American Airlines operates a slew of Admiral Clubs around the world with varying service levels. Domestic US clubs tend to offer barebones service offerings which include trail mix, cookies, bagels, olives, cheese, and fresh veggies depending on the time of day along with a mixture of cheap beer, wine, and unpalatable spirits. Everything else American likes to upcharge for, charging club members more for meals, higher quality drinks, etc.
Yet then there are a few anomalies, where at international locations Admiral Clubs tend of offer enhanced complimentary food and beverages and at some domestic lounges AA has partnered with other airlines and companies to offer guests an upgraded experience. This can be seen at the San Diego Admiral Club/Airspace lounge and the Honolulu Admirals Club/JAL Sakura lounge. Then in addition to Admirals Clubs at a few AA Hubs/focus cities, American has an enhanced Flagship First Class lounges network in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London offering premium passengers a higher end lounge. Clearly American Airlines likes to make things complicated!
As the above paragraph proves, American does believe in standardization across Admiral Clubs and likes to keep people guessing. So in honor of this, American Airlines offers a “Premium Lounge” in the E concourse which is more on par with the Flagship First lounges elsewhere in the system. Yet instead of calling this lounge a Flagship First lounge, they named it a Premium Lounge as it is shared with British Airways and Air Berlin who both operate out of the E concourse and do not offer their own lounge. By being a premium lounge, business class flyers can access the lounge, instead of keeping it reserved for only OneWorld Emerald and First class flyers.
The Premium Lounge is a mini labyrinth connected via glass hallways/skywalks, subdivided rooms, partial walls, and hidden cubicals. The main areas of the club include a bar which is not staffed (all alcohol is self-served), a buffet area, media rooms, a small planetarium, sitting areas, work stations, and bathrooms and showers.
The Premium Lounge is by far among the best OneWorld lounges at Miami and is open to all premium passengers flying Air Berlin or British Airways, along with Sapphire and Emerald OneWorld members on qualifying itineraries. Also, do note that Admiral Club members with flights departing from concourse E are also allowed to access this lounge (and should as it’s WAY nicer than any of the Admiral clubs). The lounge is open daily from 1pm to 11pm, connected airside to terminal D and should not be missed if you have a layover in Miami—as this premium lounge truly belongs in the category of Flagship First lounges.
view from lounge
More from this trip
- Around the world in First for 120,000 miles
- How much did my 120,000 mile + $300 ticket really cost?
- Courtyard Airport Hotel – Mexico City
- American Express Centurion lounge Mexico D.F. terminal 1
- American Airlines Admirals Club Mexico D.F.
- American Airlines Premium Lounge Miami
- Saloon VIP Terminal J Miami
- Tam Farewell to First Class B777 Miami (MIA) to Sao Paulo (GRU)
- 15 hours in Sao Paulo 15 Hours In Sao Paulo – Graffiti, History, Laughter, and Caipirinhas
- LAN TAM VIP Lounge Sao Paulo Terminal 3 (GRU)
- TAM “Business” Class B777 Sao Paulo (GRU) to Paris (CDG)
- Marriott Champs-Elysees Paris
- Malaysia Airlines “First class” lounge Paris – ICARE Lounge
- Malaysia Airlines First Class A380 Paris (CDG) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
- Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – First Class lounge
- Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur Regional Golden Lounge Review
- Cathay Pacific First and Business Class lounge Kuala Lumpur (KUL).
- Cathay Pacific Regional Business Class A330 Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Hong Kong (HKG)
- Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Hong Kong (HKG)– The Wing
- Cathay Pacific First Class B777 Hong Kong (HKG) to Los Angeles (LAX)
