Interest in using an airport lounge?
Most of us have been there: whiling away the hours in an airport while waiting for your flight to be called, sitting in those uncomfortable seats, watching endless news on the overhead TV screens……..while a few lucky ones are in one of the VIP lounges that offer plush seating, coffee, wine, food….even showers in some cases.
Here’s a comment we received: “A few years back, we decided to cash in some of our frequent flier miles for a couple of first class tickets from LAX to Paris. One of the advantages that came with those tickets was access to the Air France lounge. Leaving LAX we got to relax, have a glass of wine, some great snacks and then board at our leisure. The morning we flew back, the lounge had fresh orange juice, delicious buttery croissants (this was France, after all) and fresh brewed coffee. A great way to start the long flight home (quite a bit longer due to the prevailing westerly winds), and we did not have to pay for breakfast at our hotel.”
So how can you take advantage of that? Well, obviously if you have a first class (and sometimes business class) ticket, it comes along with the extra cost. For the rest of us, there are a couple of options.
1. In many cases you can purchase a short time pass directly at the airline’s lounge. It depends upon the airline, and its policy of course, and there is no guarantee that you can get it that particular day and time.
2. Some airlines offer access for an annual fee. If you fly regularly, it may be worth looking into a membership with a particular airline. Usually for a fixed annual fee, you will receive a certain amount of passes per year. After you’ve used the passes, you can purchase more, or often receive a discount on booking future visits. Some of the high-end VIP airport lounges may only be accessible to premium class passengers, some still are available for cash access. And, you are usually limited to that airline’s club….not any others.
3. Some credit cards have arranged for you to pay with miles to access their clubs…..but it is an expensive way to use those hard-earned miles.
4. You can try our newest advertiser, Lounge Buddy. They have an app that is easy to use without an annual fee, the costs to access are often lower, and there’s usually a wider choice of lounges available to the ‘casual’ flyer.
Lounge Buddy works by providing details of every available lounge in an airport, and how to access them. Lounge Buddy offers genuine reviews by real customers, details of all facilities, and photographs. For example, if you need fast wi-fi, find which VIP airport lounge offers the best by browsing them on Lounge Buddy. Likewise, if you’re interested in a drink and some snacks, but don’t want to pay the high price of the airport concessions, use Lounge Buddy to discover which lounges offer complimentary drinks and snacks.
Find out more about Lounge Buddy here. They also offer reviews of hundreds of lounges around the world…(not all of them are worth the money), where they are located in the airport, and what services are offered.
If you purchase via them, The Catholic travel guide may earn a commission – although the cost to you WILL NOT increase. But commissions like this help support our website.
