I’ve seen the airport lounge trend spike in recent years. Why I definitely see the benefit for those who travel often and have to deal with layovers or cancellations, I’m trying to determine its benefit for me personally.
I live in sunny Los Angeles, so flights are very rarely canceled from here, and I almost always have direct flights in the US for where I travel (NYC, Chicago) and for international trips, it’ll usually be in Istanbul or Paris.
Due to this, I can’t see the personal appeal of airport lounges. I don’t wan to spend even more time at the airport than I have to, as it’s not a fun experience (even with Pre-Check/Global Entry). What am I missing here?
Can someone explain the appeal of airport lounges if I live in a major city with direct flights most places?
byu/african-nightmare inCreditCards
Posted by african-nightmare
25 Comments
I like lounges mostly for the free food. Even if I’m not deliberately spending extra time at the airport, I am often not cutting it so close that I have to board immediately upon arrival, so in those cases it’s convenient to grab a quick bite before getting on the plane.
Layovers and delayed flights. My flight was delayed for two hours leaving Denver after Thanksgiving. Found a nice corner in the lounge while I charged up, ate (free) and drank (free), while the gate changed 4 times. The bathrooms are also private or semi-private and *much* cleaner
There is no appeal, so stay out!
In all seriousness, lounges have free meh food, free drinks (alcohol too!) And better wifi then some airport free wifi.
I wouldn’t get a credit card for a lounge in most airports, but it ls usually a side benefit of a card that already makes sense.
I do have the csr but I philly is my home airport and that’s the nicest lounge I’ve ever been in too (breakfast is good too!)
The amex cards usually makes sense without lounge access or pretty close to it.
I travel 1-3 times per month by plane for work and personal, and find value in the lounges, because I no longer buy airport food and snacks…unless the lounges are packed.
If you don’t travel often…it’s hard to justify the value of the annual fees of the cards with lounge access
I must live in a different sunny Los Angeles because I have plenty of delays and cancellations since there is also the factor of the weather where you’re going or where the plane is coming from before your flight.
But either way, it sounds like you answered your own question, no? You don’t travel enough or to a wide enough swath of places where you care. That’s fine.
I usually take morning flights out of NYC area airports and I like to get there early (leaving ample buffer for traffic disasters) and have free breakfast buffet and coffee. That alone is worth it to me so I’m not spending 30-60 minutes at the busy gate or in a food court trying to find a quiet place away from pajama families with kids yelling and iPad cartoons blaring.
But the biggest benefit is when something goes wrong like a flight delay. Not only do you have a comfortable place to wait and have comp drinks, the receptionists are all concierges who can assist you. I had a 3.5 hr delay on a connecting flight coming home from Thanksgiving and I walked up to the concierge (drink in hand) and they re-booked us for the following morning and got us a comp hotel room. That would have been much more of PITA at the gate or waiting forever on the phone.
I mean just because LA is sunny doesn’t mean where you’re flying to or where the plane is coming from is sunny. That leads to delays down the line.
Other than that, people usually get to the airport a bit early and if you want a semi-quiet place to grab a bite or drink prior to flying the lounge provides that.
personally, I see where you’re coming from if you never have layovers and not a huge appeal
I travel for work, so lots of layovers and I get there early
It’s a little bit of free calories and a (usually) quieter place to sit. Some free booze if that’s your thing. That’s not nothing, but that’s about it.
Honestly, significantly more of the appeal than people like to admit is the feeling of stratification. You’re in, everybody else is out; that must mean it’s good and worthwhile and definitely worth whatever you’re paying to maintain that access. A ton of the air travel economy operates that way, really.
Yes it only makes sense to a small subset of people and to most people it’s a nice to have. in 2023 i used to take 5pm flights every other week and i had to use lunch time to get to airport so i can work in the lounge between 2 and 5. delta reserve card was tremendous value for me at the time.
I fly to Japan Vietnam 2-3x a year. I usually fly out LAX. Qantas first class lounge has good food and a clean shower.
Fed and clean before a long flight is heavenly.
They can be useful at destinations, but yes, I agree. We get food at home or on the way to the airport. Lounge food is meh. And mostly direct flights mean it’s doesn’t matter a ton. It can be useful at times, but certainly overrated.
I only do leisure travel (max 30 flights per year, primarily international) and I enjoy good lounges so I started arriving earlier to relax in the lounge and enjoy some F&B.
If I was traveling for business and had family waiting for me, I’d visit lounges far less frequently.
I’d say that if your goal is to minimize time in the airport, you wouldn’t find much value in lounge access.
Free Food. A place to chill before your flight.
When I travel for work, I get per diem no matter if I spend money on food or not. So I just go to the lounge and get to pocket the money I would have spent on food. I travel enough that for my particular situation, I “made” more money doing this than it cost me for the credit card’s annual fee minus some other tangible benefits it came with.
Free food. Easily the biggest benefit aside from a peaceful space to chill. Very easy to drop $50 at the airport each flight with how high the airport food prices are.
You go early before your flight and get absolutely shit housed. This is what I do living near an airport with a centurion lounge. It’s great for alcoholics.
I travel between both sunny cities LAX and LAS often with no stopovers. I have TSA PreCheck. The fact that LA is notorious for its traffic getting to the airport means I have to allow myself extra time. I’d rather arrive at the airport early. I spend 30 minutes to 1 hr at the lounge to eat, get some work done and relax. This is a personal choice. I am not sure why you even posted this for “discussion” as you pretty much already made up your mind that you “can’t see the personal appeal of airport lounges…..”.
Free food. It’s money. Skip a meal before the airport, arrive a bit earlier. Treat it like a restaurant reservation.
I usually starve myself a bit before a flight so that I could completely stuff myself with free food.
Obviously, if it wasn’t for free food, it wouldn’t make any sense to chill there instead of at home
You would have less benefits at your home airport. Sometimes you plan for heavy traffic but ends up in the airport too early – a lounge is nice. Or just a quick breakfast.
The more important benefits are when you’re on the road. You get a place to relax, rest, eat. But in your case, Paris doesn’t have good credit card lounges, so it doesn’t help. You don’t do transfer flight, otherwise lounges come in handy in transfers.
One other major benefit, but limit to airline lounge rather than credit card lounge, is that you get access to a real person who can handle your travel issues much faster.
Anyway don’t chase something you don’t need.
Lounges can be overrated. Hustling across the airport, waiting in line, mediocre humus salad bar and soup. Probably better to dish out the 50 dollars at the restaurant near the gate, especially if you are not traveling often. Lounges overseas are pretty good. Shout out to the lounge in Venice, Italy.
Fellow LA resident. Once you’ve visited PS, the Qantas F lounge, or Delta one lounge, you’ll want to arrive early for a great meal and drinks.
Well even if you are flying direct you can hang out in the lounge instead of by the gate. But pretty much the appeal is the free food, free beer and some drinks.
I agree with you OP. I live in a smaller city so any international trip will require a positioning flight and layover. That’s where lounges have the most benefit to me. Also if I get to the airport and have an extra hour or so before the flight, might as well take a free drink or snack before boarding.
The credit card lounge in the Paris airport is a crappy priority pass that’s absolutely not worth it. If I was regularly flying out of an airport with a crappy lounge like that, or like the crappy aspire lounge in San Diego which is one of the worst, it would not be worth it for me. The food at the San Diego lounge is so bad, there is sometimes a line, and you can only get drinks at the bar (they don’t have self serve fridge or bar like other lounges, even for non-alcoholic drinks).
My home airport has an awesome lounge and I also fly through IAD and DCA a lot and like the Cap1 lounges there. I like the grab n go especially – just swing by to grab water and a snack.
You should figure out which lounges are best for LAX/NYC and then see if it’s worth it for you.