Using Credit Cards to Get Into Airport Lounges
Tl;dr: Lounges can actually save you money, and you can get in with a credit card or two.
Airport lounges are great. But with so many credit cards offering lounge access these days, people are often disappointed by overcrowding and lines. With that being the case, is lounge access even worthwhile? Absolutely! More than just an upgrade to your travel experience, it can be a real money-saver, especially for frequent travelers. Just treat it as a possible perk, rather than a guarantee. And you can maximize your odds of taking advantage of that perk by diversifying your credit card portfolio.
Benefits of lounge access
I took a lot of flights before I tried an airport lounge for the first time, but one time I was just tired enough to pay for a day pass at a United Club. Although I wasn’t willing or able to spend $50+ on a lounge on any kind of regular basis, the benefits of the lounge led me to get the Venture X, a free-to-hold card that comes with access to the Priority Pass lounge network and Capital One’s own lounges. Since getting the card, I’ve visited a lounge before dozens of flights, and those visits have not only improved my travel experience, but also saved me quite a bit of money.
Peace, quiet, and power outlets. The obvious benefit of the airport lounge is that it’s comfortable. It’s quieter, the seats are wide, and there are usually ample outlets. Many offer views of the tarmac and most offer free drinks (often including wine, beer, and/or cocktails), snacks, or even warm food. Most airline-affiliated lounges have customer service personnel to help with travel questions. Most airport lounges also have their own dedicated wifi networks with faster speeds than you can find in the general terminal. Some even offer amenities like quiet rooms, private call booths, and showers. Even the most unremarkable lounges are generally an upgrade over the experience you’ll have sitting in the terminal.
It replaces poor-quality and expensive airport food and snacks. The thing about airports is that the food is usually terrible (some exceptions apply), but expensive. A hamburger and fries might set you back $30. If you want a light snack, it can be impossible to find a single-serving portion. Every time I pop into a Hudson News or something, it seems like I’ll have to shell out $8 for a king-size bag of potato chips—smaller and cheaper options just aren’t available.
With the lounge, though, you can grab food–and often even alcoholic drinks–for free. Some lounges have particularly outstanding food. The food at the Turkish Airlines lounge in IAD is also worth a detour, and everything I’ve had at a Capital One Lounge has been excellent. But even the “worst” lounges I’ve visited have had mini-sandwiches, chips, or something else to snack on, along with non-alcoholic beverages. That means I can almost always avoid buying a drink or a snack in the terminal. And in the best case I can get a free pre-flight meal–that will be better than most airport restaurants offer–if I'm that hungry.
It helps time management. Finally, knowing that you can slip into a lounge and enjoy some food and drinks makes it easier to be conservative in planning your airport arrival. Killing a lot of time in the airport can be a bummer, but if you have a comfy lounge and a free cocktail waiting for you, it makes it that much early to get to the airport early and avoid cutting it close for your boarding time.
Getting in
Priority Pass
The quickest way to get lounge access is through the Priority Pass network. Several credit cards offer access to Priority Pass lounges: the Amex Platinum, Capital One Venture X, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, BoA Premium Rewards Elite, US Bank Altitude Connect (4 visits), and the UBS Visa Infinite. Of these, the Venture X is the best value, with its $395 fee offset by a $300 Capital One Travel credit and 10,000 points ($100+ toward travel) on renewal. The Platinum and Sapphire Reserve both also offer access to Minute Suites as a non-lounge Priority Pass service, while the Sapphire Reserve includes massage chairs.
But because the Priority Pass is so common, you can often find their lounges full and waitlisted. Several cards offer access to additional, non-Priority Pass lounges to maximize your chances of getting into a lounge on your next trip to the airport.
Plaza Premium
The Amex Platinum also comes with access to Plaza Premium lounges.
Proprietary Lounges
The Venture X comes with access to its own network of lounges (and is improving access with mobile check-in and reservations at the Landings lounge), as does the Amex Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Airline lounges
The Amex Platinum includes 10 visits per year to Delta Sky Clubs when flying Delta, and access to Lufthansa Business Lounges when flying Lufthansa Group flights. The Platinum also comes with a $200 airline incidental fee, which can be used to cover the cost of day passes at the Lounge of your selected airline.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve includes access to certain Maple Leaf Lounges when flying a Star Alliance airline (like Air Canada or United).
Each of the “Big Three” airlines also have cards that include access to their lounges: the $650-fee Amex Delta Reserve (15 visits per year), the $595-fee AA Executive (unlimited), the $525-fee United Club Infinite (unlimited), and the $95-fee United Explorer (2 visits per year).
Conclusion
Lounge access can both elevate your travel experience and potentially save you money. You can get access to an expansive network of lounges just with the no-net-fee Venture X, Meanwhile, the low-cost United Explorer card comes with a pair of United Club passes for those times you’re flying United and the Priority Pass lounge(s) are full. Other premium cards can provide access to even more proprietary or airline lounges. Whether those premium cards are worth the extra annual fees will depend on how often you fly and on what airlines, but certain people will find that even those premium credit cards more than justify their annual fees with the perks that they provide.