A $1400 status run from the US to Panama and back

[QLD'r]

Sitting in the flagship lounge at LAX, awaiting my first flight to DFW. I have 6 first class and 2 business class flights a head of me!! going to be an interesting a couple of days!

 

[gogo419]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Sitting in the flagship lounge at LAX, awaiting my first flight to DFW. I have 6 first class and 2 business class flights a head of me!! going to be an interesting a couple of days!

Live update trip report as you go??

 

[kempvet]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Sitting in the flagship lounge at LAX, awaiting my first flight to DFW. I have 6 first class and 2 business class flights a head of me!! going to be an interesting a couple of days!

What are they offering menu wise (complimentary) there in the Flagship lounge, as I remember last time I was there it was very basic, do they have any hot stuff?

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Yeah, I've gone with the carry on for that reason. Also I'm only in the states for 5 days before flying back to BNE, so I don't need much gear anyway...
Although, TSA pulled me aside, turns out my Jason Bourne book, which was sitting under my apple charger was a security threat.... they swabbed my backpack!

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Live update trip report as you go??

Yeah can do. The first class lounge is almost empty, its very quiet here... Food wise, not much at all... I was here a year ago and it was the same then... There is heaps of booze and snacks, so I'm quite happy. It is 1120PM here and my next flight is at 110AM. My next leg is LAX-DFW-IAD, where I will spend the night and hopefully have enough time to hire a car and see some sights!
I flew in from BNE/SYD this morning at 1030am on VA. I used points for a Y ticket, thankfully I was upgraded to Y+ at the gate.

 

[gogo419]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Yeah can do. The first class lounge is almost empty, its very quiet here... Food wise, not much at all... I was here a year ago and it was the same then... There is heaps of booze and snacks, so I'm quite happy. It is 1120PM here and my next flight is at 110AM. My next leg is LAX-DFW-IAD, where I will spend the night and hopefully have enough time to hire a car and see some sights!
I flew in from BNE/SYD this morning at 1030am on VA. I used points for a Y ticket, thankfully I was upgraded to Y+ at the gate.

Sounds good! Enjoy the flight and get some sleep!!
gogo

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

So I've made it to Dallas, just loading up on coffee at the A/C lounge before I jump on to my next flight to IAD. 1am flights are a killer. Not a fan of the MD83, the last flight and the next are the only ones with this metal. All remaining flights will be in the 738's. Must point out that in-flight wifi works a treat - 10 bucks for the day. Fast and no drop outs. Works well on laptop and iphone. Right must dash - stay tuned for IAD.

 

[gogo419]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

In respect to travelling on AA, as a QF WP you have entry rights to any open AA A/C or F/L you can physically access at the departure airport for your AA flight on the day of departure.

That's AA flight number on AA or (otherwise) oneworld metal and for a QF WP there's no difference between being on an 'international' or a 'domestic' AA flight.

Serfty, thanks for this information. Are the lounge angels/dragons trained to allow QF WP in? Or do they try and tell you, that you have to be traveling O.S?

Thanks
Gogo

 

[kempvet]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

The AAngels are fantastic, so much so that they will direct you to the Flagship lounge if you want to go into the ordinary AC, had this exact experience at JFK. I only had a short time between flights and couldn't be bothered walking to the Flagship Lounge at Gate 16.
The only caveat is you should always carry and be prepared show the WP card with your AA BP as KUPP fares without non-AA OWE don't get access to the Flagship Lounges

This was my experience also at ORD recently, the angels went to great lengths to explain that I did not need to slum it in the A/C lounge when I was WP and gave me directions to the Flagship Lounge at ORD. Also the same at LAX, handed me the white card to swipe the door open to the FL. As Fiona has already stated, it is far easier if you have your WP card.

 

[kempvet]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Sitting in the flagship lounge at LAX, awaiting my first flight to DFW. I have 6 first class and 2 business class flights a head of me!! going to be an interesting a couple of days!

If you are going through MIA, make sure that you try the lounge in terminal E, takes a little effort to get there so you need to be organised in advance if you have a short stop over, but far better than the other A/C lounges at MIA

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

So leaving dallas, pilot advised us that the air speed indicator was playing up, so we waited almost 2 hours on the tarmac. Because of this, I cancelled my afternoon exploring in DC and passed out at one of the airport hotels. Lack of sleep caught up. Its now about 1030pm here and my next flight is at 6am to miami. I'll have 1 hour at MIA before leaving for Panama City.
IAD no longer has an A/C which is a shame, and the BA lounge does not open till the afternoon.

Kempvet - I will stop at that OW lounge on the way back from PTY.

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Made it to Panama, such an interesting place - I took a 4 hour tour of the canal and old city etc, well worth it! No lounge in PTY but there is free wifi so I'll survive the wait for my flight back to miami.
During my stop over at miami yesterday, I did not have enough time to go to the A/C, the flight from IAD landed at gate 1 and I had to run and take a train to get to gate 43. That is one bloody long terminal! The flight down was interesting, no direct flight to PTY, aa had to make a dog leg to get around cuba's airspace!

Next stop is Miami where I have a 9 hour layover.. just enough time to hire a mustang and take a quick drive down the the Keys! I will visit the OW lounge later tonight and I'll report in then.

 

[Fifa]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Next stop is Miami where I have a 9 hour layover.. just enough time to hire a mustang and take a quick drive down the the Keys! I will visit the OW lounge later tonight and I'll report in then.

Wow - that's one long drive if you are going all the way to Key West. You'll certainly be pressed for time.
We did the drive last year but stayed overnight.

I'm hoping to try out the OW Miami lounge next month.

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Yeah, I won't be going that far! just to key largo and islamorada. just enough time to get some air, seafood for lunch, and maybe a swim!

Wow - that's one long drive if you are going all the way to Key West. You'll certainly be pressed for time.
We did the drive last year but stayed overnight.

I'm hoping to try out the OW Miami lounge next month.

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Looks like you're having a great trip. Thanks for the updates. I'll second the plaudits for the Terminal E OneWorld Premium lounge in Mia: I visited in June (and I really love the brass inlays in the floor in MIA too, if you couldn't tell from my avatar pic) :

Mia lounge

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

I'm back at MIA, and I'm sipping on a beer in the OW premium lounge - such a nice break from the A/C lounge.

My arrival into MIA was a bit tedious. I was pulled aside at the customs check, obviously due to my 1 night in PTY. I was out in 2 minutes, my story just sounded stupid, they did not even want to read my qantas docs etc, so they just x-rayed my bag and let me out. I was expecting this to happen, but its never easy when CBP tell you to step aside and follow "that" man. However, after this unstelling experience, I walked into avis to get my hire car only to find a bright yellow camaro sitting in my allotted preferred car park! Such a great way to drive down to the Florida Keys! Windows down with the stereo playing ACDC far too loud! Anyway, I have 3 hours in this lounge before I walk down to AA and fly to Washington - so I must explore this lounge!

PS - Just before the passengers were allowed on the PTY flight to MIA, we all had to open our bags with the "cops" performing searches - poor girl, asked me what was in my bag, my reply was dirty washing....

 

[kempvet]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

The flight down was interesting, no direct flight to PTY, aa had to make a dog leg to get around cuba's airspace!.

This is what I thought initially, but since then there have been many times when I have flown with AA directly over the western end of Cuba. Usually I am in and out of MIA within a couple of hours, next time, I will look for a few hours stay at MIA, never thought of renting a car for the day to visit Keys, sounds like a good idea.

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

This is what I thought initially, but since then there have been many times when I have flown with AA directly over the western end of Cuba.

I have to take that statement back, on the return trip we passed over Cuba! So maybe they were taking advantage of winds or avoiding storms on the way down.. Guess I'll never know..

 

[QLD'r]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

Hey, can anyone confirm if I can enter terminal 5 at LAX to use a lounge even though my VA flight back to AUS leaves terminal 3? I'm going to try the A/C at terminal 4 when I land from dallas, but I won't be surprised if they say no. I have an 8 hour layover and I would love to have a shower before the long flight back. I spent some time in LA on the way through so I'm not interested in a hotel or a short trip away from the airport.

I'm back at Dulles waiting for my flight to Dallas. This will be my second last flight with AA during this status run, it's certainly been interesting, and thankfully I'm not too tired. Although, that may change once I land in BNE!

 

[gizzard]

Re: A Platinum Flight for $1400

I'm losing track of all of this. It appears to be a travel blog rather than a thread about an amazing $1400 Platinum status. A fun trip though.