My favorite Admirals Club at DFW is in Terminal A., and one of the reasons is because it offers a ‘secret’ room. Well actually it’s not a secret, but so few people notice it (or even know about it) that it might as well be a secret.

Before Terminal D opened in 2005, Terminal A was the international terminal. Because of this, the Terminal A Admirals Club offers more amenities than a typical club, it’s much larger (it almost never gets crowded), it has some of the best shower facilites, and even features a fitness center.

At one time it also included a Flagship Lounge for international First Class passengers. It was decommissioned a few years ago but the space is still there and it’s open to anyone, but since few pople know about it, it’s never crowded and offers a lot of privacy.

It’s tucked away from the rest of the club, and if you don’t know to look for it you’ll probably never even see it. Here’s how to find it.

The Admirals Club is located across from gate A24. When you enter, you’ll be greeted by someone at the reception desk. After you check-in you go up the elevator to enter the lounge.

When you exit the elevator you’ll see the Admirals Club AAngels right in front of you at the reservations desk. Look to your immediate left (and nearly behind you), you’ll see a door just to the left of the stairwell. Go in through that door to find the ‘secret room’ that was the former Flagship Lounge.

There’s a small bathroom and a conference room, and other than that, there isn’t anything remarkable about the area.  You will, however, likely have the whole room to yourself. Here’s a look.

If you’re interested in seeing the rest of the Terminal A Admirals Club, including the workout room and the Business Center, the Weekly Flyer has a photo tour. Go here to check it out.

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The LAX Admirals Club is hosting an event today that I’m sure would earn the Weekly Flyer’s approval:

LAX Mixing It Up with Matt 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Matt Martinez is a liquor industry veteran with over 20 years experience. Matt spent 16 years behind the bar and has run the beverage programs for both the Beverly Hills Hotel and Gordon Ramsay. Matt has been awarded the titles of Grand Mixologist by Travel and Leisure Magazine (2007) and Top 10 Trend Setting Mixologists 2008 by Beverage Media Group. He has been featured in periodicals such as the Robb Report and Los Angeles Times Food & Wine section.

Matt currently works as Brand Development Manager and Mixologist for Young’s Market Co. He will be working with the LAX bartenders today from 3 – 6. See you at the bar!

Go here for full details.

Photo: Martini
Credit: Chris Palmer on Flickr

Between now and December 21, some of American’s Admirals Club lounges will be hosting Member Appreciation events:

Ready For a Little Pre-Holiday Cheer?

Please join us for the fun and festivities! Admirals Club celebrates you with Member Appreciation Days sponsored by Citi Executive / AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard.

Special events will be held in the Admirals Club lounges in Los Angeles, New York Kennedy (JFK) – C, Chicago O’Hare H/K, Dallas/Fort Worth C and D, and Miami D-30 from November 15 through December 21, 2012.

According to the Member Appreciation Days page on AA.com, there will be a Citi Executive / Advantage kiosk set up at each of these clubs and:

Special gifts will be available for all visitors to the kiosk.

Admirals Club members and Citi Executive / AAdvantage cardmembers will receive special premium gifts – just show your membership card or Citi Executive / AAdvantage card.

Some of the planned events include  wine tastings, omelette stations, and pasta stations. They’re all complimentary and sponsored by Citibank.

I’m going to be at one of the Admirals Clubs later today, so I’ll let you know if I see anything interesting.

Let’s just hope that it turns out to be more than just a shameless credit card promotion like this one from Points, Miles, & Martinis! <tongue-in-cheek>

If you’re thinking about joining the Admirals Club here’s a good reason to wait a few days: American is offering new members 3,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles starting November 1:

You are invited to become an Admirals Club member. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you can enjoy an oasis of peace – away from all the airport hustle. It’s easy to become a member, just register for the promotion using promotion code QPN12.

Then purchase your new annual Admirals Club membership by by December 31, 2012 to earn 3,000 AAdvantage miles.

From the terms and conditions:

• AAdvantage members must register for the promotion using promotion code QPN12 and become a new annual Admirals Club member between between November 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012 to qualify for the 3,000 AAdvantage miles.

• Membership must be purchased online. Offer not valid for in-club purchase.

• This promotion is not valid for 30 Day Membership, renewal annual membership or adding a spouse to an existing Admirals Club membership.

Use this signup page to register for this offer and to purchase your new membership.

The LaGuardia Admirals Club has been completely renovated.   I was there back in late April or early May, and they were almost finished with it, but still had some parts of the club under construction.

I was passing through LGA not long ago and had a chance to see the finished project: it’s looks good.

The old club was dark (or so it always seemed that way, but then again I’m almost always on the one of the last flights of the evening) and it always felt cramped.

The new club seems better lit with more open space. I’m sure I’m completely wrong about the design elements and time period, but it has this Birth of the Cool, dawn of the Jet Age look and feel.

Anyway, I happened to be there on a slow day, so I thought I’d take a few photos and share them with you.

Some Hanging Beaded Curtains give the LGA club
a pre-Austin Power, pre-swinging 60′s look.

The “wall” that separates the lobby from the man seating area.

The lobby.

New Club Cafe area

Cafe counter

More Club Cafe seating area.

Club Cafe in the foreground. Business Center in the background.

Reception area. View of the club from the cafe.

Round, hotel lobby looking, sofa thing.

New and comfortable chairs.

Main seating area.

Magazines and refreshment station.

TV room (back view).

TV room (front view).

More TV room (front view).

This one’s for Points, Miles & Martinis!

Nice new mens’ restroom. I’m sure the ladies’ restroom is more palatial.

Another photos of the mens’ restroom.

The view looks as good as ever.

That’s the end of our LGA Admirals Club photo field trip. What do you think?

By the way, this week is a religious holiday of sorts: it’s OU/Texas week. Stop by the blog on Friday for a Red River Reader Giveaway!

The Bogota Admirals Club will soon join the list of American Airlines lounges closed this year. From the AA website:

As we move our operations to the new international terminal, the Bogotá Admirals Club will permanently close its doors on October 18, 2012.

While there will be no lounge access available for Admirals Club members and oneworld qualifying guests for a period of time, we are excited to announce that Admirals Club members and their guests plus oneworld qualifying guests will enjoy access to a new LAN lounge when it opens in spring 2013.

Earlier this year the Admirals Clubs in four other airport were closed: Panama City, Washington Dulles, Kansas City, and Santo Domingo.

The closing of the Bogota club brings the total number of locations down to 28 domestic and 9 international.

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There’s still time enter the Win a Seat with Randy Petersen Giveaway for a chance to join him on the 4th annual Star MegaDO in November.

Twenty-six BoardingArea bloggers are participating in the promotion. You can increase your odds of winning by entering each blogger’s giveaway (limit one entry per blog).

If you haven’t already entered my contest, go here to read all about it.  You might even win one of the new American Airlines amenity kits!

Good luck!

Photo: Bogota, Columbia Admirals Club
Credit: American Airlines on Flickr

American announced an update of their Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge access policies for passengers traveling in First or Business Class on transcontinental flights. Here’s a look at the new rules:

Traveling on a Non-Stop Transcontinental Flight?

Beginning September 1, 2012, access to the Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge will change for customers traveling on an American Airlines non-stop transcontinental flight.

If you are traveling in the First or Business class cabin in one of the following non-stop markets, we welcome you to visit the lounge as indicated below.

For many (if not most) of American’s premium class non-stop, cross country passengers this is good news: these simplified policies are much easier to understand.

Compare these new rules to the policies that they replace:

Transcontinental Premium Class
Transcontinental flights are American Airlines marketed and operated non-stop flights between the following cities:

Boston / Los Angeles
New York (JFK) / San Diego
Los Angeles / Miami
New York (JFK)/ San Francisco
Miami / San Francisco
New York (JFK)/ Seattle
Newark / Los Angeles
Washington Dulles / Los Angeles
New York (JFK) / Los Angeles
Washington Reagan / Los Angeles (effective June 14, 2012)
Passengers eligible for access must provide their government-issued ID and a ticket or boarding pass valid for departure on the same-day.

Full-Fare First Class traveling on nonstop, three-class transcontinental flight (booked in F or Z inventory)

Full-Fare First-Class traveling nonstop on two-class transcontinental flight (booked in F or Z inventory)

Business Class traveling on nonstop, three-class transcontinental flight (booked in J or U inventory)

Passengers who have upgraded to First Class do not have complimentary access to the Admirals Club lounge or Flagship Lounge facilities, where available. Passengers booked in F or Z inventory on U.S. non-stop transcontinental flights are invited to use either the Flagship Lounge facilities, where available, or the Admirals Club lounge.

Big difference. The old polices were just way more complicated than they needed to be.

Of course for passengers traveling on transcontinental flights to/from Newark, D.C., Seattle, San Diego, Boston , the news isn’t so good.

I’m not sure why American decided to exclude those people, but my guess is that either the clubs in those markets are too small to accommodate all those passengers, or that financially it was the sensible thing to do. Actually, it’s probably very likely that it was for a combination of both reasons.

I’m a little surprised though that premium class passengers traveling between DCA and LAX will no longer have Admirals Club access. American just started non-stop service between the two cities in June, and I would have guessed that given the prominence (and influence) of many of the people on that route, that American would have included them in the updated policies. But maybe it’s not that much of an issue…

Here’s a link to the new access policies.

So what do you think?  Are you impacted?   Share your thoughts in the comments section and have a great weekend!

Just came across this Admirals Club new membership promotion:

Join Admirals Club and Earn 3,000 AAdvantage Miles
Register for offer and join by June 30.

You are invited to become an Admirals Club member. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you can enjoy an oasis of peace – away from all the airport hustle.

It’s easy to become a member, just register using promotion code QPM12. Then purchase your new annual Admirals Club membership by clicking on the Purchase Now button below by June 30, 2012 to earn 3,000 AAdvantage miles.

From the terms and conditions:

AAdvantage members must register for the promotion using promotion code QPM12 and become a new annual Admirals Club member between April 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012 to qualify for the 3,000 AAdvantage miles. Membership must be purchased online. Offer not valid for in-club purchase. This promotion is not valid for 30 Day Membership, renewal annual membership or adding a spouse to an existing Admirals Club membership.

Go here for complete terms and conditions or to sign up for this offer.

I’ve been looking for an active discount code.  No luck.  Let  me know of one that I missed.

Photo: Chicago/ORD Admirals Club
Credit: Michael Coté on Flickr

I was at the Admirals Club the other day and noticed a countertop advertising stand with a 4X AAdvantage Miles offer from Avis.  You won’t find mention of it on AA’s website or at Avis.com, and it’s marketed as an “Exclusive Offer for Admirals Club Members” but nowhere in the terms and conditions does it mention that a membership is required.  

Here are the details:

• Now through August 31, 2012, American Airlines AAdvantage members can earn quadruple AAdvantage miles on rentals of 1 or more days at participating airport locations in the U.S. and Canada.

• Use coupon # MUAA063 and provide your AAdvantage number at the time of reservation or at the rental counter to earn your AAdvantage bonus miles. Quadruple AAdvantage miles are calculated using your AAdvantage base miles multiplied by four for every day you rent with Avis.

• This offer is in addition to your everyday savings of up to 25% when you use AWD # K817170.

The standard Avis earning rate is 50 AAdvantage Miles per day, so with this promotion you’ll earn 200 miles each rental day.  From the terms and conditions:

• Quadruple American Airlines AAdvantage miles valid on a qualifying rental of one or more consecutive days at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S. and Canada.
• Offer of quadruple AAdvantage miles is valid on daily and weekend rentals.
• Mention coupon MUAA063 to get this offer.
• Quadruple AAdvantage miles equal 200 AAdvantage miles per rental day.
• Offer valid on all car groups.
• An advance reservation is required.
• Offer may not be used with any other coupon, promotion or offer except your AWD discount.
• The savings of up to 25% applies to the time-and-mileage charges only.
• Use AWD K817170 to receive this discount.
• Taxes, concession recovery fees, vehicle license recovery fee, customer facility charges ($10/contract in CA) and fuel charges are extra.
• Optional items such as LDW ($35.99/day or less) and other surcharges may apply and are extra.
• Offer is subject to vehicle availability at the time of rental and may not be available on some rates at some times, including some online rates at Avis.com.
• Car rental return restrictions may apply.
• Offer subject to change without notice.
• Holiday and other blackout periods may apply.
• Renter must meet Avis age, driver and credit requirements. Minimum rental age may vary by location. An additional daily surcharge may apply for renters under 25 years old.
• Rental must begin by August 31, 2012.

There’s another offer from Avis of 1,500 AAdvantage Miles for a 3 day rental, which is a better deal if you’re renting for 3 to 7 days.  Single, 2 day, and 8 day rentals will be better off with the 4X miles.

Go here for complete details.

In case you missed it, a shameless plug from yesterday’s post:

Earlier this month, American launched a new Facebook promotion: share your favorite AAdvantage tip for a chance to win 5,000 miles. If you haven’t entered yet, hurry – the deadline to submit your entry is approaching:

Want the scoop on the best ways to maximize your AAdvantage membership? Read these top tips submitted by AAdvantage members like you! Got a tip to share?  Submit your tip now through 5/1 and you’ll be entered for a chance to win 5,000 AAdvantage miles. On or around 5/23, we’ll select our 10 favorite tips to win.

There’s even a blogger component to the promotion: five bloggers (including me) were asked to offer their favorite AAdvantage tip.

Here are the details: the blogger with the tip that gets the most votes will win 5,000 AAdvantage Miles for themselves and 5,000 AAdvantage miles to give away in a reader contest of some kind (for the record, if I win I’ll donate my 5,000 miles to AA’s Miles for Kids program).

I’m flattered that I was asked to take part in a promotion with The Frugal Travel Guy, The Weekly Flyer from Points, Miles & Martinis, Mommy Points, and Matt Long at Landlopers, so this is pretty exciting to me.

There are lots of good suggestions on the AAdvantage Facebook pages, so go read them, submit your own AAdvantage tip, and vote for your favorite expert advice (look for the “Expert Tips” tab)!

Earlier today, American announced their plans to eliminate 1,200 non unionized jobs to “to achieve the necessary financial savings by implementing sustainable, structural changes that will position our airline to compete and win. Like other workgroups, the ARP workgroup has been tasked with reducing annual employee costs by 20 percent, or $95 million.“

That 1,200 people will loose their jobs is obviously more important, but also announced as part of AA’s plans, the closure of five Admirals Club lounges:

Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Kansas City International Airport (MCI), Santa Domingo (SDQ) and Panama City (PTY) was based on a comprehensive analysis of American’s current Admirals Club network relative to our future lounge strategy, competitive positioning, facility investments, long-term and operating costs.

IAD, MCI and SDQ Clubs will close effective end of business July 31, 2012. The Panama City (PTY) Club will close end of business June 30, 2012

We expect no reduction in force for Premium Services beyond the impact of the Club closure. All current Premium Services employees will have a position and – in some cases – be eligible for new positions with the new tier system.

The Admirals Club website has been updated with the information.   After the closures, American will have 38 Admirals Club facilities around the world.

For an excellent summary of today’s announcements, go visit Terry Maxon’s blog at the Dallas Morning News.