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The airport is usually not an enjoyable place to spend time, especially when delays spring up. You can easily spend an entire day at a crowded airport gate, spending significant money on food and drinks while you wait.
Having airport lounge access can change your airport experience entirely. Many premium travel credit cards offer complimentary, unlimited access to thousands of airport lounges worldwide. When choosing a credit card for lounge access, consider the annual fee, rewards, other benefits and whether that card fits your travel needs. Here is our guide on airport lounge access and recommendations for the best credit cards.
Comparing the best credit cards for airport lounge access
United Club and participating Star Alliance lounge membership (can bring two adult guests or one adult guest plus any dependent children under age 21)
$525
4.4
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®*
Admirals Club access
Admirals Club membership (cardholder can bring immediate family or two guests; authorized users have access privileges only)
$595
4.5
Top credit cards for airport lounge access
Best for luxury travel
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers access to some of the best luxury lounges as well as top-of-the-line travel benefits and protections. You’ll get a Priority Pass Select membership with unlimited access and access to Sapphire Lounge by the Club locations for cardholders and authorized users. While this card has a high annual fee, its premium perks like an up to a $300 travel credit each account anniversary year and up to a $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit (every four years) can help offset the yearly cost.
Plus, you can transfer points to Chase’s travel partners and get 50 percent more value for your points when redeeming for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. The overall set of travel benefits makes this one of the top rewards credit cards available.
Pros
The travel credit works for a wide range of travel-related expenses, including airport parking.
You’ll get top-of-the-line travel protections if you use your card to pay for travel.
Cons
There are only four Sapphire lounges currently available.
It doesn’t offer access to as many lounges as its competitors.
Best for sharing access
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is an excellent lower annual fee option for travelers who want solid perks, simple rewards and can take advantage of its authorized user privileges. You’ll get a Priority Pass Select membership and unlimited access to Capital One Lounges for yourself and two guests. And you can add up to four authorized users who will also receive lounge access for no additional fee. This makes it a great card to share your benefits with your favorite people.
On top of that, the card comes with up to $300 in annual credit toward Capital One Travel purchases, 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary (equal to $100) and up to a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry (every four years).
Pros
You can gift Priority Pass membership to your authorized users, who can also bring guests with them.
This card has the lowest annual fee of the premium lounge cards.
Cons
It no longer offers restaurant credit with Priority Pass membership.
The travel benefits of this card have recently dropped in value, such as losing Hertz elite status at the end of 2024.
Best for most extensive lounge selection
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5
4.8
The Platinum Card® from American Express boasts the most extensive lounge access. You’ll get a Priority Pass Select membership and access to the Centurion Lounge network plus the Escape Lounges – The Centurion Studio Partner, Delta Sky Clubs, Lufthansa airline lounges and Plaza Premium lounges. However, you’ll only be able to access Lufthansa and Delta lounges when flying with them. Delta further limits Platinum cardholders to ten visits per year starting Feb. 1, 2025, and requires a non-Basic Economy ticket for entry. While it has a high annual fee, you’ll get significant cardholder perks, including up to a $189 credit for CLEAR Plus membershipClear Plus membership, up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (every four years), up to $200 in credits for airline incidental charges and much more.
Pros
This card has access to possibly the largest number of lounges worldwide.
You’ll get extensive travel protections and credits with this card, which will more than offset the annual fee.
Cons
This card has the highest annual fee of all premium travel cards.
Centurion Lounge guest policies and Delta Sky Club access have been devalued recently.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5
4.3
The Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card is the premium Delta Air Lines card for frequent Delta flyers. You’ll get complimentary access to the Centurion Lounge network and Delta Sky Club lounges for the primary cardholder (when flying on a non-Basic Economy ticket) as well as four free Delta Sky Club one-time guest passes annually. In February 2025, Delta Sky Club access will be limited to 15 visits per year.
An individual membership to the Delta Sky Club costs at least $695 annually (or 69,500 miles), and additional guest passes are $50 per visit. For a $650 annual fee, this card can be a solid choice if you’ll offset that cost with frequent lounge visits.
Pros
This is Delta’s top offering for complimentary lounge access and flight upgrades.
The annual companion certificate and free checked baggage help to offset the annual fee.
Cons
The high annual fee might not be worth it, especially if you don’t earn elite status.
The card has mediocre reward rates outside of Delta purchases.
Best for United Club access
United Club℠ Infinite Card
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4
The United Club℠ Infinite Card focuses on a quality airport experience and added value for United frequent flyers. For a $525 annual fee, you‘ll get United Club membership (which generally costs $650 annually) for you and eligible travel companions, which also grants access to Star Alliance lounges. You can also benefit from perks like Premier Access, free checked baggage, in-flight discounts and upgrades and up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (every four years).
Additional card highlights include award redemption discounts, elite status with Avis and IHG Hotels and an annual hotel credit with IHG. This card pays for itself if you are a regular United flyer.
Pros
You’ll have access to Star Alliance lounges and United lounges, which is valuable for traveling abroad.
You’ll enjoy numerous additional benefits for travel-related needs outside of flying United.
Cons
This can be a pricey card if United isn’t your primary airline.
You can earn more United miles with other cards in categories outside of United purchases.
Best for Admirals Club access
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
4.5
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® offers solid benefits to American Airlines loyalists with perks like Admirals Club membership, priority boarding, free checked baggage for up to eight guests on your reservation, in-flight discounts, up to a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry (every four years) and more.
You’ll get complimentary Admirals Club membership for you and your immediate family or up to 2 guests. That’s valued from $850 (or 85,000 miles) for a new membership to as high as $1,650 (or 165,000 miles) for a household membership. For a $595 annual fee, that offers the potential for outsized value for frequent flyers.
Pros
The card grants unlimited Admirals Club access to the primary cardholder and immediate family, which can be a significant value.
You’ll earn excellent rates on American Airlines purchases and get solid in-flight benefits like priority boarding when flying with American Airlines.
Cons
Justifying the annual fee is hard if you don’t fly with American Airlines frequently.
There isn’t much value in spending on the card outside American Airlines purchases.
How airport lounge access works
The quality of lounges can vary widely based on location and brand. While every lounge differs in terms of what they offer, they all give you a less crowded and more comfortable place to relax.
Airline-specific lounges
Many airlines have lounge membership programs where you can pay for membership or have access through elite status. You’ll also have access to the lounge when flying in a premium class, although it differs by airline and itinerary.
If you don’t want to pay for a membership, the right co-branded credit card might give it to you as a benefit. You may also get the membership at a lower cost or a certain amount of passes annually. For instance, the United Club Infinite card gets unlimited access to United Clubs (worth up to $650 annually).
If you’re researching airline credit cards for lounge access, remember that certain limitations will apply. For example, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card only lets you access Delta Sky Clubs and Centurion Lounges when you fly with Delta. Also, if you have a Basic Economy ticket, you won’t have access to Sky Clubs for that itinerary.
Credit card lounges
Access premium lounges with premium cards.
You’ll also find lounges exclusively for premium cardholders. These can be a step up in quality from most lounges and offer an ideal place to relax. One of the most popular with the most locations are Amex Centurion lounges.
Only cardholders of the Amex Platinum or Centurion cards have complimentary access. However, due to overcrowding, American Express recently changed its guest access policy. You can pay per guest or spend $75,000 annually on a qualifying American Express card for complimentary guest access.
Chase and Capital One are also entering this arena with their own credit card lounges. While there are more in development, each has only a few locations. You’ll need the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Capital One Venture X Rewards card to enter those lounges.
Access to these lounges comes at the expense of a high annual fee on the cards needed for entry. The Amex Platinum charges $695, the Sapphire Reserve charges $550 and the Capital One Venture X card charges $395. However, each card offers enough additional benefits to offset the fee if you regularly use lounge access. So, there is an added incentive to pick up one of these cards if you have one of these lounges in your home airport.
Priority Pass
Priority Pass is one of the most popular and common airport lounge memberships featured as a credit card benefit. You don’t have to fly with a specific airline to enter one of more than 1,400 locations in airports worldwide. You’ll need to purchase a Priority Pass membership or hold a credit card that offers access to Priority Pass lounges. However, these lounges are generally not as luxurious as other lounges and can often be overcrowded.
There are tiered membership levels, and certain cards offer better Priority Pass benefits than others. Some only offer a limited number of annual visits, while others provide unlimited visits for the cardholder and additional guests. Be sure to consider the difference between card offerings to find what best suits your needs.
How to choose a credit card for lounge access
If you’re debating between credit cards with lounge access, you can use these tips to help compare options:
Decide if you want unlimited access. If you want a credit card with unlimited lounge access, you’ll want to choose an option with a Priority Pass Select membership or unlimited access to a credit card or airline lounge. However, fees can be higher for cards with unlimited lounge access, so you might consider cards with a set number of lounge visits per year at a lower fee.
See what lounges are at your home airport. It makes sense to prioritize cards accessing lounges at your home airport. For example, the Amex Platinum might be ideal if you have a Centurion Lounge at your home airport.
Remember your travel companions. If you travel regularly with family or friends, consider guest access policies on various cards. For instance, Centurion lounges no longer grant complimentary guest access, while the Capital One Venture X lets you share access with multiple people who can bring their own guests.
Compare other perks. All credit cards with lounge access charge an annual fee, but the benefits you receive can offset it. Consider the welcome bonuses, rewards and perks offered to see if that can be the deciding factor.
An airline-specific lounge is the only type of lounge you can visit for free without a membership. While each airline has different rules, you’ll typically need a premium class ticket on a qualifying flight for each person who wants to visit the lounge.
Every lounge has different rules, but a good rule of thumb is that you can access a lounge for a maximum of 3-4 hours. Some only allow entry within a certain timeframe of your flight, while others cap the amount of time you can stay. If you have a lengthy layover, you can plan your time to spend in multiple lounges, depending on your location.
Popular lounges can get very crowded at peak times. Most have capacity limits, so they will employ a waitlist if you can’t immediately access the lounge. They will usually quote an estimated wait time and text you when you can enter. Depending on your flight times, this may defeat the purpose of visiting, especially if the lounge is far from your gate.
What’s next?
Check out the resources below to find a card that matches your travel needs and to help budget for your next trip.
The best credit cards with airport lounge access offer a variety of benefits in exchange for a high annual fee. Pay attention to the different lounge access types and benefits each card offers.
When deciding between cards, you’ll want to choose a travel card that best suits your travel needs. Consider the type of rewards offered, the travel benefits provided and whether you’ll utilize those benefits enough to offset the annual fee.
*The information about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® and United Club℠ Infinite Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
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