What do you actually get in an airport lounge?
What are the benefits of going into an airport lounge, considering that lounge passes can cost as much as US$79 for a single person? The main benefit is peace within the space. Unlike crowded airport terminals, lounges are sheltered areas where flyers come to relax and spend relatively quiet time before they depart for their flight.
Another benefit is that most airport lounges serve free food and beverages, often offsetting an entry pass’ price compared with terminals’ food prices. For example, when two people buy food and a soda at a restaurant in a terminal, their bill could come out to as much as US$60 or even more. A lounge pass bought through Saily is US$40, and free food and additional privacy aren’t even the only perks.
Airport lounges come with their own Wi-Fi networks. Staying safe on public Wi-Fi is getting increasingly difficult with cybercriminals using unsecured or poorly guarded networks to gain access to users’ sensitive information, including passwords or credit card details. Connecting to a lounge’s Wi-Fi can add an extra layer of protection against data loss. Unlike the terminals’ Wi-Fi, lounges have their private networks that are at least protected with a password. Another alternative to using any Wi-Fi network in an airport is using mobile data, including travel eSIMs, such as Saily. The Saily eSIM app offers its users data to stay connected while traveling and a suite of security features designed to protect your privacy.
A quieter space, free food, and more private Wi-Fi networks are the main benefits of most lounges worldwide. The fancier airport lounges, such as Delta Air Lines’ Delta One Lounge, include restaurant-like service and wellness and relaxation spaces with showers and nap pods. The rule of thumb is that the more exclusive the lounge, the more perks you’ll get when you visit.
Traveling through or to London? Read our London Heathrow Airport Wi-Fi guide or Gatwick Airport Wi-Fi guide.
How much does airport lounge access cost?
The answer to the question of how much you have to pay to access a lounge isn’t straightforward. You get in for free if you have elite-tier status with an airline, but you have to achieve that status. You can also access lounges without paying a dime when you own a top-tier credit card, whether it is an airline-specific or travel-specific one, such as the Capital One Venture X or the American Express Platinum Card. If you’re not too keen on credit cards, you still have alternatives like buying a single-entry pass or getting a subscription service that allows you to enter lounges. Here’s a breakdown of the potential costs of accessing an airport lounge:
Keep your airline loyalty account secure since cybercriminals seek to break into these accounts. A stolen airline loyalty account can result in the loss of personal data and airline miles.
Companies such as DragonPass or Priority Pass offer subscriptions that grant you access to select lounges at airports. Different tiers provide different benefits, but the gist is the same — instead of buying one-time lounge access or chasing loyalty status, you get cheaper or complimentary visits to select lounges at airports by having an annual subscription.
Another way to obtain a one-time lounge pass is through Saily. The Saily eSIM app offers single-visit passes for US$40, or you can opt for the Saily Ultra plan. The subscription, billed monthly, quarterly, or yearly, provides you with data and additional travel perks, one of which is complimentary lounge access at select airports. See the list of lounges you can access with Saily Ultra at airports.
Are Priority Pass lounges worth the membership fee?
Priority Pass is a service that charges a yearly membership fee, granting you access to over 1,900 airport lounges and airport experiences at 856 airports in 143 countries. The service has three membership tiers:
The question of whether the service is worth it entirely depends on your use case and how often you travel. If you’re traveling only a handful of times per year and your journeys include layovers in bigger hubs, you could benefit from the lower lounge entry fees with Prestige Pass’ Standard tier.
But when you’re traveling a dozen or so times per year, the equation changes. At that point, “Standard” will not cover your needs, while “Standard Plus” and “Prestige” can’t offer the cost-benefit ratio that you could get with an airline’s credit card. For example, a Delta Air Lines Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express card — the highest tier credit card issued jointly by the airline and American Express — comes in at US$650 per year and grants 15 free lounge visits yearly. The 15-per-year cap is gone once you spend more than US$75,000 per year with the card.
The price difference between US$650 and Priority Pass’ US$329 (Standard Plus) or US$469 (Prestige) is stark. But with the Delta Air Lines and American Express card, you also get benefits such as earning miles, complimentary access to American Express’ The Centurion Lounges or Delta Air Lines’ airline partner lounges, early boarding, and travel insurance.
Priority Pass can be a good service, especially when you travel enough to see substantial savings from either “Standard” or “Standard Plus.” But it competes with airline loyalty programs, and even if airlines have been devaluing loyalty programs to make them more exclusive, it falls short in comparison. Another Priority Pass drawback is that airlines will prioritize their own customers instead of the program’s members, and with airline lounges being busy during peak times, you could be denied entry. At some airports, Priority Pass customers can only enter lounges within specific times, which might not line up with their flight’s departure time.
Are Capital One airport lounges worth it?
In November 2021, Capital One became one of several US banks that built its own lounges across airports in the country. So far, the bank has seven airport lounges — at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Denver International Airport (DEN), Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), New York-JFK, New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), and Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA). Capital One is slated to open another lounge at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), with the bank having yet to publish a date for the space’s opening. Capital One Venture X and Venture X Business card owners also get access to other lounges through Priority Pass, but the service’s drawbacks — such as priority of airlines’ own customers for lounge entry — still apply.
One of the main benefits of the lounges is that with either a Venture X or a Venture X Business credit card, entrance is free. The catch is that both cards have a US$395 annual fee, and the Venture X Business card is only available to business owners. With a Venture, Venture Business, or a Spark Miles card, a one-time pass will cost US$45. For those who don’t have a Capital One credit card, the entrance fee is US$90.
Whether the bank’s airport lounges are actually worth it, including the complimentary access you get with the Venture X card, can determined by answering three questions:
Do you live in a city where Capital One lounges are currently located, such as Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, New York, or Washington, D.C.?
Do you travel often? Here, “often” is defined as flying at least once every couple of months, which would justify getting the card and benefiting from its premium travel perks.
Do you have loyalty status with an airline? When you’re a so-called free agent — a traveler who flies with any airline without chasing status with a specific one — having guaranteed lounge access is a godsend.
Answering at least two of these questions with a “yes” means that you’ll benefit from the perks of Capital One’s Venture X card.
However, if you don’t want to get the credit card, one-time passes to the lounges might not be worth it because cheaper alternatives are available. Without a Capital One card, you’d pay US$90 to enter a Capital One lounge, and simply put, cheaper alternatives are available — Saily’s airport lounge passes are US$40, for example.
When are airport lounges not worth it?
Not all airports and lounges are created equal. Here are scenarios when getting a credit card for complimentary lounge access or paying for a one-time pass is not worth it:
You’re traveling with a big party. Even when you have status with an airline, you can usually bring only up to two guests into a lounge. So if you’re a family of four, you’ll have to pay for two additional lounge entries.
You’re traveling through small airports. Smaller airports’ lounges are usually subpar, offer little comfort, and are not always part of a network. Buying a lounge pass just to visit a cramped space with few food options isn’t a good experience.
You have a short layover. Lounges are best used when you have time to unwind, grab a snack and a beverage, and get away from the noise of the passenger terminals. When you have a layover that’s less than an hour, you’ll barely have the time to get to the lounge and take a seat — especially when traveling through a large airport where distances between lounges and boarding gates are greater than at medium-sized airports.
You’re flying during peak departure times. While this applies more to those who will be buying single-access passes, when your flight departs during a busy period — like at 7 AM, or at 6 PM — lounges are crowded. As a result, you might have to wait in a queue (or you might not get in at all) before your flight departs, with lounge operators — including airlines — prioritizing their own customers instead of those who purchase a one-time pass.
See our guide about Wi-Fi at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).
How do you get airport lounge access without a premium credit card?
You can still access a lounge even if you don’t have a premium credit card. Your potential options include:
Flying first or business class. A same-day first or business class ticket on an international flight will grant you access to an airline’s lounge.
Buying a one-time lounge access pass. On the Saily app, one-time lounge access passes go for US$40 and are available at over 1,300 airport lounges globally. Other vendors’ prices may be higher. When you travel only two or three times per year, getting a premium credit card isn’t worth it considering the steep annual fees, which is why one-off passes can be cheaper in the long run.
Having the Saily Ultra plan. The Saily Ultra plan, which provides international mobile data, a phone number plan with 50 voice call minutes and 50 text messages (Saily Ultra Premium only), and complimentary subscriptions to services like NordVPN, also offers one-time airport lounge passes to its customers. The subscription plan starts at US$39.99 per month, or US$33.33 per month if you pay annually.
Having airline status. Airlines offer lounge access if you have a high-tier status with them, but that doesn’t mean that access is guaranteed. Check the airline’s guidelines before you fly to ensure you’ll have lounge access.
Remember that entry into a lounge isn’t a given. When the space is overcrowded, airlines will prioritize their own and their alliance partners’ passengers, so you might have to wait before you can enter a lounge.
Tips for planning your airport lounge visit
Before you head off to the airport and your visit to a lounge, remember a couple of things:
Check the terminal of your flight and the lounge you plan to visit. This will apply to those who will be purchasing one-time lounge access passes through third parties. When you’re departing from JFK’s Terminal 8, booking a lounge at the airport’s Terminal 1 — like the Primeclass Lounge — will make little sense because travel time between the terminals will eat up the time you could spend in the lounge.
Arrive two to three hours before your departure. Lounges usually welcome passengers up to three hours before their flight’s departure time, so plan accordingly. When you’re on a connecting flight, the rules are usually more relaxed and you can enter the lounge sooner (but it depends on the lounge’s operator). Since you’re also arriving earlier, one of the main packing tips for travelers is to bring a charger to keep your devices charged while you use them inside a lounge.
Be mindful of others. Basic travel etiquette tips apply to lounge visits. Try to keep noise to a minimum, don’t have phone calls on speakerphone, don’t make a mess, and in general, be respectful of other visitors.
Connect to the lounge’s Wi-Fi. Many airports around the world offer free access to Wi-Fi, but open networks carry significant cybersecurity risks. Use a more secure network, such as the lounge’s Wi-Fi or your own mobile data to stay connected. However, because of how international roaming works, you’ll potentially be paying per megabyte of data if you’re using mobile data while at an airport outside of your home country. In most cases, an eSIM like Saily is a cheaper alternative to using roaming data.
