Airport Lounges: What You Get and How to Get In

[00:00:11] Hello, everybody. We're back. It is great to be back in the studio with you, Nick. How are you doing? How's summer? Nicholas Roberts Good. It's been a long time coming. I think we've both had some changes. I've moved. I'm in a new state, which definitely contributed to the delay, but I'm glad we're back in the studio. Nicholas Roberts

[00:00:41] It's actually very relevant and part of why we're doing this episode is because we spent a lot of the summer traveling. And for us, airport lounges have become a part of the travel experience. So we're going to take this in two parts. One is why should you even care about lounges? And that's this episode of what they are and what separates the different networks that you see when you're walking around.

[00:01:11] Nicholas Roberts Walking past them, you know, going to your gate. Nicholas Roberts Right. Why should you even care about the difference? Yeah, what do you get? Nicholas Roberts What can distinguish them? Why do you go into one? What happens back there? Nicholas Roberts And then in the next one, we'll get into a little bit more parsing each type of lounge for you to decide which one makes the most sense for you based on where you travel and how you travel and who you travel with. All of that goes into what type of lounge.

[00:01:41] Nicholas Roberts You should be going to. Nicholas Roberts Yeah, I think that there's a few different ways to approach it. Some people may already have access and not realize it, in which case not using it is just leaving money on the table from one perspective, right? Nick Pilyeuwis

[00:02:02] On the other hand, you may be looking for a more luxurious travel experience. So even if you're not someone that usually goes to a restaurant or a bar while you're waiting at the airport or at the gate or anything, you're looking to improve your experience a little bit. Nick Pilyeuwis And so maybe you're okay with and we'll get into all the different ways to get access, but maybe you're okay with spending a little more for access to a lounge.

[00:02:32] Nick Pilyeuwis And it's really a matter of optimizing what you're already doing. You know, some people you could be getting free drinks and a free meal when you're usually paying for that. Nick Pilyeuwis You know, even if you're paying for access to the lounge, depending on your habits, it could be cheaper to pay for the lounge than to pay what you would normally pay for stuff outside of it. You might get your money's worth just at the bar. Nick Pilyeuwis

[00:02:58] Right. So there's a few different ways to, you know, evaluate it that way, if that's how you want to say it. But I guess should we just talk about what the benefits of the lounge actually are? Because then I think from that point, it might be self-evident. Nick Pilyeuwis Nick Pilyeuwis Nick Pilyeuwis

[00:03:17] Yeah, I think you started getting into it. I would say food and drinks would probably be the number one. Or in terms of tangible things worth money value, once you're in, most of the food and drinks are free. Sometimes there's up charges on certain things, certain higher shelf liquor or whatever. Nick Pilyeuwis Nick Pilyeuwis Nick Pilyeuwis

[00:03:47] So it could be as small as like, you know, cold food salad or crudités all the way up to like really nice made to order or hot buffets and things. Right. I mean, right. It could go anywhere from like a charcuterie board. Yeah. All the way to actually having a full service, like dining out experience where you can order a hot meal from your phone and have a server bring it out to you.

[00:04:17] And there's a whole range of things in between. Say when it comes to the drinks, right? Some places you can. Offy. Bees. Right. I mean, I've been to ones that have like a full, like a full wall of like beer on tap that you can serve yourself. Other places. Right. Fridges full of soda.

[00:04:45] Other places you can have a mixed cocktail brought to you. It really varies. But regardless of that, almost all of that is typically free while you're in the lounge. I think one that I take for granted sometimes when I'm in the lounge is the better seating. And that it's quieter and less chaotic than all the announcements and people running around at the gates.

[00:05:12] You usually get better chairs, maybe like sofas, things, you know, actual padded chairs compared to the ones you're sitting at the gate. And more availability. You're not having to scramble in the same – to find a seat in the same way. Right. Which is really nice. And something else we'll talk about later, but overcrowding has become more of an issue. And there can be wait times to get in and all of that.

[00:05:39] So the wait times, the wait lists are always annoying. But because of the wait list, usually it's still pretty reliably comfortable once you're in the lounge. You know, if they have a wait list in place, it usually means there is space available when you are let in. So you will have access to one of those nicer seating options Harry just mentioned. The Wi-Fi is usually better. You can actually get outlets that work.

[00:06:07] The bathrooms are cleaner and easier to get into. It's just a lot of like small, I guess, luxuries to make the whole travel experience a little less stressful. So I feel like a lot of those amenities we just mentioned are – you can look at those as upgrades of the typical airport experience, right? When you're out at your gate, you still have access to food and drinks. They're not free, but it's there.

[00:06:36] You can get – you can go to a bar. You can get alcohol if that's what you're interested in. You will have somewhere to sit and wait. It's just not as nice as at the lounge. You may have Wi-Fi and you have access to power outlets, but you might have to like hang around the corner and wait for someone that's hogging a charger to leave for you to get yours. So it's a nicer experience for all of those things.

[00:07:01] Now, there's also some amenities that not all lounges will have, but some will have that I would say are an even bigger distinction from what you would get in a travel – typical travel experience, which can be like showers or like actual facilities beyond just a bathroom.

[00:07:26] That can be really nice for international travelers or someone on a really long layover. Or if you chose – it could be the deciding factor between leaving the airport to get a hotel for an overnight layover. Some places can have luggage lockers, like sleeping pods. I guess that's not necessarily limited to lounges.

[00:07:52] Some airports do have these sleeping pods available in the terminals now. Some will have fitness, wellness spaces, kid-specific spaces. Yeah. I mean, any of these types of things that we're running through. Did I mention luggage lockers? Somewhere to store your luggage so you're not carrying it with you.

[00:08:17] And we'll get into that more as this being kind of a distinguishing factor for some of the lounges. But beyond just those kind of improved experiences for the usual travel experience, there's a plethora of ways they add these little things. Yeah. Flying is just – it's stressful enough. So when you can find these little things, like having – and you don't have to spend hours.

[00:08:45] It's not like you have to leave home hours earlier to get to enjoy a lounge. You can spend 15, 30 minutes in one and still be able to eat, have a drink, have a meal. If you're delayed at somewhere to hang out for a few hours, so lots of benefits. Just recently, this past weekend, I was flying and my flight was delayed. And, I mean, getting to where I was going later in the evening than I planned isn't great. But I wasn't all that bothered.

[00:09:13] It was like, oh, you know, I already have – I had a meal. I had a couple drinks. I was like, oh, I can have another drink or two. Much more pleasant way to wait out a delay. Right. Okay. So that's kind of what you get. And I think now we should get into the big categories of networks. And by networks, usually that's the name that you see when you're walking past them. And there are two main categories. For a long time, it was the airlines.

[00:09:42] That was the main group. Airlines had their own lounges. And so if you had some sort of status, you know, you're flying first class, whatever. The Delta Sky Clubs, United Clubs. American has the Admirals Club. Alaska has one. You know, airlines have their own version. And the other version would be these credit card lounges and bank-run lounges that are becoming a lot more popular.

[00:10:08] That's like Capital One and Chase Sapphire lounges, Amex Centurion lounges. Those are the ones you've probably seen popping up more and more because they're getting popular. I think I would say Priority Pass also falls under this second grouping. Yes. Right. We'll see Priority Pass. We'll talk more about that. But Priority Pass isn't necessarily a credit card run. I think, you know, those would be considered independent lounges with like an access bundle. Right.

[00:10:37] But that's the other big one. So airline lounges, usually it's tied to flying that airline, especially, you know, that day. And it can be good if you're loyal to one. If you always fly Delta, for example, then getting a car that gets you into the Delta Sky Club might make sense because you're always in Delta's terminal.

[00:11:00] But you're a little bit restricted, you know, with something that gets you access to that one. Because if you happen to be flying another airline or you're in a different terminal, different airport that doesn't have one, you lose. I guess it's just more specific or restricted, right?

[00:11:19] Whereas the credit card and bank lounges tend to be a little bit more airline agnostic if you're not as specific. So what are your thoughts on the two of these? Do you lean towards one or the other? Is it just, you know, pros and cons depending on your situation? Yeah. I mean, there will be people where either of those options will make more sense.

[00:11:47] Personally, I am not loyal to any single airline. When I'm booking a flight, I'm pretty much looking at like convenience and cost, you know. So balancing a direct flight, layovers and cost and convenience, I don't typically say, oh, I would prefer this one or that one, you know.

[00:12:11] So for me, the, you know, that second grouping we talked about, the credit card or the independent lounges like the priority pass, those went out, right? I don't fly any single airline enough to prioritize their specific lounge. Yeah, it adds so much more flexibility, these credit card and bank lounges.

[00:12:38] And for so long, the airline lounges were, you know, the main ones. And now these bank lounges are actually, we'll get into like ratings and reviews, but it's now these, you know, Capital One and Chase and Amex lounges that are becoming the highest rated and most available lounges in the country and even growing internationally. So it's shifted a little bit more towards these credit card access lounges.

[00:13:07] Right. And this ties into a lot of our, the credit card series we've covered as far as, you know, is it worth getting a airline specific card versus one of the general travel cards? And, you know, almost universally we've recommended the, you know, Capital One Venture X, the CSR or the CXP or the Amex Platinum or Gold.

[00:13:32] All of our top cards were typically those generalized cards, generalized travel cards rather than a specific airline or hotel. Unless you really know you're going to get the value from that vendor lock in on one of those cards. And that mindset, I think for us kind of extends to the lounges as well.

[00:13:55] Because as nice as the lounge access is, it's typically been somewhat of an afterthought when it comes to which cards I am getting. I would say I'm paying more attention to it now. But for me, the thought prize is like, well, there's a lot of reasons for me to get the CSR or the Venture X. And like the ignoring the lounges, I've already justified the card I have.

[00:14:23] And now I also get access to this. And so that kind of lends itself to those more generalized bank lounges. All right. So we've talked about what do you get when you're in there? And then now we've covered the different networks and types of lounges. The question you're probably asking is, but how do I get in? What do I need to do? I'm not a person who flies first class all the time.

[00:14:50] I'm not platinum or diamond on Delta. So is this episode even for me? How do I get into these? So what do you think? What are some of the main ways to get into these lounges? I think the big one and probably the most common is through a quote unquote premium travel credit card. And those are some of the ones I just mentioned.

[00:15:21] But typically it's going to be a card that has some sort of an annual fee associated with it. And one of the benefits of that annual fee is lounge access. And so this will vary across the different brands and across the different lounges. With Amex, they have their own Centurion lounges. But you do need the Amex Platinum top of the line for access to those. Same with the Chase Sapphire lounges. That's a good point.

[00:15:51] It's not any card from that bank that gets you in there. You're pretty straightforward that like the Capital One Venture X gets you into the Capital One lounges. And the Chase Sapphire Reserve gets you into the Sapphire lounges. But it's not any card within Capital One, Chase or Amex. Right. The CSR gets you access to the Sapphire lounge. CSP doesn't. But the CSP does get you complimentary membership to priority pass.

[00:16:19] And so you don't have the nicer Sapphire lounge access. But you still do get access to lounges with one of those lower tier cards. And so there's a wide range there. And we'll break that down a little more next episode. And how to balance the fee for that card against what type of lounge access you get. But that is going to be the most common.

[00:16:44] Some type of premium credit card that you have will automatically grant you access or membership to a program that gives you access. Another one would be status with an airline, especially for the airline lounges. So if you fly an airline a lot and you earn status, sometimes once you're diamond or platinum or those upper levels, you can get access.

[00:17:10] And then separate from that is also having like a first class ticket within that airline. So if you're flying first class on a certain airline, you can probably get into that airline's lounge on that day. It doesn't mean you always have access because you're in business or first class. In that case, the ticket, the specific ticket gets you in sometimes.

[00:17:36] And then if you have general status, even if you're flying coach main cabin, you can still get in. So it depends. Yeah. Some way in through the airline. That's a cool one to keep in mind. I'm thinking back to this one time in college. I was flying on a very budget trip or I was flying back to school from the holidays on a very budget ticket.

[00:18:02] But they had overbooked and I got a free upgrade to first class. And looking back, I could have used that first class ticket I had to access the lounge. I wasn't aware of that opportunity or anything at the time. I got to board early and I was like, oh, I get a free drink on the flight. And I already thought I was a big shot.

[00:18:27] But if you're ever in that situation, you likely can get access to their lounge as well. So day passes can be another way in, right? Like you can be expensive and maybe it's a little harder to get your money's worth if it's $50 to $100 for the day. But I don't know if you're going to have a full meal and a few drinks and it's much more comfortable. There's ways to justify that.

[00:18:54] You know, a standalone day pass or you don't want to commit to a full card or are probably never going to get status with that airline. Right. Or if you're not traveling often enough to justify the expense of an annual fee for the lounge access, that can be a good option. But again, that goes back to what I was saying in the intro. You can look at your own habits.

[00:19:21] If you are someone who gets a meal and a beer or a couple cocktails at the airport, you can easily spend over $50 or $80 on that. True. And so just having access to the free food. I mean, you're paying to get entry, but you could easily get your money's worth depending on your habits.

[00:19:48] But knowing someone's a good way in, know someone who has one of these cards or who has elite status with one of the airlines. A lot of them allow guests. We'll get into that next episode, which ones allow guests. And guest policies are always changing as they're trying to draw people in. And then as they get crowded, they pull back on allowing guests and sometimes charge a fee.

[00:20:13] But depending on the card and the lounge, you may be able to go in for free with somebody. So that's a good way in. And you may be able to diversify with a partner or a friend or something that you travel with a lot where one of you has access to one airline and one has access to one of the banks. And you can go in as each other's guests. Right. And I think that would come in handy, maybe not on the same visit.

[00:20:42] But as you're traveling through different airports and different locations, not every lounge network has something available at every airport or even at every terminal.

[00:20:56] You know, even at airports where the terminals are interconnected past security, that doesn't mean you want to spend the time, you know, hiking to the other side of the airport just to get access to the lounge that you have access to. And so if you're traveling with someone else who has access to the lounge in your terminal versus the one that you have that's in the other terminal, that gives you a little more flexibility.

[00:21:26] So hopefully that demystifies lounges a little bit for you. They're not as crazy to get in as you might think. You might already have one of these cards that we talked about, and we'll get into it more next episode. But if you, yeah, if you have one of these ways in, and usually you can go in up to, I don't know, three to five hours before your flight.

[00:21:49] So if you're somebody who likes to get to the airport really early or you have a delay or something, you might be able to get into one of these lounges and have a much more enjoyable and slightly less stressful travel experience. Those are the basics. Hopefully you're interested in getting access to a lounge now.

[00:22:09] If you're someone who already has been interested but is curious about which ones you should be targeting, stick around for our next episode where we'll be digging a little more into the specific ones, costs, doing a little more pros and cons about the different lounges and the different networks and which cards you might want to look at to get access to those. Yeah, we've got some surveys, some reviews, rankings. It'll be a fun one.

[00:22:38] Thank you very much for listening to this one. Hopefully you're excited to get into a lounge the next time you fly. Stay tuned for the next one. Thanks so much, everybody. You've been listening to More Sense Than Dollars