If you have never experienced an airport lounge while traveling, you are definitely missing out. Most lounges offer free food and beverages while some even offer complimentary luxurious treatments such as a massage, manicure, or facials! Lounge access will change your travel game forever I promise you that! Here are a list of some of my favorite cards that offer you access to airport lounges all over the world!
VIP Lounge | PVG Shanghai Pudong Airport
Chase Sapphire Reserve
As a Sapphire Reserve cardholder, you also receive a Priority Pass™ Select membership. This allows you, and up to 2 guests entry into over 1,300 lounges in over 500 cities worldwide, free of charge! In addition to lounges, a unique perk of the Priority Pass™ membership you get from the Sapphire reserve card is access to over 30 priority pass restaurants as well.
At priority pass restaurants you can get a $28 per person meal credit for you and 1 guest! This is something previously offered with other cards on this list, however, as of Jan 1, 2023 the Sapphire Reserve is one of the only remaining credit cards with this perk.
Capital One Venture X
The Venture X will also get a Priority Pass Membership for the primary card holder, any authorized users. This means you and up to 2 guests at a time can enter any of the 1,300+ priority pass lounges worldwide.
One nice perk of this card is you can add up to 4 authorized users at no cost, and each of them will also get their own priority pass™ membership with the ability to bring up to 2 guests as well.
Unfortunately as of Jan 1, 2023, cardholders who have a Priority Pass™ membership through their Venture X card no longer have access to Priority Pass Restaurants.
Separate from the Priority Pass™ membership, this card also gains you access to the brand new capital one lounges! Currently, the only open lounge is at Dallas DFW Airport, however capital one has plans to open 2 more lounges at DEN, LAS, and IAD airports.
Iberia Dalí VIP Lounge | Madrid
American Express Platinum
The American Express Platinum card might just be the best all-around card for lounge access. While it does have a hefty annual fee of $695…if you’re a frequent traveler there’s a really good chance this card could be worth it.
PRIORITY PASS™
Cardholders will get a complimentary Priority Pass™ membership upon enrollment. This membership allows unlimited lounge visits for the primary cardholder and up to 2 guests when traveling. However Priority Pass™ Memberships that come with the American Express Platinum Card do not include Priority Pass™ restaurant access.
CENTURION LOUNGE NETWORK
In addition to Priority Pass, as a cardholder you will also gain access to the American Express Centurion Lounge Network, highly regarded as some of the best lounges in the world. These lounges are exclusive to specific American Express cardholders and cannot be purchased separately. By default, bringing a guest into a centurion lounge with you will cost $50 per adult ($30 for children 17 or younger) and you are allowed up to 2 guests. However complimentary guest access can be earned by spending $75,000 on the card between Jan 1, and December 31st each year.
DELTA SKYCLUB
The Platinum Card from American Express also gets you access to over 50 Delta SkyClub lounges when you are flying Delta Airlines same day. A note about Delta lounges is that only the primary cardholder can access the lounge for free. You are allowed to bring up to 2 guests for a fee.
LUFTHANSA BUSINESS LOUNGES
Platinum cardholders also get complimentary access to Lufthansa business class lounges when they are flying Lufthansa Airlines the same day. If you happen to hold a business class ticket on Lufthansa, you will also have access to Lufthansa Senator Lounges. Guests are allowed to accompany you for a fee.
VIRGIN CLUBHOUSE, ASPIRE LOUNGES, ESCAPE LOUNGES
As if all of the above lounges were not enough, cardholders also have access to select Virgin clubhouse lounges (BOS, JFK, SFO IAD, and JNB South Africa), Aspire lounges (formerly known as Airspace lounge) at SAN and ONT, as well as Escape Lounges (A centurion Partner) where you can bring up to 2 guests for free.
Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard
For loyal or frequent American Airlines Travelers, this card will gain you access to the 50+ Admirals Club Lounges worldwide as well as select OneWorld Alliance Partner Lounges. Cardholders are allowed to bring immediate family members or 2 additional guests. You can add up to 10 authorized users to your card for no additional charge and all lounge access benefits will extend to them as well.
Business Cards that offer lounge access:
American Express business platinum Card
The Platinum Business Card from American express is by far the best overall business card with Lounge Access. The lounge benefits of this popular business card match those of the personal Platinum card.
PRIORITY PASS™
Cardholders will get a complimentary Priority Pass™ membership upon enrollment. This membership allows unlimited lounge visits for the primary cardholder and up to 2 guests when traveling. However Priority Pass™ Memberships that come with the American Express Platinum Card do not include Priority Pass™ restaurant access.
CENTURION LOUNGE NETWORK
Centurion Lounge. Image Courtesy of Zach Griff | The Points Guy
In addition to Priority Pass, as a cardholder you will also gain access to the American Express Centurion Lounge Network, highly regarded as some of the best lounges in the world. These lounges are exclusive to specific American Express cardholders and cannot be purchased separately. By default, bringing a guest into a centurion lounge with you will cost $50 per adult ($30 for children 17 or younger) and you are allowed up to 2 guests. However complimentary guest access can be earned by spending $75,000 on the card between Jan 1, and December 31st each year.
DELTA SKYCLUB
The Platinum Card from American Express also gets you access to over 50 Delta SkyClub lounges when you are flying Delta Airlines same day. A note about Delta lounges is that only the primary cardholder can access the lounge for free. You are allowed to bring up to 2 guests for a fee.
LUFTHANSA BUSINESS LOUNGES
Platinum cardholders also get complimentary access to Lufthansa business class lounges when they are flying Lufthansa Airlines the same day. If you happen to hold a business class ticket on Lufthansa, you will also have access to Lufthansa Senator Lounges. Guests are allowed to accompany you for a fee.
VIRGIN CLUBHOUSE, ASPIRE LOUNGES, ESCAPE LOUNGES
As if all of the above lounges were not enough, cardholders also have access to select Virgin clubhouse lounges (BOS, JFK, SFO IAD, and JNB South Africa), Aspire lounges (formerly known as Airspace lounge) at SAN and ONT, as well as Escape Lounges (A centurion Partner) where you can bring up to 2 guests for free.
American Express Delta Skymiles Reserve
The Co-branded Delta Skymiles Reserve card from American Express offers access to all 50+ Delta SkyClub lounges, as well as Amex Centurion Lounges, and Escape Lounges - a centurion partner.
The only downside is that lounge access is only for the cardholder, and only when flying on Delta, while guest access maybe purchased at a discounted rate. This applies to access for both Delta Skyclub Lounges and Centurion Lounges.
However, lounge access benefits extend to any additional cardmembers as well as the primary.
Hilton honors American Express Business Card
The Hilton Honors Business card from American Express offers a Priority Pass™ select membership with 10 lounge passes each year. While some cards offer unlimited Priority Pass memberships, they do so at a much higher annual fee. 10 lounge passes per year for $95 is a great deal if a Higher Annual fee isn’t in the cards for you. (See what I did there? 😜 Jk, Sorry.)
CONCLUSION
Time for you to experience travel like you never have before. Lounge Access is undoubtedly one of the most valuable travel perks. Many people don’t even know what they’re missing. Opening one of these cards and getting lounge access on your next trip is a great way to add a little luxury to your next trip and maybe even surprise and impress your significant other!
As always, be sure to consult my top cards list before opening any card as there are several other factors to take into account when opening a card!
Happy Travels!