Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I skip the airline clubs, but I do not travel a lot.

DS travels all the time for work and has a lifetime club membership, meaning no more recurring club cost. The club access is very convenient if traveling as a family with our 2 kids. Honestly, the biggest family benefit is access to clean bathrooms without waiting in line, but we do usually grab snacks for the kids to have on the plane. DS says the club access can be a trip saver when airline has irregular operations.

This is absolutely true. It’s a lifesaver if your flight gets cancelled.

True, but unless your flight gets cancelled regularly, it's cheaper just to buy a day pass than pay an extra $500/year just in case.

Some of the airlines limit day passes to certain credit card holders. Not as easy as it used to be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I skip the airline clubs, but I do not travel a lot.

DS travels all the time for work and has a lifetime club membership, meaning no more recurring club cost. The club access is very convenient if traveling as a family with our 2 kids. Honestly, the biggest family benefit is access to clean bathrooms without waiting in line, but we do usually grab snacks for the kids to have on the plane. DS says the club access can be a trip saver when airline has irregular operations.

This is absolutely true. It’s a lifesaver if your flight gets cancelled.

True, but unless your flight gets cancelled regularly, it's cheaper just to buy a day pass than pay an extra $500/year just in case.

Anonymous wrote:I skip the airline clubs, but I do not travel a lot.

DS travels all the time for work and has a lifetime club membership, meaning no more recurring club cost. The club access is very convenient if traveling as a family with our 2 kids. Honestly, the biggest family benefit is access to clean bathrooms without waiting in line, but we do usually grab snacks for the kids to have on the plane. DS says the club access can be a trip saver when airline has irregular operations.

This is absolutely true. It’s a lifesaver if your flight gets cancelled.

I skip the airline clubs, but I do not travel a lot.

DS travels all the time for work and has a lifetime club membership, meaning no more recurring club cost. The club access is very convenient if traveling as a family with our 2 kids. Honestly, the biggest family benefit is access to clean bathrooms without waiting in line, but we do usually grab snacks for the kids to have on the plane. DS says the club access can be a trip saver when airline has irregular operations.

OP here. Sounds like it’s probably not worth it for us. We only fly about 4-5 times a year. Probably not worth $100/trip.

Thanks for the insight!

I rarely used the clubs at DCA when I had them. Definitely more useful in other airports though. Plus the E gates are actually pretty nice and not that crowded.

I had a United Club card pre pandemic and could use it even if I was flying on another airline. They changed the rule so it was only an option if I had a united boarding pass. At that point it became much less useful because I end up on 3-4 different carriers regularly. So if the American Club is only an option if you are flying on American you really have to be traveling a lot on American flights to get value from it.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been eyeing it as well, but I’m not likely to use it at DCA. I try to slide in pretty close to boarding. I don’t find my layovers to be long enough to lounge around. Ideally I book an hour between flights. I just ran through DFW this afternoon.

Personal travel is a mix of United and AA, whoever can get me there cheap and quick.

So, still pondering.

That's the way to do it, unless you are traveling a lot on someone else's dime Especially with the miles and status being solely based on $$$ spending, and low level status having such little value, it's not worth pursuing for the vast majority of people.

I’ve been eyeing it as well, but I’m not likely to use it at DCA. I try to slide in pretty close to boarding. I don’t find my layovers to be long enough to lounge around. Ideally I book an hour between flights. I just ran through DFW this afternoon.

Personal travel is a mix of United and AA, whoever can get me there cheap and quick.

So, still pondering.

The lounge is nice but not THAT nice. The new one by the E gates is one of the nicest ones at any airport and I still wouldn't pay extra for it. The food is still pretty much meh despite the really comfy seating areas. I do love the little pods they have with the footrests. I about fell asleep in one last time.

DH travels a lot so we have the executive cards and all our 18+ kids are authorized users. It's nice but if you don't travel a lot it's really not worth it. At least in my opinion.

The card fee is now $600/year, and it's $175 to add up to 3 authorized users (even if you add just one it's $175).

You can bring a spouse and kids up to 18 for free. But if your spouse /kids travel separately from you and want lounge access, you will need to pay to add them as authorized users.

If it's been a few years since you got your current AA card, it's better to apply for the Exec card to get the bonus miles. If you just upgrade your current card you won't get the bonus. There is a lockout period where you can't apply if you recently got an AA credit card- within last 4 years. Keep the current card open until you receive the new one.

Personally I don't value lounge access THAT much, especially at DCA, because I leave little cushion to get to the gate there, and most flights we go on out of DCA are pretty short, so we often don't need to eat that much before the flight. Personally I'd value it around $15/person/visit, which is approximate value of food/drink you might get. One real value is if you have major flight issues because of weather- the agents in the lounges can work magic in finding you alternate tickets, since you don't have to wait on the phone or in a long line in the terminal.

So yeah I'd say you probably have to be flying 10+ times a year with a family on AA for it to be worth it, for the way we would use it.

The new-ish admirals club in DCA is pretty great and rarely super crowded. It’s in the new e terminal so you would want to consider where you would most fly out of. The older admirals club is still by terminal d buts it’s tired and more crowded in my experience.

I fly about once a week and that aa card is worth it to me. Club access plus I get loyalty points for every dollar spent on the card. I easily made exec platinum which led to more rides in first class.

How often do you travel? Clubs are all pretty packed these days.

I already keep the lower fee AA credit card for free checked bags. I think its about $400/year to upgrade to the card that gives us Admiral's Club. Is it worth it? Is it crowded/hard to get in?

Thanks.