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Quick Tip: LAX Terminal 4 check-in trick
Using LAX Terminal 4 check-in can save you a lot of time. Since Terminal 4 is THE American Terminal it’s very well staffed and has several priority counters for business, first, and elite members. There is also a large main cabin check-in area, but the priority boarding area ( which is given to all Citi Plat, Exec, and Barclay Red and Silver cardholders) makes your life much much easier. That check-in area is adjacent to TSA PRE which makes that whole process faster than other American terminals.
Typically if you’re flying domestic you’ll be flying out of this terminal anyways, but occasionally they will have you fly out terminal 6.
Terminal 6, at this point, is a mess. The check-in has been completely mishandled, I’ve often waited longer in the priority line than those in the main cabin lines. Ugh frustrating. So you could probalby save time checking in through terminal 4 and using the connecting hallways to terminal. However, Terminal 6 isn’t the place where you can save the most time
If your flight is leaving out of Tom Bradley, skip the mess, and check in at terminal 4
I’ve had a few American flights that have left out of TBIT: My American Airlines Business Class 777-300ER Review: Los Angeles to London left out of Tom Bradley as did my LAX-MIA when my 5 Hundos WERKED!!!! That review will be coming soon, but hot diggity I do love the 777-300ER business class.
Any flight that has an AA flight number can check-in through Terminal 4. I highly recommend doing it for the following reasons:
- shorter lines
- Use TSA PRE
- easy walk to Tom Bradley
Check-in at TBIT can be heinous and security is an absolute bear. Sometimes you can fly through it and other times it is a LOOOOOOOOOONGGGGG wait. You also can’t use your TSA PRE – so why even bother if you have an AA flight number. Just go to T4 and walk across.
Once you leave security you will see the T4 terminal to the left and a sign for TBIT
Keep going forward 
Pass the cool view of Jumbos
And soon you will see Lounge Heaven =)
Do yourself a favor and use Terminal 4!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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