Best credit card that gives flight lounge Access as a perk

Efour

Efour

Efour

Caporegime
Joined
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Location
Norrbotten, Sweden.
Is there a card that gives as the title?
Fees and requirements that are not ridiculous but not really exceeding the cost of paid entry for 2, say 6/8 times a year?

So I'm guessing about 500/600 dollars max.

Convert that to pounds whatever is easiest.

Thx

I guess a lot of you guys have them. Or company account ones.
 
CapitalOne said:
Do the right thing, just buy business class tickets. Your fellow traveller will appreciate that more!
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Nope too poor. I'll stick to the "middle" class. Flying isn't special anymore. It's not the 1950s. :p
Genuinely can't fathom paying 5-8 times the price personally. Tripple for the premium is silly but arguably worth it for the leg space.

Actually a lot of the local and European flights i do dont even offer a business class product, you just sit in the front and get free drinks. Paying 2.5x for that would be very stupid.
 
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Efour said:
Actually a lot of the local and European flights i do dont even offer a business class product, you just sit in the front and get free drinks. Paying 2.5x for that would be very stupid.
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I was on a small jet to Germany some years ago.
They literally had a 14ish inch deep curtain with business class printed on it hung above one of the seat backs around three rows from the front.
Otherwise all the seats were identical. Guess they got unlimited peanuts or something.
 
I am assuming you are eligible for UK cards...

The Premier World Elite Mastercard is probably best for your requirements, but you need to meet the eligibility criteria.

There's also the Amex Platinum but over your budget.

You could just buy a Priority Pass membership.
 
I believe I know most of the travel card options in the UK, and I believe your best bet would be either the Halifax or Lloyds World Elite cards. I've never had one of them; they are quite new on the market, but it does sound like for £180 per year the main cardholder and supplementary cardholder can both get in via Priority Pass for free. (The Santander equivalent is main cardholder only).

I'm quite sure the HSBC Premier World Elite mentioned in the post above is the next most economical option for two persons at £195 + £60 for supplementary. There are also unorthodox ways to qualify for Premier other than the most published methods.

(I can also think of an unorthodox method you could use with American Express which would get you completely free lounge access, but it's a fair bit of hassle on a regular basis, and would rely on you both having excellent credit ratings all of the time.)

Overall, the best option would be to find somebody you know well who could give you a supplmentary card on their American Express Platinum or SBS Platinum card; that would cost £285, and get you both in for unlimited visits plus £15 credit per person at The Grain Store restaurant in LGW. Would get you in to Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium, Centurion, and possibly Lufthansa (depending on your ticket). Those other lounges are generally better than Priority Pass, although Plaza Premium in LHR has been going downhill a bit recently. If you don't know such a person though, then it's not an option.

If none of the above can be made to work, then last resort really would be to get a Santander World elite each, for a total of £360 I think.

NB: I don't touch Natwest or Barclays with your bargepole let alone mine! Despicable organisations both in my personal opinion. I am vaguely aware that both have had lounge access options through cards/premier style accounts in recent times, but I don't know the details or if they're still going.
 
Amex Gold £195 a year (1st year free I think) will give you 4 free access a year, and then it is £20 a pop I beleive.

These are for Priority Pass program so you get a Priority Pass membership which you show to enter the lounge as opposed to the Amex card itself.

Since the 1st year is free, you can always give it a go for 12 months, if you don't like it then cancel and loses nothing.
 
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decto said:
I was on a small jet to Germany some years ago.
They literally had a 14ish inch deep curtain with business class printed on it hung above one of the seat backs around three rows from the front.
Otherwise all the seats were identical. Guess they got unlimited peanuts or something.
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Every "medium" distance flight, and that is all flights I've taken within Europe, and down to North Africa (Morocco) are on the same 2+3 configurations where the actual seats between the 1st row to the last row are exactly the same. The only difference is there is a curtain from row 10 onwards that separates the 2 and the front rows gets a bit better food. Some airlines will keep the middle row of the 3 seats empty, and one time I had hot meal (steak) but sometimes, they packed it full and seat all the seats anyway.

It is a complete waste of money to pay for business unless I go to the US or the Far East.
 
I would probably not choose a card based on lounge access alone, simply because a lot of the 'pay to access' lounges these days are either oversubscribed, poor quality, or both.

I've seen waiting times of over an hour to get access to Plaza Premium at Heathrow T5 for example, which kind of defeats the object of the lounge.
If you're not flying business with airline lounge access, you might as well just treat yourself to a nice lunch elsewhere in the terminal.
 
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daz said:
I would probably not choose a card based on lounge access alone, simply because a lot of the 'pay to access' lounges these days are either oversubscribed, poor quality, or both.

I've seen waiting times of over an hour to get access to Plaza Premium at Heathrow T5 for example, which kind of defeats the object of the lounge.
If you're not flying business with airline lounge access, you might as well just treat yourself to a nice lunch elsewhere in the terminal.
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I agree with your first point.

I don't disagree with your second point, as everybody has different experiences/results, but the wife and I flashing our Amex cards (instead of Priority Passes) has always got us and the children straight in to Plaza Premium. Quality has gone down a bit though in the last couple of years.

On your third point, lounges are more than just about eating though. For us they are a godsend, because it makes it easier to relax about not losing a child or two plus it's easier to occupy them in there/usually there's a little play area, plus I can knock back some free spirits to take the edge off of what is to come on the plane...
 
I'd also point out that business class is very difficult to justify for people with children, especially when they're old enough for a seat to be mandatory, but young enough to hardly fit in the seat/not appreciate the difference. With three children, business class for the five of us would cost us more for a holiday to say a Carribbean destination, than some hard working people have as their disposable income for several years put together. I'm lucky enough I could afford to do it every now and again, but that doesn't mean I ever would. I have far better things to spend on/invest in, for the good of my family in the future.
 
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Deadly Ferret said:
I agree with your first point.

I don't disagree with your second point, as everybody has different experiences/results, but the wife and I flashing our Amex cards (instead of Priority Passes) has always got us and the children straight in to Plaza Premium. Quality has gone down a bit though in the last couple of years.

On your third point, lounges are more than just about eating though. For us they are a godsend, because it makes it easier to relax about not losing a child or two plus it's easier to occupy them in there/usually there's a little play area, plus I can knock back some free spirits to take the edge off of what is to come on the plane...
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Agreed it is a nice to have - great to grab a coffee or something quick and to sit down someone pleasant before travelling for sure.
But the pay to use lounges don't tend to be the most luxurious. Plaza Premium and Amex Centurion Lounges are the best of the bunch in my experience, but I consider they come with the Amex Platinum as an added bonus... they're not my sole reason for having the card. The Platinum I think is decent value all around, especially if you travel a reasonable amount and can use things like Fine Hotels and Resorts, hotel status and the worldwide travel insurance (as well as the lounge access).
 
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I was gold status with BA for a while - and likely will be Silver by the end of the year - which allows access to the Lounges globally (Silver = Business, Gold = First). They are not that amazing to be honest - but it's free food and drinks away from the hoi poloi. The First Class lounges are better, obviously.
 
Moley said:
I was gold status with BA for a while - and likely will be Silver by the end of the year - which allows access to the Lounges globally (Silver = Business, Gold = First). They are not that amazing to be honest - but it's free food and drinks away from the hoi poloi. The First Class lounges are better, obviously.
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I miss my BA Gold; the T5 First Class lounge was a nice play to spend some time! As you say the Galleries Lounges aren't as nice; I've actually found some of the newer Aspire lounges to be quite nice
 
Currently at the Blush Lounge at T4, it’s nice, much nicer than the other Priority Pass one in T4. Not too busy at lunch time either which is a surprise.

I got a chicken tikka masala which is nice but the roast potatoes is not good, stale. Coffee is acceptable, might have a beer before I head off.

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Raymond Lin said:
Amex Gold £195 a year (1st year free I think) will give you 4 free access a year, and then it is £20 a pop I beleive.

These are for Priority Pass program so you get a Priority Pass membership which you show to enter the lounge as opposed to the Amex card itself.

Since the 1st year is free, you can always give it a go for 12 months, if you don't like it then cancel and loses nothing.
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yeah first year is good - but I "think" I got an email the other day saying it's going up to £300 a year now and some other restrictions as well.
 
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