Airport lounges can be magical places. One of the worst feelings is waiting at a busy gate on a Friday afternoon when all you want to do is get home. Being able to score the free food, drinks, and quiet that lounges offer is always an amazing thing.
Most people think of lounges and think of hefty entry fees that could set you back about $500+ for an annual pass. Worth it if you fly enough, but not so much if you’re more of a sporadic traveler like me. My business travel revolves around various factors including, scheduling, costs, etc so I’m not always on the road. Thus, when it comes time for me to get free access to a lounge, I’m usually S.O.L. Until now…
Enter LoungeBuddy.
Before I begin I’m going to say that I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with LoungeBuddy or any of its constituents. I’m merely a user who has found great value in the service it provides.
LoungeBuddy is available for iOS and Android only.
What is it?
Essentially the way it works is it tells you which lounges you can access and for how much (free, too!) based on pre-defined inputs like your route, current credit cards, elite status, etc.
As of right now I only hold elite status on American, but when I was searching a few months back I didn’t have any status. Based upon my current credit cards, LoungeBuddy suggested I could get into numerous lounges with my Diner’s Club credit card provided by my company.
This may seem primitive to you, but it sure does help to have all of the information you need directly at your fingertips. It saves you from having to research and call your credit card company to find which perks you really have.
What if I can’t get in free?
If you’d like to purchase a pass, you can do that as well, directly through your LoungeBuddy app. Don’t worry though, the app charges the same amount as the airline so there’s no premium.
One of the best parts of the app is that it tells you the actual location of the lounges and its ratings which, in an unfamiliar airport, can prove to be very useful.
Bottom Line
Look, you could certainly find this information yourself. However I see no issue with using it as it’s free, provides a valuable service and makes travel that much more easy…allowing you to focus on actually enjoying the experience.
Currently, LoungeBuddy has eight partners, two of which you might recognize – Alaska Airlines and Concur. This has to be a sign that LoungeBuddy will only improve and become more popular among road warriors and casual travelers alike.
