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Prior to my flight to New York to reposition for the incredible new Japan Airlines business class to Haneda, I had the chance to visit San Francisco Airport’s AA Admirals Club located in Terminal 1. I have been to this lounge many times over the last few months, and for what it’s worth, it’s a solid lounge that gets the job done.
How To Access The American Airlines Admirals Club In SFO
There are several ways for you to access the Admirals Club in SFO:
- Have an Admirals Club membership (which you can get from having an active Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® credit card)
- Fly in a qualifying first or business class seat (routes and other conditions apply)
- Qualifying AA Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Platinum members flying on international flights
- All other Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members flying on any Oneworld flight
- Admirals Club day pass holders ($79/customer)
- US Military personnel
In my case, since I was flying a domestic itinerary within the United States, I cannot qualify for entry based on my status or fare class. Rather, I have the credit card, which gives me an instant Admirals Club membership that I can use to access this lounge with ease.
What Are The American Airlines Admirals Club’s Hours?
According to the American Airlines website, this lounge is open from 4:30 am to 11:30 pm daily. The bar is open from 6 am to 11:30 pm daily as well.
Finding The American Airlines Admirals Club In SFO
The Admirals Club is located after Terminal 1 security near Gate B13. It’s a bit tucked away, hidden behind some decorative wall, but once you see the sign and the American Airlines logo, you’ll know that you’ve found it.
Checking Into The American Airlines Admirals Club In SFO
My general understanding is that your Admirals Club membership is somehow attached to your American Airlines account. So, that means that if you scan in using your boarding pass, the agents will be able to verify everything on their end. Everytime I go to an Admirals Club, I merely scan my boarding pass and then give the agent some type of ID (usually my drivers license) so that they can make sure my identity matches up.
After successfully scanning, you can take a right to take the elevator up or walk up a set of stairs. Conveniently, the lounge also has various departure schedules listed everywhere so you can keep track on your flight.
Impressions Of The American Airlines Admirals Club In SFO:
I’m a pretty big of the Admirals Club redesigns ever since I saw them being implemented. They’ve really driven this new wave of lighter color schemes into many of their redesigned lounges, which I think all look fantastic when it comes together.
When you go up onto the main floor of the lounge, you might be greeted with a sign indicating that they’re serving complimentary avocado toast or dip. In either case, I think this is definitely one of the more unique aspects of the Admirals Clubs, since the avocados are mashed in front of you with whatever toppings you want.
The left side of the lounge has great lighting, with an area for kids to play and a spot for you to lay down and relax/nap.
The right side of the lounge has the main dining area, which has a full service bar and some complimentary food/drinks.
The lounge also has great views of the tarmac, which is great for catching plane shots during both sunset and sunrise.
The bathrooms at this lounge are also quite nice, featuring the lighter, white theme seen throughout. It uses DS&D URGA soaps as well, which are pretty expensive when buying them individually.
The Food At The American Airlines Admirals Club In SFO: Not too bad
American Airlines Admirals Clubs are known to offer smaller “bites” of food for free and then have bigger, more custom meals for sale. The existing bites aren’t too bad however. For instance, during breakfast, the lounge was serving eggs and sausages.
During lunch/dinner, this Admiral Club likes to serve pulled pork sandwiches that aren’t too shabby in their own right. The lounge also serves free juice and water, alongside a coffee machine and tea.
One of my favorite things about this lounge is the custom avocado meals. You could in theory order unlimited avocado toast or avocado chips, but I usually limit myself to 1-2 orders (even though it’s really good)!
My Overall Rating Of American Airlines Admirals Club In SFO T1: A Surprising 6/10
I rate lounges based on a few general criteria:
- Food Quality & Variety: 4/10
- Cleanliness: 9/10
- Interior Design: 5/10
- Unique Amenities: 6/10
For what it’s worth, this is not a bad lounge. Although the food options are a bit limited, the addition of the custom avocado bar makes up for it tremendously. The lounge is pretty clean throughout and staff do a good job maintaining order in the lounge. I also think the design is perfectly reasonable. Notably, this Admirals Club also has a slew of amenities, like a shower, resting area, kids play area, etc, so it does exceed expectations on that front.
