Is this card with the AF? I see that AA miles are worth an average of 1.35c when redemeed for flights, but other than access to the Admirals Club, the benefits seem sort of lackluster for the $450/yr AF. The welcome bonus also seems kind of weak (50,000 miles worth around $650) for $5k in spend over 90 days.
I am tempted to add another card with more lounge access, IMO the centurion lounges in many airports are becoming SUPER overcrowded. I know the platinum has access for other lounges (no longer for Admirals Club), but from the time I spent in Admirals club lounge at JFK, I did happen to enjoy it.
@FinStar wrote:
@SDMarik wrote:Is this card with the AF? I see that AA miles are worth an average of 1.35c when redemeed for flights, but other than access to the Admirals Club, the benefits seem sort of lackluster for the $450/yr AF. The welcome bonus also seems kind of weak (50,000 miles worth around $650) for $5k in spend over 90 days.
I am tempted to add another card with more lounge access, IMO the centurion lounges in many airports are becoming SUPER overcrowded. I know the platinum has access for other lounges (no longer for Admirals Club), but from the time I spent in Admirals club lounge at JFK, I did happen to enjoy it.
Yes, this is a card with AF. Did you mean 'worth'? That totally depends on who you ask and how you intend on using the card to maximize value. I had it but downgraded it sometime ago. Though, as much as I traveled on AA at the time, I never experienced any issues with using the AC lounges. All are bound or expected to get overcrowded or not provide you with a little corner of 'zen'. You always hear about Centurion lounges and the lines...oh and the 'people'...same for Delta or United. Pick your poison I suppose.
As far as the SUB, there have been elevated promotions higher than 50K in the past. Mine was either 70K or 80K years ago, IIRC. If you fly AA heavy (or oneworld airline partners), then it can be worth it if you make use of the AC lounges. Otherwise, you can look elsewhere for other CCs with lounge access.
Yes I did mean "worth", typo there. My regional aiport has an AA flight that I use pretty consistently when we travel, at the very least to get to a larger hub for longer haul flights. I have a decent spend with AA for domestic flights, especially as most of the 2+ hour trips are business/first class, so I imagine the miles would rack up pretty quickly. I guess I have to weigh that against the 5x I get with the platinum card, however.
Maybe I'll give it a little bit to see if a fatter SUB comes along, in the meantime I'll scratch my itch with the amex gold I suppose.
@wasCB14 wrote:I remember when "Admirals access when flying AA" (but not the full Admirals membership, which gives alliance lounge access) was just one of many perks on Prestige. A big appeal of the Executive card was the free AUs, but I think they took that away?
In defense of Centurion, the one I visit the most (SFO) seems to run very efficiently even when crowded. But maybe that's because it has a lot of the efficiency-minded tech crowd.
A big part of the value of Admirals access (to my mind, at least) isn't in the lack of crowding or food. It's in the quick access to experienced AA employees when things go wrong (like your flight gets cancelled and everyone is suddenly scrambling for a seat on the next one). Amex can't help there.
Thats a good point, I didn't think about that. Thank's for the input!
As mentioned above having access when things go wrong and lines are long the AC is the place to be for top service.
AU still can get into the lounges but don't have full privileges.
The card is a no brainer w/ AU's.
The lounge services of delta and aa make the traveling experience much less hectic when facing delays and cancellations.
Personal Cards: Amex Plat | Amex Delta Res | CSR | Citi AA Exec Business Cards: Ink+ | Amex BGR
As others have stated, Admirals Club access is essentially the reason to have the card, rather than just being an additional perk. I am curious as to whether the oft-mentioned overcrowding is based on personal experience or from reading about overcrowding? I'm only using SkyClub or Centurion Club about 30 times a year, but I can only recall two times out of the past maybe 100 uses where either club was what I would exactly call very crowded, but there was still no wait to get in and no issue in finding an available seat. And both lounge networks have made the bar for entry higher and made changes to limit the number of guests in recent years. I would think when comparing Centurion to Admirals, the decision might come down more to whether Centurion is available at the airports you travel through, and if they are convenient to use (not needing to change far away terminals with security exit and re-entry). For a frequent AA traveler, access likely makes a lot of sense especially with IRROPS.
OP how are you using your $200 Platinum airline credit, which airline? One compromise would be to make American your assigned airline, then pay the day fee to the Admirals lounge with the Platinum.
