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American has been rolling out their new and improved Flagship Lounges, and lemme tell you…they are massively better than their predecessor. End of last year I had the pleasure of visiting the lounge in Chicago, loved it, and I just stopped by the LAX lounge while in en route to London. Let’s take a peek inside and see how it measures up against the One World lounge in Tom Bradley ( your other option if you’re traveling in business class, or are One World Sapphire).
The Deets:
- When: May 2018
- Where: Terminal 4, LAX
- Access:
- Business Class/First One World
- One World Sapphire/Emerald
- AA exempt
First Impressions.
It feels very refreshed. Even the entrance, with the same bones as before, has a brighter, more youthful feel. As with Flagship Lounges you will receive your invitation and head on upstairs.
Once upstairs you will turn left to enter the Flagship Lounge. I didn’t take pics because it was quite full of people, but there are agents there to assist you if you have any needs. Once inside you turn left to enter the dining facilities, additional seating, etc.
The dining area.
It’s split in two by a large wine/champagne bar.
There are two tables of identical options for food. Further down there was a staffed Gnocchi bar that was made to order. I added mushrooms.
The gnocchi was ok…but the food overall was very nice.
There is also hefty selection of hard liquor, as well as soft drinks, beer, coffee, etc.
There are a couple fountain soda machines as well
Heading back out…and over to the various seating areas.
While there were quite a few people in the lounge, it didn’t feel crowded. There was plenty of areas to find space to eat, relax, have a phone call, etc. Everything feels very new and bright.
Heading to Flagship Dining.
I wasn’t flying in first class, and I wasn’t flying American Airlines, so no dice. But, the reviews have been great.
What’s really cool is the hallway. It features movie stars from the ages that have flown AA. One of my faves…Liz Taylor. I MEAN LOOK AT THAT ROCK!
There are also showers…very nice.
Overall:
These lounges now compete. Is it nicer than the One World Lounge? I think it’s a toss up, honestly. I’m not sure that I would purposely come to terminal 4 as I did on this flight. The One World Lounge is nice. But the food was great, staff was nice, and certainly it is great if you hold One World Sapphire and travel a lot domestically – you get access. The food truly is a meal replacement, and it’s an internationally competitive business class lounge.
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
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 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, 2024
- $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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