Good news for AA travelers to/from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska that belong to the Admirals Club. Club members can now access the Alaska Airlines Board Room in Seattle, Portland, and Anchorage when traveling on an AA operated or marketed flight. Go to aa.com/acexpandaccess for more details.
This is especially good news for Seattle AA’ers who’ve been without an Admirals Club for a few years, itself, a disappointing turn of events after the new Club in Seattle had not been open for that long. According to AA’s website, it’s working on other club access options for members. I wonder if they’ve begun to notice a dent in memberships now that they admit Amex Platinum and Centurion Card members?
Thinking a speck further, these AS joint arrangments devalue the AC offering for some, as now there are cities where non-AC members won’t have access. Both non-AA OW emeralds and sapphires can access AA’s clubs, as well as Amex platinum/centurion card members…but they can’t access these AC-reciprocal clubs. Same situation for AA pax flying internationally in a premium cabin but originating or transiting through one of these AS cities.
Amex access is a net positive to AA, as there are approaching 1mm platinum and centurion cards out there. The per visit fees that AA collects from this large set is far greater, in my estimation, than the foregone revenue from those that let membership lapse as a result of the free access. Further, though at the margin, the Amex club program probably steers a bit of incremental traffic to AA. If I’m an infrequent flyer, and there are two flight options at the same price, one which gets me AA lounge access and one that doesn’t, AA is probably… Read more »
Oh, I’ve thought all along that Amex access must be a net positive. Knowing AA like I do, there’s no way they’d do it if it wasn’t. While the per-visit fees Amex pays AA aren’t anywhere near what they collect from a random day pass, I expect that AA is still coming out OK on this in the long run. When my Admirals Club membership expires at the end of June, I certainly won’t avoid AA now because of a lack of lounge access since I have my Platinum Card. In the end, even though I’m flying AA less overall,… Read more »