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There’s just something about the airport that can make people a little grumpy – the echoing noises, the repeated announcements, the high price of food and drinks at restaurants or convenience shops. Luckily, there’s a happy solution to these problems – an oasis of peace and calm, with free food and beverages (including alcohol!)
What do lounges offer?
Although the quality can vary – most lounges include a comfortable place to sit, a place to charge electronics, WiFi, food and beverages.
Just stepping into the lounge and away from the bustling airport, the first thing you notice is the quiet. The food can vary from an extensive buffet to light snacks. Some lounges offer the option to order food from an app to be delivered to your seat. There’s always a bar or self-serve beverage area. Some lounges even offer shower facilities.
How do you access lounges?
There are a variety of ways, including flying business/first class, paying for a day pass or yearly pass, or holding a credit card with lounge access as a benefit.
Priority Pass
Priority Pass is a network of independent airport lounges accessed through one membership. You can buy a membership directly or receive a membership through a premium credit card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express Platinum, and Capitol One Venture X.
Priority Pass lounges vary GREATLY in comfort, amenities, and even cleanliness. I’ve been to enormous multilevel Priority Pass lounges with several bars and food buffets and a range of food options (like this one in Lima) and I’ve been to bare bones lounges with stained carpet, harsh lighting, and limited food options. At the very minimum, you’ll be getting access to a room with seating where you can charge devices, access WiFi, and find some kind of included food and beverages.
With the prices of food at airport restaurants, even the most basic lounge is a good one for me. We recently had a very short layover in Charlotte, which meant there was no time to access the excellent Club CLT Lounge there, included with Priority Pass membership. We instead grabbed sandwiches, drinks, and chips at a convenience store near our gate to take on the next flight. For our family of four, the total came to almost $80! Lounge access with included food and beverages pays off quickly.
I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which is in the same family as the Sapphire Preferred, my recommended card for people new to points and miles. The Sapphire Reserve comes with Priority Pass access for the member and two guests. When our family of four uses this benefit, we pay $27 for our fourth person.
Airline Specific Lounges (United, American, Delta)
Airline specific lounges offer a more consistent quality than Priority Pass lounges and are more widely available in almost all major US airports.
United Clubs (United Airlines)
United Club Passes (one time use)
If you have a United Explorer or Quest credit card, you receive two United club passes each year to access a lounge. You must be flying United in order to enter a United Club lounge. The attendant will ask to see your boarding pass.
If you often fly United, these passes can be a great way to get into a lounge from time to time. For example, O’hare airport has quite a few United Clubs, but only one Priority Pass lounge, located in Terminal 5. Because of this, I tend to save my United Club passes for layovers at O’hare.
You can also buy a one-time pass in the United app for $59 or a yearly membership for $650.
United Club Infinite Card
If you very frequently fly United, it might be worth applying for the United Club Infinite Card. Although the annual fee is steep, it comes with a year of United Club access and a generous sign-up bonus.
Admirals Clubs (American Airlines)
Admirals Clubs operate similarly to United Clubs. You must be flying on an American Airlines flight to access the club and have either a business/first class ticket, a paid one-time pass ($79), a paid yearly pass ($850), or hold the Aadvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard.
Delta Sky Clubs (Delta Airlines)
Delta Sky Clubs are the most difficult to gain access to. It’s not possible to purchase a day pass to a Delta Sky Club, but they can be accessed by holding the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card or the American Express Platinum card (limited to ten visits per year).
Sapphire, Centurion, and Capital One Lounges
In addition to Priority Pass Membership, premium credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express Platinum, and Capitol One Venture X provide their own network of lounges to cardholders. Although American Express Platinum holders have long had access to Centurion lounges, the Capital One and Sapphire Reserve lounges are newer and many are still being built.
How to decide?
Which card to choose really depends on your location and your travel habits. If you frequently fly one particular airline, you may want to look into that airline’s co-branded lounge credit card. If you fly a variety of different airlines, access to Priority Pass may work better.
We chose the Sapphire Reserve because it offers a $300 annual travel credit, which helps offset the high annual fee and it includes Priority Pass Membership. Our family frequently uses Priority Pass lounges and find them to be a good value.
Final thoughts
Getting into lounges won’t be without associated cost, whether that’s the cost of a day pass or the cost of a credit card’s annual fee. With the high prices for meals and beverages at airports, the comfort and convenience of lounge access can often make economic sense as well as providing a more pleasant travel experience.