On my flight to Denver today I stopped in the Chicago O’hare H/K Admirals Club for a cup of coffee and stumbled upon a drink chit. I have often searched Admirals Club lounges trying to find one, but today was the first day I’ve ever been lucky enough to actually get one. In fact, there is a whole forum dedicated to people who hide/find drink chits around the world. If a FlyerTalk member doesn’t intend to use an Admirals Club Drink Chit they will often hide it somewhere in the club. The trick is finding the Chit on the day hidden since they do expire.
What Is An American Airlines Admirals Club Drink Chit?
Chit (N): “a signed note for money owed for food, drink,etc.” – Dictionary.com.
An Admirals Club Drink Chit is a small card given to premium cabin travelers when arriving at an Admirals Club. Generally, each passenger receives two chits for any “Premium” beverages offered in the lounge. When traveling in the morning the chits can be used for a bottle of water, Naked Juice, Red Bull, etc. If traveling later in the day (10am?) they can be used for a cocktail (Vodka & Red Bull?). Each chit is issued when entering the lounge and is stamped with a date. Drink chits are only valid for the day of travel and can’t be saved up over time.
How To Get A Drink Chit?
Drink chits are handed to International Premium Cabin customers when entering an Admirals Club based on fare paid. Admirals Club members, travelers accessing lounges via a credit card, or single day pass travelers are not eligible to receive drink chits. Upon checking into the Admirals Club the front desk agents should hand over two chits per premium cabin passenger. Make sure to request drink chits from the reception desk if they are not immediately offered, since they can be pretty valuable.
Using An American Airlines Admirals Club Drink Chit
Drink chits must be used on the date of travel and become expired the next day. This makes the above mentioned game of hide and seek particularly frustrating. Some FlyerTalk members hide the Chit in magazines throughout the Admirals Club only the be found days or weeks later. Technically expired drink chits can’t be used… However, many FlyerTalk users have reported success when using expired chits especially when including a few dollars when handing it over.
As mentioned above, chits can be used for bottled water, other bottled beverages, or premium alcohol. Even if you don’t plan on using the chit for alcohol it still may be a good idea to grab a bottle of water. It is always nice to have a bottle of water in your bag after clearing security.
Final Thoughts
It was pretty cool finding my first drink chit today. The card was just sitting on a table in the lounge so I am not sure if it was left on purpose or unintentionally. Either way, I decided to leave it where I found it since I was supposed to be on an early morning flight… As I sit here at O’hare waiting for my third delayed flight of the day, I really wish I would have used it. It would have probably made this delay significantly more enjoyable!
