What is an Airport Lounge & How to Get in
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For many, having to get to the airport two or three hours early can be a dull, annoying, necessary evil. Airport lounges can make the wait a lot more comfortable
What is a Lounge?
Airport lounges can vary dramatically amenities, but generally you can expect a variety of complimentary drinks and snacks in a quiet ambiance. It’s typically possible to put together a whole meal with what’s available at the lounge. The food offerings usually change based on the time of day to correspond to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Many lounges have free beer and wine, while some have full scale bars or a self-service alcohol station. Again, all complimentary with lounge entrance. This can be a substantial savings compared to the cost of airport food, especially for a family.
Another one of my favorite airport lounge amenities when I have very long travel days is the private showers. It’s great to have a way to freshen up if you just got off an 8 hour flight, have a four hour connection, and another 8 hours to fly. There’s even a few standout examples of airport lounges around the world that have spas and fine dining.
How to get into Airport Lounges
So how do you get into these airport lounges? Well, the most straightforward way is flying business or first class with the right carrier. Another way is to have elite status with an airline, particularly one with lots of partners like a Star Alliance or One World airline.Â
Priority Pass Lounge Access
However, there’s a way to get into many of these lounges around the world for ‘free.’ That’s with Priority Pass. Priority Pass has partnered with a network of lounges around the world to provide entrance for their members. There are various tiers of membership, but its the upper levels that cost several hundred dollars is where you’ll get any meaningful benefits.Â
Priority Pass Via Credit Cards
Avoid paying for membership directly by signing up for a credit card that includes priority pass. What’s great about the credit card version is that it allows you to bring guests into the lounge as well! Some credit cards limit the number of guests to two, while others don’t have a limit. There are several cards that offer lounge access or credits, but these are my top picks:
My favorite credit card for airport lounge access is the Capital One Venture X. I love that it doesn’t have a guest limit for priority pass lounges, and you also have access to the swanky Capital One lounges (limit 2 guests) that they are beginning to open across the United States. The card essentially pays for itself by giving you an annual $300 credit to use in their travel portal, as well as 10,000 point bonus annually. This essentially cancels out the annual fee ($395), making the other perks even more valuable. If you don’t already have Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, then I highly recommend it to make security checks at the airport a breeze. This card will credit you the cost of the application ($100), so this is another perfect perk for frequent travelers. Points earning and transfers are great too. You can click my referral link below to learn more.
Another great card with Priority Pass is the American Express Platinum card. There’s a business and a consumer version, both with the same hefty annual fee of $695. Each version of the card has a variety of different credits to help balance out that annual fee, so it is important to look at which will fit your habits better along with what welcome bonuses are available at the time of application. The Platinum card also includes Centurion lounge access for the cardholder, but they have recently applied credit card spending minimums in order to get free guest entry. This card is great for big spenders that can make use of the credits and travel frequently. You can explore the various cards offered by American Express by clicking on my referral link below.Â
American Express Platinum CardÂ
Visiting an airport lounge can be a highlight of the travel experience. Start traveling smarter and better by signing up for my email newsletter for more travel tips!
