How To Get Into American Airlines Admirals Club Lounges

by joeheg

I’m sure it’s just one of the strange coincidences of the universe that just a few days after writing a post about how the Admirals Club lounge at Orlando International Airport was telling Priority Pass members that they were not welcome, I received an email inviting me to the American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge.

a man sitting in a chair with a laptop

The special offer the proposed wasn’t all that special.

Try before you fly
Experience everything the Admirals Club® has to offer with a One-Day Pass – only $59. Buy a One-Day Pass

Bonus: If you buy a One-Day Pass then decide to purchase a membership, you’ll get $50 off your membership if purchased within 30 days of use.

So if I pay $59 for a one-day pass, you’ll give me $50 off if I decide to purchase a yearly membership that costs $650? Even theme parks have the decency of applying the entire cost of your single-day ticket to the cost of an annual pass.

That’s not to mention that the best way to get access to the American Admirals Club lounges is to get the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard.

For a $450 annual fee, you get access to nearly 50 lounge locations worldwide for you and your immediate family (or up to 2 traveling guests that accompany you). I’ve had this card in the past but we just weren’t flying with American enough to justify the annual fee for lounge access.

If you are flush with AAdvantage miles, you can also spend 65,000 miles for a membership, getting a penny per point. Not the best use for your AA miles but if you have more than you can spend, it could make sense.

American Airlines doesn’t give automatic entry into the club to their top-tier members, but they do lower the price or number of miles to buy a membership if you are a Gold member or above.

Finally, If you’re flying on an international or qualifying transcontinental First Class or Business fare, you’ll get access to the Admirals Club before your flight.

While having a Priority Pass card might not get you into these lounges, there are several other ways to gain entry. A day pass might make sense for a one-off use, but otherwise, you’d be better off getting the Citi AA Executive card than paying for a membership.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary

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