American Airlines operates Admirals Clubs at more than thirty airports across the globe. While there is a good chance you’ve seen, or even visited them from time to time, I wanted to break down the Admirals Club access requirements and what you can expect inside.
As far as airline lounges in the United States go, I find American’s Admirals Clubs to be fairly middle of the road. While some lounges are better than others, I find that they tend to slot in behind Delta’s Sky Clubs and ahead of United Clubs.
While some Admirals Clubs are dated, American is in the process of redesigning its Admirals Clubs with a gorgeous new aesthetic featuring natural wood and dark leather furniture. These lounges are currently open in:
- Denver (DEN) Concourse C
- Newark (EWR) Terminal A
- Washington Reagan (DCA) Concourse E
Admirals Clubs feature complimentary food, snacks, drinks and alcoholic beverages (premium alcohol is available for purchase). The lounges also have complimentary Wi-Fi, American Airlines AAgents, and a variety of seating options. American has Admirals Clubs available at the following airports:
- Atlanta (ATL)
- Austin (AUS)
- Boston (BOS)
- Buenos Aires (EZE)
- Charlotte (CLT)
- Chicago (ORD)
- Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW)
- Denver (DEN)
- Honolulu (HNL)
- Houston (IAH)
- London (LHR)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Mexico City (MEX)
- Miami (MIA)
- Nashville (BNA)
- New York-Kennedy (JFK)
- New York-LaGuardia (LGA)
- New York-Newark (EWR)
- Orange County (SNA)
- Orlando (MCO)
- Paris (CDG)
- Philadelphia (PHL)
- Phoenix (PHX)
- Pittsburgh (PIT)
- Raleigh/Durham (RDU)
- Rio de Janeiro (GIG)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Sao Paulo (GRU)
- St. Louis (STL)
- Tampa (TPA)
- Toronto (YYZ)
- Washington-Reagan (DCA)
American Airlines Admirals Club Access
There are multiple different ways to access Admirals Clubs ranging from qualifying premium cabin tickets to credit cards.
Admirals Club Memberships
The most straightforward, though not necessarily the best, way to gain access to American Airlines Admirals Clubs are by purchasing an annual membership. These can be purchased using cash or American AAdvantage miles. Pricing is dependent on the type of membership you purchase (Individual or Household) and whether it’s a first time purchase or a renewal.
Discounts are also available and are determined by the purchaser’s status level in the AAdvantage program. Prices range from $700-1650 annually or 70,000-165,000 miles depending on the type of membership and status level.
Annual memberships allow access for the membership holder and two guests. Memberships can be purchased online or at any Admirals Club location.
Qualifying First and Business Class Flights
American Airlines offers complimentary Admirals Club access to passengers traveling in First or Business Class on a qualifying departing or arriving international, transcontinental or domestic flight marketed and operated by American, a OneWorld airline or marketed by Aer Lingus and operated by American.
Qualifying international flights are classified as flights to or from the United States and the following locations:
- Asia
- Australia
- Canada
- Caribbean
- Central America
- Europe
- Mexico
- Middle East
- New Zealand
- South America
While Alaska Airlines is a member of OneWorld, access is not granted when flying on flights operated by Alaska from the United States to Canada, the Caribbean or Mexico.
Domestic and Transcontinental qualifying flights must be ticketed as Flagship First or Flagship Business in order to access Admirals Clubs. Currently, as of this publication, flights between the following cities are eligible for access:
- New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX)
- JFK and San Francisco (SFO)
- JFK and Orange County (SNA)
- LAX and Miami (MIA)
- LAX and Boston (BOS)
- Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW) and Honolulu (HNL)
- DFW and Kona (KOA)
- DFW and Maui (OGG)
- Chicago (ORD) and HNL
- Phoenix (PHX) and HNL
International First Class passengers are allowed to bring one guest into the lounge, provided that they are departing or arriving via a OneWorld flight.
Qualifying AAdvantage Elite Members
AAdvantage Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro and Platinum members can access Admirals Clubs when traveling in any class of service on flights marketed and operated by American, its OneWorld partners, or marketed by Aer Lingus and operated by American between the United States and:
- Asia
- Australia
- Canada
- Caribbean
- Central America
- Europe
- Mexico
- Middle East
- New Zealand
- South America
Qualifying AAdvantage members are allowed to bring one guest into the lounge if they are traveling on an arriving or departing OneWorld flight. Passengers traveling on flights operated by Alaska Airlines from the United States to Canada, the Caribbean or Mexico are not eligible for access.
OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire Members
Members of various airline programs within the OneWorld alliance can access Admirals Clubs if they hold Emerald or Sapphire status and are traveling on any OneWorld carrier regardless of class of service. The only exception to this is travelers that have OneWorld status via Alaska Airlines as some limitations are placed on their access.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP Gold 100K, 75K and MVP Gold members can access Admirals Clubs on flights between the United States and the following destinations regardless of the cabin of service:
- Asia
- Australia
- Central America
- Europe
- New Zealand
- South America
Qualifying Mileage Plan members can enter on qualifying transcontinental flights, regardless of cabin, as long as the flight has seats ticketed as “Flagship”. Note that not all flights on the following routes are marketed with “Flagship” service:
- New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX)
- JFK and San Francisco (SFO)
- JFK and Orange County (SNA)
- LAX and Miami (MIA)
- LAX and Boston (BOS)
This is my preferred way of entering Admirals Clubs, and American Airlines Flagship Lounges via my British Airways Gold status, though that will be going away later this year.
One-Day Pass
American offers day passes for access to its Admirals Clubs for $79 or 7,900 AAdvantage miles. Passes can be purchased prior to your trip or in person at select lounges. Even if you purchase a one-day pass online, access to the Admirals Club may still be unavailable depending on crowds.
I’d only recommend purchasing a one-day pass if you have multiple stops with long layovers at airports where American operates Admirals Clubs. I can’t think of a single one that’s worth $79 to visit. The only caveat is if you are traveling wit children under the age of 18, as three children can accompany the passholder free of charge.
Citi/AAdvantage Executive Credit Card Holders
The most common way of accessing Admirals Clubs is by having the Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite credit card. The card has a $595 annual fee, which is less than the lowest level Admirals Club membership available for purchase.
The card allows the cardholder, immediate family (spouse, domestic partner and/or children under 18), or up to 2 guests access to domestic and international Admirals Clubs as long as they are departing or arriving on a flight that is marketed or operated by American, or marketed and operated by any OneWorld airline.
Authorized users on the card also gain access to the lounge and are allowed two guests as well. You can add up to three authorized users to the card for $175 annually. Additional authorized users can be added for $175 each.
United States Military Members
While no one joins the military so they can access an Admirals Club, at least I hope not, American offers access to U.S. military personnel traveling in uniform on flights operated by American. Immediate family (spouse, domestic partner and/or children under 18) or up to 2 guests are allowed.
This covers domestic and international Admirals Club locations except for the following locations:
- Airspace Lounge in San Diego (SAN)
- JAL Sakura Lounge in Honolulu (HNL)
Summary
While I assume most people reading this site will access Admirals Clubs using the Citi/AAdvantage Executive credit card, via status with a partner airline, or on a qualifying First of Business Class ticket, I hope this guide was informative for those unsure of how to gain entry.
Just from doing the research on this post I learned a few new things myself, like the fact that American offers lounge access to passengers traveling in First or Business Class on flights to Canada and Mexico!
As access requirements change we will continue to update this post to include the most up to date information available.