New to lounge access/benefits related credit cards.
Any recommendation which card can provide the best experience (lounge, foods, drinks, miles, etc.)? My main checking/saving is with Chase.
I mainly fly domestic US with some international trips (very few I would say). Majority of the departure airports will be major US cities. I'm now in DC area so I go to IAD or DCA for flights out.
Best Lounge Access (any credit cards)
byu/Curious-Muffin-283 inCreditCards
Posted by Curious-Muffin-283
6 Comments
Capital One has a lounge at IAD and a landing at DCA. They have others in other cities but have a smaller footprint compared to Amex and Chase.
Amex has the widest network but they got into the lougne game first and many of their lounges are a bit dated. You also get access to escape lounges and delta sky clubs when flying Delta with an Amex Plat.
Chase lounges are newer, just not nearly as many as Amex, but more than Capital One. You can also bring 2 free guests into Chase lounges with a CSR, Amex Plat doesn’t have free guests and Capital One is removing free guests on the Venture X in February. You also get access to air canada lounges when flying with a star alliance carrier.
All have priority pass which is hit or miss in the US; you also get one free visit to any chase lounge in a calendar year if you go C1 or Amex.
If you fly United a lot, and want Chase cards:
* Now (month 1) apply for United Explorer. You immediately get a pair of one-time United Club passes. You pay $0 annual fee (AF) the first year.
* A year later (month 13) you get another pair of one-time United Club passes. You get hit with a $150 AF but this gets refunded if you call within 41 days of the AF post date, and ask to have the United Explorer changed to United Gateway. The AF is refunded, but you keep the second pair of club passes.
* At month 6 or later (to avoid applying for a Chase card more frequently than every 6 months, and to avoid overlapping Minimum Spend Requirement for multiple SUBs) apply for a United Business card (anyone can get the business card; search around for tips). You immediately get a pair of one-time United Club passes. You pay $0 annual fee (AF) the first year.
* A year later (month 18, if you applied month 6) you get another pair of one-time United Club passes. You get hit with a $150 AF but this gets refunded if you call within 41 days of the AF post date, and ask to have the United Business canceled (or PC to a no-fee card, but I don’t think this is possible as the United-branded business cards all have fees at the moment). The AF is refunded, but you keep the second pair of club passes.
* Around month 25~27 (specificically, 24 months after your UE’s SUB is received) start again with another UE application. Repeat indefinitely. The same goes for 24 months after your UB’s SUB is received: another UB application.
So for a grand total of $0 in fees, every 2-year cycle you get 8 visits to the United Club, 2 sizable sign-up bonuses, free checked bag, Instacart perks, Lyft perks, etc. etc. — if you have a significant other who travels with you, have them also do this but offset to ensure you’re covered at all times with the free bag perk!
Note that [one-time passes have small limitations](https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/travel/airport/united-club-one-time-passes.html) relative to normal unlimited access, for example you can only enter within 3 hours of your flight time unless it’s a layover, and I’ve seen some locations (ORD concourse C comes to mind) refuse to honor one-time passes temporarily due to capacity concerns. Still not bad at all. IAD and DCA both have United Clubs.
Passes are stored in your MileagePlus account (“Wallet” page), not in Chase, which is why there’s no clawback concerns when dumping the card they came from. They expire about a year after being issued.
*EDIT: I originally thought only the UE has the AF waived the first year. But they both do!*
Any particular airline loyalty? If so, I’d start there (the comment below on a United strategy sounds really good, especially if you can use IAD as your primary home airport).
For your major U.S. cities, do you have a few you go to regularly and can check on lounge availability? I fly out of RDU so my Priority Pass does nothing for me here, and I’ve found the lounges to be unimpressive in the U.S., inaccesible in Europe, but outstanding in Latin America.
I’m thinking Capital One VX might be a good starting point, but I think they’re tweaking their Priority Pass access next year (not removing it).
It is a tough call for the DCA-IAD flyer. I almost always fly United out of IAD, so Amex is fairly useless there, so we have a CSR and United Club card. This combo gives access to a few PP lounges, all the United lounges, and the Sapphire (Etihad) lounge. This works well for us. Capital One VX is also an option, but the lounge is in the old historic terminal, and while that may be fine for some, I prefer a lounge in the same terminal and close to my gate. Chase is also a transfer partner to United, so that works well for those that want to use transfer partners for points.
DCA does have a Centurion lounge and a Delta lounge (IIRC) and so the Platinum works there, but there is no PP lounges there (again IIRC). Same with Landings for the Venture X, no other lounge access except that one.
So if one is airline loyal, you end up essentially needing two cards. Note that the airline lounges tend to be less crowded than the PP, Capital One and Centurion lounges.
1. Some banks have airport lounges, but not many. They might not be in the building with your flight’s gate. Also the bank airport lounges can be crowded with waitlists or lines to get in.
2. Some airlines have airport lounges, but they’re a bit pricey. Those lounges will always be convenient to your flight’s gate. They might also have lines to get in or block day passes when the airport is crowded (by definition when a lot of people might like to use the airport lounge haha)
Dulles Airport (IAD) is a United hub, so they offer a lot of nonstop destinations, which might be a value.
Beware all the people advertising and otherwise pushing Capital One and that banks credit card the Venture X. That credit card requires booking travel on Capital One’s online travel agency (OTA). I think OTAs are generally not great, so I’d recommend skipping that credit card.
Does that all make sense?
At the moment, I feel like there is really no need to be “loyal” about any airline LOL… Simply choose the better choice