Are you someone who hates waiting in crowded waiting areas at airports before your flight or during transit ? I know I do. That is why in this blog i’m going to show you how I manage to get access to airport lounges around the world without holding a business class or a first class ticket.
Up until recently, I had never taken a keen interest in airport lounges. The way I saw it was only for people traveling with business or first class, and for now it was out of reach. But only since a couple of years, I have realized that you do not necessarily need to hold a first class ticket to get entry into a lounge. There are other ways you could enjoy the comforts of a lounge.
For those of you who do not know airport lounges are basically exclusive and designated areas within the airport, usually before the gates, where passengers can relax, refresh and refuel before a long or short flight. Mos of the lounges have a nice buffet, comfortable seating arrangements, Wi-Fi, and depending on the quality of the lounge they can have showers, complimentary alcoholic drinks and much more.
Even if you want to visit a lounge without any membership, it will cost you anywhere from 800 – 5000 rs depending on the lounge and the country. There are other ways in which you could avoid this hefty fee and enjoy the amenities of a lounge at a very low price. I’m gonna get straight to the point. There are three way in which you can get access to such lounges.
Hold a business class or a first class air ticket – This makes access to the lounge complimentary and you do not need to pay anything. But honestly, you cannot afford that and lets look at cheaper options.
Priority Pass – For those of you who do not know about Priority Pass, it is basically a membership program where you get access to these lounges with a small fee. There are different levels of memberships, so depending upon how frequently you travel, you can select a plan that suits your need. If you want to know more about this, you can check out the plans here.
Credit Cards: The best and the cheapest way of getting into these lounges is basically signing up for a credit card program that offers these lounge visits. There are many credit cards that offer this in India. Almost all banks have at least one credit card that offers complimentary domestic lounge visits and some offer international lounge visits as well. The most popular one is the American Express Travel Credit Card.
I personally use the HDFC Regalia First credit card, which gives me a complimentary Priority Pass membership with three complimentary international lounge visits and six domestic. Above this it will only cost 27$ per visit. So just check with your bank if they have such a program. Since I have started traveling more recently I definitely need more lounge visits, so it is not a bad idea to sign up for two programs as well. Although these credit cards have an annual fee but there are also many more perks to it and at the end of the day it is cheaper than all the above mentioned options.
So I hope this small blog gives you some idea on how to get lounge access in India. If you want a more visual experience of my lounge visits, you can check out the video below.
Until the next time, Keep on traveling !!
Doctourer - Doctor by Profession, Wanderlust by Heart 