💡 tl;dr – The AA Flagship Lounge at Miami International Airport (MIA) is a solid ‘post-up’ option. I’ve visited this lounge four times over the last few years and find it consistent, with sufficient food and beverage offerings. The AA Flagship Lounge at MIA is spacious, and while it is not as overwhelmingly glamorous as other lounges, it is a welcome respite from the busy terminals of MIA.
After four visits to the American Airlines Flagship lounge in MIA, I am long overdue to write a review. My visits span over ~3 years, the first of which was during the pandemic in 2021, and the most recent was in July 2024. During this last visit, I decided to do a formal review of the lounge. As I was flying on AA’s first class itinerary (to São Paulo), I had the chance to experience AA Flagship Dining and AA’s First Class long haul service, which you can read about separately here and here. Let’s jump into it.
What are Flagship Lounges, and How Can You Access Them?
Before jumping into this review, it makes sense to briefly introduce AA’s Flagship lounges. Flagship Lounges are American Airlines’ most premium airport lounge offering. Notably, American Airlines partners with the James Beard Foundation to develop its Flagship lounge food menus, which feature the craftsmanship of chefs local to the greater area of the lounge’s location. Flagship locations also include the furnishings and amenities travelers have come to expect in premium business class lounges – comfortable seating, showers, etc. Currently, there are four lounges in operation – Dallas (DFW), Miami (MIA), Chicago (ORD), and Los Angeles (LAX) – with a fifth location, Philadelphia (PHL), slated to open in 2025.
As an aside, there was previously a Flagship Lounge in New York (JFK) but AA (or really, Oneworld) recently reworked their premium lounge offerings at JFK. The former-location of the Flagship Lounge at JFK now houses the Greenwich Lounge which services Flagship business class customers, whereas Flagship First and Flagship Business Plus customers can visit the swanky Chelsea Lounge. (IMO, that’s for the best as the JFK Flagship lounge was quite underwhelming.)
There are specific entry requirements for Flagship lounges, and they can be cumbersome, so I’ll simplify them below. You can access a Flagship lounge if:
- You are flying on a qualifying first or business class ticket on American or another Oneworld (alliance) airline – If your business or (first class) ticket is for a flight marketed or operated by American or another Oneworld airline, and that plane has lie-flat seating, you’re ticketed as ‘Flagship’ and can access the Flagship lounge. American’s website lists ‘qualifying flights’ broken down by international, transcontinental, and domestic destinations.
Your access also entitles you to bring one guest in free of charge. Tugboats!
- You have American or Alaska status and are flying between the US and specific International destinations on American or another Oneworld airline – If you hold platinum status (or higher) on American or MVP Gold (or higher) with Alaska, you can access the Flagship lounge even if you’re not flying in business or first class, if you are departing on, arriving on, or connecting to an American (marketed or operated) flight, or a Oneworld member flight between the US and the following international destinations:
You are also eligible to bring one guest free of charge.
- You are an Oneworld Emerald or Sapphire member with a non-American or non-Alaska airline and are flying on any American or Oneworld airline (regardless of cabin). – Let’s say you are a Oneworld Sapphire courtesy of your British Airways Executive Club Silver status. You’ve been having a groovy time hanging out in Los Angeles but you’re ready for a new ‘scene.’ First, how very posh of you. Secondly, even just a quick ~1 hr, 300-mile jaunt up to the Bay Area, either SJC or SFO, would allow you to slide through the LAX flagship lounge, so long as you ride on either Alaska or American. You can bring one guest free of charge.
- You are a Concierge Key member flying on an Oneworld airline in any cabin – Concierge Key is American’s invite-only ‘above-top-tier’ top-tier status. Any concierge key member can access any flagship lounge if flying on an Oneworld airline in any cabin. Unlike the plebeians discussed above, Concierge Key can bring two guests! OR their immediate family (spouse/partner and children under 18) into the Flagship lounge.
- You purchase access for $150 or 15,000 AAdvantage miles – If you’re flying on an Oneworld airline and don’t qualify for any of the entry options above, you can pay $150 or 15,000 AAdvantage miles to gain access. Note: Purchasing access does not grant you a guest pass, so if you’re traveling with someone else, they’ll also need to pay the entry fee for access. Additionally, paid access is based on lounge capacity, so a lounge that’s full on a given day may not offer paid access (even with a waitlist).
‘Same-day’ access includes flights that depart and arrive on the same day. For example, I flew from Tokyo (HND) to Chicago (ORD) last year, flying JAL Business, departing and arriving on December 24 in each timezone. After clearing security (and keeping hold of my JAL boarding pass), I could access the Flagship Lounge in Chicago by scanning my JAL boarding pass.
If you have a connecting flight (or another flight on a separate reservation), you should still be able to access the Flagship lounge if both your flights are on or operated by an Oneworld airline and the second flight is before 6 AM the next day.
The AA Flagship Lounge at MIA
Location and Getting In
Let’s get back to the review with that out of the way. MIA’s Flagship Lounge is in terminal D, right by Gate 30. It’s open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Flagship Lounge location – – Source: You Are Travel
Entry validation is handled downstairs (on my previous visits, this occurred in the upstairs lobby outside the lounge’s entry door). We were flying Flagship First on American to São Paulo, so after a quick scan of our boarding passes, we were given these entry cards and instructed to head up to the second floor.
Across the lobby is the entrance to an American Airlines Admiral’s lounge. This lounge is standard as Admiral’s lounges go. Still, it’s worth noting its location if you don’t have complimentary access to the Flagship lounge (and don’t want to pay $150) or are short on time and looking for a quicker experience.
The Flagship Lounge’s entrance will be to your right when you’re upstairs.
Lounge Layout
MIA is the largest Flagship lounge at 29,000 square feet. Upon entering through the sliding doors, you’ll find a host stand to your left, where, during peak hours, a hostess offers glasses of Piper-Heidsieck. To your right are the concierge desks.
The glass windows in the center of the lounge offer views of the bustling terminal below. On my peak-pandemic visit, I had the entire lounge (almost) to myself, and I spent a good while walking laps around the place to get some exercise before a long flight.
Overlook the busy terminal from the center of the lounge – – Source: You Are Travel
Past the concierge desks, to the right, is the largest seating area. If you’re looking for a dimmer, quieter space to rest, there are a few alcoves containing loungers. There’s also a coffee, food and snack station (and mini bar) on this side of the lounge if you want a quick bite and don’t want to visit the busier main dining area.
If you took a left upon entry to the lounge, you’d pass by the cinema room before entering the left wing, which has nifty views of the jetway. From there, you can continue right towards the main bar and then onward to the main food and dining area.
Left wing of the lounge – – Source: You Are Travel
Dining & Bar
My first stop in the lounge is almost always to check out the wine, so let’s start there. I’ve enjoyed the selections in this lounge, mainly for the variety. The wines differed on each occasion I visited, making it clear that AA’s been true to its efforts in choosing wines for its lounges and flagship offerings. You can usually expect two reds (one lighter-bodied), two whites, a rose, and more Piper for some sparkling. Is AA treating patrons to the latest Beaux Freres release? No, but an Argyle Willamette Valley regional is decent enough for a business class lounge.
Wine selection at Flagship Lounge – MIA – Source: You Are Travel
The bar is self-serve and features mostly upper-low to mid-shelf spirits and mixers. The mini bar I referenced is often stocked as a Bloody Mary station. There is also a standard beer and non-alcoholic selection.
Beverage options around the lounge – – Source: You Are Travel
Overall, I find the food at this lounge to be solid—nothing mindblowing, but serviceable. As mentioned earlier, AA partners with James Beard to curate menus designed by local chefs, one of which is featured in the photo below.
The presentations are simple but reasonably well done. The spread is presented on one long table, and in the corner of the dining room, some hot offerings are usually available for fresh preparation. In the morning, you can order omelets and the like, and in the afternoon/evening, I’ve seen a taco bar. There’s usually a soup option as well. The satellite food station (near the larger seating area) usually has a smaller selection of the finger foods/appetizers you’ll find in the main dining section, but on at least one occasion, I noticed there were distinct sandwiches.
A typical food presentation at the Flagship Lounge MIA
Over my four visits to the lounge, the longest I spent in one sitting was around six hours waiting for my evening departure to São Paulo after arriving at MIA on a morning flight. On that occasion, I saw the tail end of the breakfast service turn to lunch and left for my gate just as the staff put out dinner. On other occasions, I stayed for shorter periods of time, maybe 2 hours or less. I’ve always noticed staff replacing empty (or nearly empty) trays with fresh offerings and ensuring ample plates for guests.
Showers, Facilities, and Wifi
I have to commend the staff at this lounge. The bathroom (there’s only one set of bathrooms in the whole lounge) has always been clean and well-kept. I haven’t used the showers, so I can’t speak to water pressure or the like, but on this last visit, I did ask for access in order to take some photos.
You can expect clean restrooms and showers – – Source: You Are Travel
Wifi is strong throughout the lounge, and access codes are available on several tables in each seating area.
Again, it’s simple, but it gets the job done.
Service
Over my four visits, I’ve found the service to be solid, the staff pleasant, and on at least one occasion, quite gregarious. During the pandemic (and one could very well chalk it up to low volume / not having to deal with possibly annoying guests), I had an enjoyable chat with one of the lounge concierges about our future aspirational travel destinations.
I typically don’t have many requests or requests for customer service, and the one time I did request the staff’s assistance in adjusting a seating arrangement, they were able to do so.
I’ve seen this lounge get busy, and these times, it’s never seemed like things were falling off the rails.
Overall Thoughts
Over the last few years, I’ve found myself flying a fair bit through MIA on American (or another Oneworld carrier), so I’ve become familiar with this Flagship lounge. And that’s the key – the familiarity. The lounge is a simple, albeit large, business class lounge and short of Flagship First dining, so few amenities will blow you away. That said, MIA airport is not my favorite as it seemingly always has something ‘extra’ going on. I’ve really come to appreciate opportunities to hide away in this lounge.
There’s no question this lounge represents solid value, especially if it comes alongside your fare (especially if it’s an award fare) or if you have complimentary entry because of your status.
Now, if these don’t apply? Is it worth paying the $150 in cash? It depends. I could see many folks saying ‘no,’ but then again, if you’re looking at a long layover and value a comfortable spot to post up unfettered, punch out a few hours of work, grab some solid food and drinks, or just ‘‘veg and chill’ until it’s time to go to the gate, it could be a good option for you. If not, there’s always the never-ending waiting for the Centurion lounge. What’s dead may never die.
