their premium business services - including their pre-flight Supper services and is only available, by contract, to AA card holders until 7PM. The shared club was intended as a temporary measure while AA (before merger mania) moved from A-East to "D" and developed another Club there. Also, with the One World change, BA will possibly add 1 or 2 additional LHR flights, or at least up-gauge the one 767 to a 2nd 777 and need more club space. Add to that, at least 1 additional One World carrier (QR) will be entering PHL next year and will need access to either an AA or BA (more likely) lounge.

MAH4546

That's a lie, but believe what you wish. If you want to argue that AA lounges suck, fine, go ahead, you can have your opinion. But don't blatantly lie about the amenities that are offered.

I'm not denying that foreign carriers - which don't run on a membership system like U.S. airlines (and Qantas) - have better lounges. But what AA offers is vastly, ridiculously superior to the pathetic attempt of US Airways to offer a lounge.

And, by the way, AA and BA co-operate a lounge in Denver. Interesting to know that BA lounge attendants redirect customers to the same exact lounge. What's that conversation like?

dsquared37

If one uses US DM for an award and that is subsequently cancelled after Nov 1.... will they be assessed a cancellation fee if they have AA status?

TRAVELSIG

Thanks for all the friendly comments and the objective conversation- getting called a "liar" is a new first and certainly is a significant intellectual challenge in terms of raising the bar on the conversation. Anyway please excuse me that the airport I was thinking of was DFW and not DEN. I do tend to get confused when speaking of USA airports as they all have the common themes of unnecessary security queues, typically very poor infrastructure, often concepts which were outdated since 1970, and lounges quite below anywhere else in at least EMEA and APEC areas.

This being said- I cannot really think of a reason I would "lie" nor "believe" regarding an airport lounge and rather simply report on what I have found. Please do go visit the new EK lounge plaza at terminal A Dubai and then go to an AAdmirals Flagship lounge for a first class flight. Or look at the massive threads here on Flyertalk about the Lufthansa lounge complexes in Frankfurt and Munich. Or even the Concorde room at London Heathrow. Or even the Maple Leaf Lounges at either Toronto or Montreal.

Or perhaps just pickup this new thread right here on the AA Forum thread on "which lounge to choose" where the common knowledge appears to be to avoid an AA lounge if possible:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...fw-lounge.html


In terms of the US Airways lounge at CLT I have found in general that at least it has some decent food which you can order off a menu and has one or two areas where it is not necessary to listen to the television at high volume. My very few visits to PHL I do also recall that it was not too bad at all- something I really could not say about for example the lovely AA clubs at ORD where it appears that at least bathroom cleaning is an optional exercise. And I cannot complain too much about this upcoming merger as combined with the daily nonstop from VCE with US and the upcoming also entrance of QR (which also by the way has a premium lounge concept at DOH far beyond anything I have seen anywhere in the United States of America) which has double dailies from VCE- it will be very easy to keep my BA gold card renewed for years to come which presumably is what we want for all of our fellow FTers.

Personally i won't be defending any airline nor their lounges- that just doesn't fall under my job description.

NiceLanding

Getting back to the broad categorization of US/*A lounges vs. AA/1W lounges, I haven't found any great difference between US and AA lounges as a whole, but there is a lot of variability to both and each generally does better at their hubs. In my experience, US and UA have an edge over AA with free snacks, but AA is way ahead on the quality and variety of food for sale. At ORD, where UA & AA go head to head, the greater number of UA lounges is nice, but they all seem to be quite overcrowded these days.

As an EXP traveling internationally, the biggest difference for me is access to the 1W First Class lounges at major hubs, which I did not get with *A as a 1K on UA. This is worth far more than the few LH or other carrier lounges in the U.S, which most of us would never find convenient to use anyway. You can also complain about AA Flagship lounges not being up to international standards, but they're still a lot better than the domestic lounges that UA gives me for international trips.

aamilesslave

I really doubt 'most' of us even have a membership in the US FF program. I also doubt very many members on this board have ever purchased miles in any FF program.

ExpatExp

Being based in LHR, OW is by far the best alliance for my travel patterns. *A has much more limited options.

^ to the merger as it should expand my options from LHR. to the merger due to concerns about decreased customer service standards and customer experience with incoming US management.

dcpatti

Such outrage over setting status top-offs! Because there are no shortcuts at AA. if you get status, you EARN it, of course. Every AA MM/2MM got that way from actually flying, and not from dragging dollar coins to the bank.....

There was an earlier post along the lines of "we can argue all day about whose pig has the brightest lipstick. But at the end of the day, it's still a pig."

nall

You misunderstand.

The DFW lounges are actually quite nice compared to the majority of domestic airport clubs, but AA does not operate a premium (Intl First Class) lounge at DFW like they do at their other hubs.