Fly 4K Extra Miles for Lounge Access?
Debating the best way to keep my US Airways/American Airlines Lounge access next year. Fly cross country one more time or keep my Citi Executive AAdvantage Card?
I logged into my US Airways account this weekend to check my status and discovered I am about 4,000 EQMs away from hitting the 125,000 EQM mark.
But once I made Chairman at 100,000 flown miles, I didn’t really care how much farther I went. But for fun IÂ looked at what the extra perks were.
I’ll pass on the US Airways Vacation discount, but a Free US Airways Club Membership and nominating someone for Gold Status was pretty nice. But is it worth flying an extra 4,100 miles when I have no additional trips planned for the year?
So I looked at my other options for American Airlines/US Airways lounge membership:
1. As a Chairman I could buy membership outright at $350
2. My Citi Executive Aadvantage Card offers lounge access and has an annual fee of $450
Since lounge access is the main reason I was keeping the credit card, clearly it’s time to cancel since the other two options are more cost effective.
So should I buy membership or fly the extra miles? Alot will depend on airfare prices for cross-country flights and how hectic my schedule is, but I’m leaning towards flying. If I can get a ticket for $400 or less I’ll be getting a much better deal:
- US Airways Club Membership
- Nominating someone for Gold Status
- 8200+ US Airways miles (4,100 earned + 100% Chairman bonus)
In the past I’ve had to do the math on whether to fly or buy up to US Airways status, I never thought I’d fly enough that I was analyzing the best deal for lounge membership. 🙂
What about you? What elite status decisions/calculations are you making?
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U.S. Air/AA clubs are a joke, so I wouldn’t. You would be better if buying a couple of day passes (outside of any free ones you may have) to ensure you are covered in an IROPS situation. Remember, as an OW emerald you already have access to clubs when flying international (which is the only time you may actually book a long layover).
Cancel Citi card and sign up for another one. Even at $450 for 50,000 miles, it is a better offer than any other choice.
There are some great fares to California the first two weekends of December for about $250. I personally don’t do mileage runs, I do In n Out burger runs 😛
Remember that you can also earn EQMs with the Citi Executive card. Those may come in valuable depending on your travel for next year.