American Is Closing Three Admirals Clubs
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American Airlines has announced today that they’ll be closing three Admirals Clubs as of October 15, 2018.
The Admirals Clubs that are closing
Specifically, they’ll be closing the Admirals Clubs in Hartford, CT (BDL), Greensboro, NC (GSO), and Caracas, Venezuela (CCS).
American says that they’ve made this decision while trying to “strike the right balance of providing the level of service our customers have come to expect while keeping our costs in-check.”
Currently American has more than 50 Admirals Club locations around the world, so this isn’t a huge closure, or anything. Of course this greatly impacts those who frequently travel through these markets. I’ll admit I don’t study Admirals Clubs that closely, but I actually had no clue that any of those airports had Admirals Clubs, so…
The best way to access Admirals Clubs
For those of you who want an Admirals Club membership, your best bet is the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®. The card has a $450 annual fee and is currently offering a welcome bonus of 75,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $7,500 within three months.
The card offers an Admirals Club membership for the primary cardmember, which is an excellent benefit. This means that you can visit Admirals Clubs regardless of which airline you’re flying, and you can bring in two guests or immediate family members at no extra cost.
Ordinarily $450 is the absolute lowest cost you’d see for an Admirals Club membership if you’re a top tier elite, so that’s a good deal in and of itself. But it gets better than that.
With the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® you can add up to 10 authorized users to the card at no additional cost, and they get Admirals Club access as well. Those people can then access Admirals Clubs with up to two guests or immediate family members even when they’re not flying American.
Getting Admirals Club access for up to 11 parties with one card is an incredible opportunity.
American Admirals Club Toronto
Bottom line
It’s unfortunate to see three Admirals Club locations closing, though in the scheme of things that represents only a small portion of their lounge footprint. I actually hadn’t realized American still had an Admirals Club in Caracas, though I guess it makes sense.
While Admirals Clubs are nothing exciting, I do generally find that they’re not that crowded nowadays, so I often find myself visiting them when I’m just looking for a quiet place from which to work.