The new American Express Centurion Lounge at New York La Guardia offers full hot meals and nice views. Free for Platinum card members, or walk in for just $50 with any American Express card
The valuable perks of airline lounges may tempt you to splurge on an annual memberships.
But as cushy and convenient as they are, they may not be right for everyone.
In fact, there are some very good reasons not to join an airline lounge program.
Before taking the plunge, consider a few critical questions, such as how often you plan on traveling, and which airports you will be traveling to over the next year. Smartphone app LoungeBuddy can help determine specifics, such as domestic and international lounge locations, and the amenities they offer.
With so many new alternatives to annual memberships, you’ll likely find better ways to gain lounge access depending on your travel needs and budget. Below, we’ve compiled a list of five reasons why an annual airline lounge membership may not be right for you:
(We asked Loungebuddy’s Garrett Lu to help us out with this guest post)
The 6,800 square foot Plaza Premium Lounge at Vancouver International Airport- a Priority Pass partner. Walk in fee: $36 (2 hours)
- They don’t come cheap – Airline lounge memberships are not for the budget conscious. There is often discount pricing available to elite status members, but if you are among the hoard of unwashed masses, be prepared to pony up around $500 for a new annual membership. To make matters worse, some programs, such as Delta Sky Club, no longer include complimentary guest privileges for their basic membership.
- They can tie you down – While U.S. airline lounge programs provide access to their lounges regardless of the carrier you are flying, be aware that you still have to be able to physically access their locations within the terminals. This means that if travel plans change during the year and you are forced to start flying a different airline, you could be stuck at an airport or terminal without the program lounges you need. And certainly don’t expect airlines to refund a portion of your membership fees!
- You have elite status and travel internationally – If you are a frequent flyer with mid or top-tier elite status, and your travels are mainly international, there may be no need to purchase an airline lounge membership since you likely have access to a network of worldwide alliance lounges already. The downside, of course, is that when traveling within the U.S., lounge access is typically not granted to domestic lounges, except on select transcontinental routes in premium cabins, or if your elite status is provided by an international carrier.
- You have alternative credit cards – Many credit cards offer lounge access for a comparable annual fee, but with added perks. Take, for example, the Chase United MileagePlus Club Card. For $395, you not only receive a full United Club membership, but you also get two free checked bags as well as premier access included. Or the American Express Platinum Card, where $450 nets you a Priority Pass Select membership, Delta Sky Club access (in conjunction with same-day travel on a flight operated by Delta), and The Centurion Lounge access. It pays to shop around since airline lounge memberships are often times not the best deals in town.
- You cannot expense the cost – Business travelers can often expense one-off travel costs such as airline tickets, hotel costs, and meals. However, one thing that most business travelers can’t expense is the cost of an airline lounge membership or even the annual fee on a credit card. In these cases, it may be wiser to look for alternative (and expensable) options for lounge access, such as one-time passes.
The colorful Servisair lounge at Copenhagen Airport- walk in for just $32.
Plenty of airlines and independent lounges offer one-time passes for $25-$75, so if you don’t plan on frequent visits, don’t bother with an airline lounge membership. Third party lounge operators like The Centurion Lounge, The Club, Plaza Premium, and Servisair are growing ever more
The Loungebuddy smartphone app uses geolocation to find nearby airport lounges
popular, providing travelers with a premium airport lounge experience regardless of airline or class of service.
With so many different lounge choices available, along with a veritable web of access rule intricacies, determining which lounges you have access to can be challenging. By utilizing a smartphone app like LoungeBuddy, the guesswork is taken out of the equation. Simply enter your elite statuses, lounge memberships, and the credit cards you have, andLoungeBuddy will show you the lounges you can access for free or for a one-time fee. Best of all, the app provides detailed lounge profiles with reviews, photos, and amenities, so you can find exactly what you’re looking for, whether it’s a business center to catch up on work, a refreshing shower, or a well-deserved cocktail.
As airlines further unbundle their services and the cost of airport amenities continue to rise, lounge access represents one of the best added values travelers can invest in these days. However, much like an unlimited data plan or an all-you-can-eat buffet, annual airline lounge memberships may not always be the most suitable option. Depending on your travel pattern, budget, and amenity preferences, an à la carte strategy of one-time passes may help you come out ahead in the end.
How do YOU get in airport lounges? Annual membership, perk included with a credit card, or one-time passes? Please leave your comments below!
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International airport lounges are great but domestic lounges in the US are beyond lame. They’re crowded, overheated, full of trash, with few choices of food … just nothing special. I have comp access to United lounges and only use it if I’m stuck for several hours.
When DL said “goodbye” to it’s HNL-based elites (by eliminating comp over-the-water elite upgrades) 10 years ago, I began the search for a new airline. One of the things that moved me over to AA was the features of the Admiral’s Clubs which included showers at most locations. Since I do a HNL – east coast round trip every month, a shower before or after the 8 hour HNL-DFW leg is just fantastic. Not to be beat is the club in terminal A which also has a decent fitness center. All this for $250 with this year’s Citicard promotion . . . which gave 100,000 miles to boot! A few months back DL sent a pitiful little email reintroducing over-the-water Hawaii elite upgrades (“We’ve heard your comments . . .”). Sad that it was only 10 years too late and reading some of the other comments about DL on this forum convinces me I’ve made the right decision. AA isn’t perfect by any means but at least they don’t make a science out of crapping on their elites.
When connecting through NRT (Tokyo Narita) on our way back to SFO from Asia on UA, it was the only time when I felt I should’ve purchased a United club membership. I was Premier Gold (so automatically have access), but my wife and our 4yr old obviously weren’t. My wife and I were granted access, but my quiet 4yo was unwelcomed (club was not crowded). Unless I have membership, when I could bring a family of 10 if I wanted to. Tried the ANA club with same result. That bites, now my wife thinks Japanese people hates kids. 🙂 All we needed was a shower, a little bite to eat, place to relax and wait out a 3hr layover. Nevermind that all of us were traveling in upgraded Biz class.
We ended up going into the Korean Airlines lounge around the corner which honors my Priority Pass (which I got for free from a Hilton Hhonors credit card) and paid their $27 per person admission fee. But ended up missing our flight to SFO because we didn’t hear the announcement and the UA Club people apparently frantically searched around for us…inside their darn club! (They put us on another flight an hour later, whew).
So question for you all, now that our family has grown another one, for international travel when I’m the only Premier Gold and need access to Club for my family of 4 (we are a quiet bunch, kids aren’t rowdy), would this be the only occasion when a membership is worth it? UA Club in NRT did not offer us an option for a one-time use fee (which I would’ve paid for), not sure if that’s a domestic thing. Sorry for the long post! Thx!
I agree with Salvatore, it’s a rip-off. Being based out of ATL, although I fly almost every week, I only qualify every other year for Diamond status (due to carry over miles and 20K AMEX MQMs). When Delta pulled its “bait and switch” a couple of years ago, charging for decent drinks (oh, you can still get that American mass-produced Bud or Miller swill), I became a wee bit disillusioned. Delta once again crapping on its best customers. And have you ever noticed those degenerates they employ in the ATL lounges? Most of ones I’ve encountered are lazy, sorry, resentful and unprofessional.
Since Delta stopped allowing free access to companion travelers in their clubs (as of May 2014), the crowds have actually gone down significantly. I’m sure all of the family travelers are upset with this change, but it’s nicer for those of us who regularly use these facilities while on business travel.
Years ago, when flying first class with a stopover domestically, one could use the airlines’ lounge systems at the airport of origin and during stopovers if available. Before my retirement I was fortunate to always maintain top elite status with Delta and as such was offered free annual membership to Crown/Sky Clubs. Virtually all my flying was international so I became very used to using the Sky Clubs in ATL, JFK, DTW, MSP during my stopovers between my domestic and overseas flights. A few months ago, my wife and I were flying domestic first class to SEA with a 2+ hour stopover in MSP. When we tried to use the Sky Club, showing our first class boarding passes, we were politely informed that unless we were transferring to an international business class seat, we would have to pay for entrance. This surprised me due to the fact that we spent several hundred dollars more for the first class tickets and I just assumed a lounge privledge would be included. I was wrong and apparently this is true through all brands.
I paid about $750 for a senior lifetime pass on Continental Airlines about 10 years ago. When Continental merged with United, my pass is now with United Airlines Club. Of course you have to be 65 to do this, but if you are, you should check into signing up. The price is now about $1200 but still worth the price, when you consider I have paid about $75 per year for my card.
Remember, some airlines let you use your miles to buy a year’s membership (with less miles charged depending on your elite level). People who fly a lot tend to value their miles to upgrade to premium cabins/experiences more than to redeem for (yet more) flying, so when you are earning oodles of miles you don’t really care. But I really only recommend annual lounge membership for frequent travelers who constantly have to *connect* through a hub that has a lounge. As for nonstop itineraries, most frequent domestic travelers don’t get to the airport any earlier than they have to, which leaves little time to relax in a lounge for a nonstop anyway (by the time you go through TSA your boarding group is about to be called). When my previous business travel forced me to fly a lot of hub connections to get to smaller cities, I used my miles for a membership and felt like I got decent use out of it. Not saying the domestic lounges are that nice, but it was a good way to sit out connections and get faster rebooking assistance in the club during IROPs. [My opinions do not necessarily represent my employer.]
I quit (renewing) the Delta clubs when I kept finding myself in overpacked clubs orbiting the room for a place to sit.
You forgot one valuable item, you now have to pay for alcohol drinks. These clubs have become a big rip-off
I used to have a Priority Pass, but found that I was never guaranteed access when the lounge was busy. Combined with their terrible app that made me feel like it was 1996, I decided to just buy passes when I needed them. Thanks for the loungebuddy tip…cool app!