American Airlines operates out of several hubs across the United States that include Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas Fort Worth in the United States of America. As American Airlines operates in the One World airline alliance, it is a major competitor to United Airlines who operates in the Star Alliance airline alliance. We would get the opportunity to explore their American Airlines Admirals Club at their Miami International Airport – Terminal D, prior to our early afternoon departure to the Caribbean.

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This post is one chapter on our trip during the pandemic to Curaçao in the Southern Caribbean. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge – North Terminal Concourse D Terminal Gate D30, Miami International Airport, Florida, United States of America

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We arrived to Miami on an American Airlines First Class Dallas Fort Worth – Miami flight. After a great visit to The Centurion Lounge Miami, we wandered over to the American Airlines Admirals Club near Gate D30.

There are two American Airlines Admirals Clubs at the Miami International Airport. There is the Admirals Club at Gate D15. Our visit today was to the American Airlines Admirals Club at Gate D30 in the D Concourse North Terminal at Miami International Airport.

The Admirals Club at Gate D30 has a shared reception for the American Airlines Flagship Lounge, which is also co-located at this space.

Locating the American Airlines Admirals Club:

The lounge is easily located in the Miami International Airport North Terminal, D Concourse near Gate D30. The lounge was centrally located and conveniently located near the intersection of many directions at Miami International Airport.

We easily found our way to the lounge, using well marked overhead signs that pointed our way towards the Admirals Club and the Flagship Lounge.

Eventually, we made it to lobby reception and the entrance on the left hand of the concourse.

On arriving to the American Airlines Admirals Club, we were processed at reception which was located on the ground floor.

Accessing the American Airlines Admirals Club:

Thanks to complex lounge access rules in the United States where memberships are offered, it’s a little more challenging than most countries to access American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge. American Airlines also offers among the more restrictive access between the three airline alliances of One World, Star Alliance and Skyteam.

Access to the Admirals Club is permitted under the following circumstances:

The most likely way into the American Airlines Admirals Club is through a qualifying First or Business Class flight to an international destination. The qualifying destinations include:

Flights between the U.S. and:

• Asia
• Australia
• Canada (not always found on the eligibility list)
• Caribbean (not always found on the eligibility list)
• Central America
• Europe
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• South America

Access can be granted through select international itineraries. While Caribbean access is not normally on the list of international itineraries, we were able to gain access through Caribbean flights “for a limited time”. Normally, American Airlines considers international flights of the longer haul variety which include Southern South America, Europe, or Asia. Flights to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Northern South America are not always included. 

If you’re in International First Class, you are entitled to bring one guest under this category.

You can also get in with Qualifying transcontinental flights as flights with seats ticketed as Flagship®, including flights from Los Angeles to:

• New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX)
• JFK and San Francisco (SFO)
• JFK and Orange County (SNA)
• LAX and Miami (MIA)

Qualifying AAdvantage® Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro and Platinum, and qualifying One World Emerald and Sapphire level members to the above international destinations are also permitted access.

Admirals Club® members, including annual and lifetime members, Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard^® primary cardholders, ConciergeKey^SM members and AirPass^SM members with Admirals Club privileges. If you have a paid annual membership, this allows you access to:

• Domestic and international Admirals Club locations
• All Alaska Airlines Lounges (when departing on flights marketed and operated by American or Alaska Airlines)
• All Qantas Clubs (when departing on same-day flights operated by Qantas, or operated by American out of Auckland, New Zealand or Sydney, Australia)
• Select partner lounges operated by third parties (on same-day flights operated by American)

You can also purchase a day pass for a visit in advance or at the counter for $59 USD. The day passes sales are based on lounge capacity constraints.

In short, there are many ways to get in, if one can figure out the assortment of complicated access rules. Our access today was courtesy of the International Business Class ticket status of our American Airlines ticket.

Our boarding cards were checked on the concourse level. After we had passed the reception, we were invited up the stairs or the elevators to the Admirals Lounge on the left of the stairs.

There is a grand looking white staircase in the reception area which made a nice statement, but I didn’t actually see anyone using it. It had an institutional look to it, versus a grand elegant appearance. We took the elevator up one level to the top floor to the lounge level.

Inside the American Airlines Admirals Club:

At the top of the stairs, the American Airlines Flagship Lounge was on the right and guarded by two reception attendants. We proceeded over to the Left for the Admirals Club Lounge.

Wandering into the reception area of the American Airlines Admirals Club, we wandered past the first small reception seating area that consisted of approximately a dozen chairs.

There was also a magazine rack area, which featured the Destination magazine. The Destination magazine featured mostly real estate of Caribbean markets.

I’ll hand it to American Airlines for imagining a better use of the reception space. Most lounge entries feature less than exciting corridor space that doesn’t offer any seating. Here, they’ve actually used the space to invite passengers into the lounge.

Lounge Seating:

Inside the lounge proper, there was one large space portioned into four zones. Two zones by the windows featured lounge seating space. The lounge seating itself was pretty institutional and functional in nature. While it offered a bright space to sit, the space was pretty austere and functional in nature. Bright seating surfaces made the place look somewhat lively. Overall, the place had a feel of an office cafeteria.

Stretching around the space, the lounge offered different seating compartments. Dependent on position, the views were of the airport apron, or through the rotunda to the airport concourse one level below.

The lounge offered some tinted views of American Airlines aircraft on the apron below. This made for a different view than my usual Star Alliance routes of the competing one world aircraft.

Working your way through the lounge, there was lounge seating that also offered views into the rotunda overlooking the concourse walkway below.

Eventually making your way back to the main lounge area, consistent with a major city lounge in a hub airport, the spaces were pretty busy.

Dining Area:

There was also a small dining zone which was located in the central portion of the lounge. The dining area featured high top counter space.

There was a small bar area that offered the opportunity to get a mixed or well drink. It featured televisions which are very common in lounges in the United States.

In summary, the lounge offered a large amount of compartmentalized places to sit, and was designed in a manner that offered more smaller seating areas, instead of one large area.

Food and Beverage:

The Admirals Club did not feature a whole lot of complimentary food between meal times. It appeared that some of the main food serving hours were limited to set meal times. As we were departing, the lunch food was being put out. During our stay, there were some light snacks offered.

There wasn’t a whole lot of snacks offered. The amount of food available was a “take it or leave it” type of scenario.

While the bar wasn’t open during our visit, American Airlines Admirals Club offered scan by table menus for drink offerings. They offered some simple table wine along with Miller Lite and Heinkein as the house beers. Many of the other beverages were at charge.

They also offered a number of plated menu items during meal periods that ranged from $12 to $16 USD a plate.

We had a brief stop before our American Airlines Business Class Miami – Curaçao flight. Despite the lounge being a reasonable place for a hub lounge, I preferred the food and wine set up at The Centurion Lounge Miami much more than this particular Admirals Club location.

My Thoughts on the American Airlines Admirals Club Miami :

While the American Airlines Admirals Club is a reasonable offering for an American Airlines Hub Lounge, it’s a pretty institutional place without much flair or personality to it. The Admirals Club offered a quick stop for us prior to our Caribbean flight. We would end up staying just long enough, prior to heading off.

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If you travel through Miami International Airport, do you visit the American Airlines Admirals Club ?

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