Summary
- Get a credit card with access to airport lounges for as little as $95 annually.
- Have an elite flying status for perks like priority boarding and lounge access with a guest.
- Purchase a Priority Pass membership starting at $99 annually for access to 1000+ lounges worldwide.
An airport lounge is a modern day idyll. It is where you relax, get some work done, entertain yourself, or be engaged in a whole host of things offered by airport lounges. The PS LAX at Los Angeles Airport (LAX) and Air France’s La Premiere fall in the ranks of the fanciest airport lounges in the world. Airport lounges have their own etiquette- ranging from avoiding unnecessary talking on the phone to indulging in free drinks to a certain limit. Everyone who has accessed airport lounges talks highly of these airport havens. But what are the cheapest ways we can access an airport lounge before our flights? Let’s find out.
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4
Get a credit card with access
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and plenty of other carriers offer this service for an annual fee
There are a range of perks provided by some credit cards. Some of them give you free checked bags, while others give you priority boarding. You could also fetch extra miles for bookings on hotels, car hires and cruises on your vacation. Given this range of benefits, getting a credit card might be one of the cheapest ways to access an airport lounge before your next flight. The credit cards of various airlines have a varying annual fee. Depending upon how much you travel, the benefits of these cards also differ. Let’s take a look at a few credit cards, and their annual fees, and what is on offer:
| Credit Card | Annual fee | Benefits |
| Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card | $95 |
|
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | $395 |
|
Photo: Alaska Airlines
There are plenty of other credit cards, such as the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® or AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® offered by American Airlines Credit cards that give you access to various lounges worldwide.
3
Have an elite flying elite status
Priority boarding, free luggage, and accessing the lounge with a guest are some of the perks of these elite statuses.
Airlines offer certain flying statuses to their most frequent flyers. You can also get these elite statuses without ever flying. Some of these ways would be (depending upon the airlines):
- Signing up for a credit card
- Spending a specific amount of money (for instance, $40,000 for a Gold status on American Airlines)
Certain strata of these elite statuses give access to an airport lounge. In addition, there are also quite a few other benefits. Let’s take a look at the few elite statuses of these airlines that offer you a chance to visit an airport lounge:
| Elite Status | Benefits |
| Top-tier Elite Plus status with SkyTeam Alliance |
|
| Qantas Chairman’s Lounge |
|
| Solitaire PPS Club status (Singapore Airlines) |
|
| iO (Emirates) |
You can choose among a range of credit cards that allow you to get a certain elite status fast.
2
Purchase Priority Pass membership
Annual membership charges are anywhere between $99 and $250.
A Priority Pass membership can give access to more than a thousand lounges across hundreds of nations. In addition to the lounges, this membership also gives you access to Priority Pass restaurants, Minute Suites, and Be Relax Spas. But there are various levels to a Priority Pass membership, and depending upon which of these levels you are at, the charges for and the benefits within each of these tiers are different.
| Type of Priority Pass Membership | Annual Cost | Other charges |
| Standard Priority Pass | $99 |
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| Standard Plus | $329 |
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| Prestige | $429 |
|
Photo : Priority Pass
You can also get a Priority Pass membership without actually purchasing it. You will have a Priority Pass membership if you purchase specific credit cards. Some of these cards and the costs behind them are:
- Platinum Card from American Express: $695
- Business Platinum Card from American Express: $695
- Chase Sapphire Reserve: $550
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: $395
1
Military members can access an airport lounge for free
Select airport lounges provide free access for on-duty military personnel and their immediate family traveling with them on the same day.
Active duty members of the military can access some airport lounges for free. Some airlines even extend this offer to military personnel with a valid ID as well as their family members. As long as military personnel have a boarding pass for same-day travel on a flight operated by United Airlines (or United Express-operated flight), they (alongside their family) get access to a lounge.
Photo: American Airlines
Some other airlines/organizations that allow access to lounges for free include:
- American Airlines: AA provides US military personnel and their immediate family access to the Admirals Club. They should be traveling on a flight operated by AA on the day they wish to get access to the lounge, though.
- USO (United Service Organizations): Airport lounges operated by this non-profit organization are free for military personnel in the U.S.
An annual fee waiver is also available for active duty members of the military on the following cards:
- Amex Platinum card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
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These facilities are becoming more and more numerous.
So, military members will get complimentary lounge access via the various benefits of these credit cards.