Airport Lounges have an exclusive vibe and can often seem expensive and difficult to get into. In this article I go through whether it’s worth visiting airport lounges. As well as how to get free lounge access. It may surprise you how easy it is to get in. Are Airport Lounges Worth It? Tips to Visit for Free
My Experience with Lounges
I have had very mixed lounge experiences. On the one hand, I once had a 5 hour layover at Hong Kong flying Cathay Pacific Business Class from Tokyo to London. We headed to the Cathay Pacific Pier lounge and it was incredible. With showers to refresh before the upcoming flight and fresh Dim Sum. One of the attendants even came to notify us when our flight was about to start boarding. The experience was amazing and made what could have been a painful overnight wait into something special.
On the other hand, I’ve tried to enter the the No. 1 Lounge at Gatwick on multiple occassions only to be turned away. Each time we were told there was a 45+ minute wait. The one time I did enter it was overcrowded with overworked staff and dirty plates/glasses everywhere. So it’s really important you do your research before hand to figure out which lounges are worth visiting. For instance, you’re local airport may not have a worthwhile lounge. In this case it may not be worth paying for access or getting a card like the Amex Platinum for the lounge benefits.
Another reason I love airport lounges though is that they often offer the best views of the airport. If you’re a plane spotting nerd like me, many lounges have a viewing area so you can watch to your hearts content. I recently visited the ANA Lounge at Lisbon Airport, and whilst the lounge itself was pretty poor, the view was good. Being able to see planes land, take-off and taxi can help keep the boredom away during those long wait times.
American Express and Priority Pass
If you do decide you want to live the high life in airport lounges, there are a few ways to do it. My pick would be to get either the American Express Gold Card or the Platinum Card. Both come with a complimentary priority pass which gives you access to a good selection of lounges globally. The gold card only allows 2 visits per year for you and a guest. Whilst the Platinum card offers unlimited lounge access for you and a guest, including their famous Centurion Lounges. You also get additional perks with both these cards, such as earning cashback through points, travel credits, food credits and more.
The Gold Card has an annual fee of £160 whilst the Platinum Card is £575. As such, I wouldn’t recommend getting these cards just for the lounge access. Luckily I have a guide on how to get the most value out of your Amex cards here. You can also buy a Priority Pass by itself, but I do not think it’s worth it compare to getting it bundled with Amex.
Other Bank Offerings
Several other banks and credit card companies offer airport lounge access as a bundled perk. I don’t think any of these are worth it over Amex, unless you’re also in the market for some specific products such as travel insurance. These services also use DragonPass and LoungeKey as opposed to Priority Pass. So checkout The Points Guys article on the key differences between the 3 here:
- Barclays provide a travel insurance bundle for £18 per month called the Travel Plus Pack. This gives you 6 free visits a year to DragonPass lounges and is a good choice if you’re also in the market for travel insurance. That being said, American Express also give you free travel insurance with the Gold and Platinum card.
- The Natwest Premier Reward Black bank account provides unlimited DragonPass lounge access but for a monthly fee of £31 this is pretty expensive.
- The HSBC Premier Credit card gives you LoungeKey membership, though you’ll still have to pay £20 per visit with the basic card. With the £195 World Elite card you do get unlimited LoungeKey access, but otherwise the card doesn’t have a lot to offer for the price.
Other Ways to Get Free Access
This may come as no surprise but if you’re flying first or business class you’ll automatically get lounge access with the airline you’re flying on. If you regularly fly for business, or just have a lot of money lying around this is a good way to access lounges. That being said, business and first tickets will set you back sereral £1,000s for a return journey so it’s not really a realistic option for most people.
Finally, you can just pay for each lounge when you need it. No. 1 Lounge Heathrow for instance charges £36 per person for entry and you can book online. This guarantees access on the day, but is pretty expensive for what will probably be a short experience. I really wouldn’t recommend this option unless you feel like splurging as there are just much cheaper ways to do it.
Conclusion
If you’re on a long layover or make a habit of arriving early at the airport, lounges can be great. But I’ve found they can be very hit or miss so be sure to research ahead of your trip.
Personally I find the American Express + Priority Pass combo to be the best. As an American Express Platinum Card holder I have been able to visit lounges at almost every airport I’ve visited (except Corfu sadly). And considering Amex offer so many other perks, lounge access just makes the card even more valuable to me. Other options such as Barclays travel insurance or HSBC just don’t offer the same perks as American Express in my opinion.