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One of the most frequently asked questions I get while posting about all of our trips is how we get into so many amazing airport lounges. So, today, I am going to break it all down in an easy-to-understand blog post because it’s complicated! But, once you know how to get into airport lounges, you’ll be glad you did. The complimentary food and drinks save us so much money!
How to Get Into Airport Lounges in 2026
Before I share exactly how to get into airport lounges, I think it’s important for you to know what they are.
Believe it or not, up until six or seven years ago, I didn’t really know what I was missing. I wandered through airports, overpaying for mediocre food and drinks. Then, I jockeyed for an uncomfortable seat near the gate and waited for my plane to board.
So, I can bet that a lot of you don’t realize what you’re missing out on, either!
What Are Airport Lounges?
Sometimes, as I am heading into or exiting airport lounges, I pass by people and wonder just how many people have no idea what is on the other side of that door. Or, maybe they think they are only for the elite. But they’re more accessible than you think.
Most major airports have at least one airport lounge, and many can have a dozen or even more. But they aren’t all the same! I have been into probably 100 different airport lounges, and service, amenities, and ambiance can vary quite a bit.
The majority of airport lounges have comfortable sitting areas, work tables, bars, and buffets. Some even have family rooms, private pods for taking calls, showers, and even spa services!
In general, the food and drink (including alcohol, beer, and wine) are complimentary in these airport lounges, such as the Delta Sky Clubs. Many have showers, which I really appreciate on long travel days. Some have sleeper pods, fitness rooms and classes, and even spa services! It’s mind-blowing for people who don’t know that airport lounges exist, let alone how to get into airport lounges.
SIDE NOTE: After writing this post, I realized that I never take photos in lounges. So, I pulled a few from my phone. But during my upcoming travels, I’ll try to take more photos and update this post so you can see just how amazing they are!
3 Types of Airport Lounges
There are 3 main types of airport lounges. I will discuss each of these in more detail in an upcoming section when I share how to get into each type. But here is a quick overview.
1) The first are airline-specific lounges, such as the Delta Sky Club and the United Club. These are often tied to your airline loyalty status, the class of ticket you buy, and whether you hold particular airline credit cards.
READ: Best Credit Cards for Delta Sky Club Access
2) The second type of lounges is credit card-specific lounges such as the American Express Centurion Lounges, the Chase Sapphire Lounges, or the Capital One Lounges. Again, these lounges will, of course, be tied to banks and credit cards.
3) The last group of lounges that you see are club lounges managed by membership programs such as Priority Pass, Plaza Premium Lounges, Dragon Pass, and others. The good news is that some of these memberships are also often included with premium credit cards such as the Capital One Venture X.
How to Find the Best Airport Lounges
The airport lounges you will access most often are at your home airport. So, it’s critical that you first know what the options are. That will make the next section most helpful!
For example, we almost always start in Atlanta or here in Dothan with a required connection in Atlanta. Hartsfield-Jackson is a Delta hub, so each terminal has at least one Delta Sky Club.
Up until a few years ago, there was only one other airport lounge, The Club (accessible via Priority Pass), which is located in the International Terminal. A couple of years ago, a beautiful, new American Express Centurion Lounge opened in Terminal E, next to gate E11. We have been to it many times, and I love it!
You will also need to figure out what lounges are available at destinations you like to travel to. However, that should not dictate your main strategy. In some instances, you may not even be able to use airport lounges. For example, if most of your travel is from my other local airport, ECP in Panama City Beach, there are no lounges in that airport.
My favorite way to see which lounges are available at various destinations when traveling is to use the Lounge Review app to see which lounges are available at your home airport or other airports. That will make the next section even more helpful!
How to Get Into Airport Lounges On Your Next Trip
So, how can you get into these lounges? There are many different ways. It will be easiest for me to break them down into the following categories.
- Credit Cards With Lounge Access
- Lounge Access With Airlines Status
- First Class / Premium Ticket Access
If you are new to this, you will likely fall into the first category unless you fly international business class often or have top-tier airline status. In both of those cases, you would usually know how to get into airport lounges and use them often!
Please note that most lounges allow access up to 3 hours before your initial flight or on a same-day layover. However, there are some exceptions!
Airport Lounge Access for Families
Also, each card, club, or airline has different rules about guests, including kids. I can’t list them all here, but I will touch on the rules for the most common ones. So, please read through and consider the guest policies, credit card authorized-user fees, etc.
At the end of this post, I share my three favorite travel credit cards for families to access airport lounges. We do it all the time! Our kids are always well-behaved in the lounges, and it saves us so much money.
Credit Cards With Airport Lounge Access
The most popular way to get into airport lounges is to have a premium travel credit card. Many cards, such as the American Express Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Capital One Venture X, include access to lounge membership clubs such as Priority Pass and the bank’s exclusive clubs, such as the American Express Centurion Lounge.
Let’s look at the three main types of lounges that your credit card will get you into.
#1 Priority Pass, Plaza Premium Lounges, Etc
There are thousands of lounges around the world. They operate under various names, such as The Club and Aspire, and even airline-specific lounges, such as the Virgin Clubhouse at some airports. In most cases, you can bring two guests in with you for free.
Most of these are included in the Priority Pass or Plaza Premium lounge networks. I want to specifically highlight Priority Pass because that membership is included with the credit cards I will mention later in this post and is generally the easiest to access.
Click here to view the Priority Pass lounge network, which includes over 1,400 airport lounge locations in nearly 150 countries.
Click here to view the Plaza Premium lounge network with 110+ lounges worldwide.
You can also buy memberships to these lounge networks on your own, but it’s usually more economical to sign up for a credit card that includes the membership. The most popular credit cards that provide free Priority Pass Memberships are the American Express Platinum Card, Capital One Venture X, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
TIP: Once your new premium travel credit card arrives in the mail, you will have to activate your Priority Pass membership. Priority Pass is available only to ages 18+. They mail you a membership card, but I prefer to use the Priority Pass app to show it and search for lounges.
#2 Bank & Credit Card-Specific Lounges
There are also lounges operated by the banks that issue your credit cards. You are probably familiar with the American Express Centurion Clubs with 14 locations in the US and 10+ more internationally, but other banks are getting into the mix. Capital One now has lounges in several US airports. Chase has been opening its new Chase Sapphire lounges—and they are fantastic!
These have varying rules regarding guest access to airport lounges, but here is a short summary. Some other cards, such as the Delta Reserve for Centurion Lounges, allow access only to the cardholder with same-day Delta tickets, etc., and are capped at a certain number of visits per year. But I want to keep this more basic and introductory.
#3 Airlines Specific Airport Lounges
The final type of lounge that your credit card may get you into is airline-specific lounges such as the Delta Sky Club, United Club, and American Airlines Admirals Club. Sometimes this access is tied to airline loyalty status, which I will discuss below.
Lounge Access With Airline Status
The above section discussed using credit cards to access the three main types of lounges. However, you can also earn access to specific lounges by earning high-tier loyalty status with the airline.
In some cases, you are not permitted to bring guests or are limited to one guest. Additionally, access sometimes depends on your loyalty status, the fare class of your ticket, or whether your destination is domestic or international.
Again, if you are a frequent flyer and have earned or are chasing top-tier airline status, I will assume you already know the ins and outs of lounge access and won’t elaborate here.
Airport Lounge Access For Premium Fares
If you book business- or first-class airfare, you are often granted access to airport lounges. However, access really varies! Some airlines, such as Delta, include lounge access only on international business-class flights, not on domestic flights. So, first-class passengers flying from NYC to LA don’t mean you automatically get lounge access. You would need one of the other access methods above.
So, research that airline or airline alliance specifically to see if you can access the lounges before your business or first-class flight. There are even some first-class lounges at international airports that are incredible!
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How to Get Into Airport Lounges For Beginners
So, to recap, there are three main types of airport lounges and various ways to get into them. But the first thing you need to do is know which lounges are available at your home airports! We actually have all of the below credit cards and a lot of experience using these lounges all over the world.
Unless you are a top-tier loyalist with particular airlines or purchasing first-class international fares, you will need to rely on credit cards for lounge access.
So, I am going to share my top 3 reccomendations for premium travel credit cards with lounge access! These come with higher annual fees, but those are often offset with various credits and perks. Most include free TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits as well as high-tier status with various hotel chains and rental car companies.
Honestly, being able to access these lounges for complimentary food and drink has saved us so much money when we travel. We never pay for anything in the airports anymore!
Capital One Venture X
In my opinion, the Capital One Venture X has been the best starter travel credit card for families seeking lounge access for a few reasons.
First, it includes Priority Pass lounges and Plaza Premium Lounges, so there are over 1,500 lounges worldwide. We use these very often!
Please note that Capital One changed lounge access policies in 2026. Now, only the cardholder can get in for free. Authorized users who pay a $125 annual fee will have access. No free guests are allowed, and the cost per guest is $45 or $25 for kids 17 and under.
So, it’s still an ok card if you don’t mind paying for your kids, but no longer my top recommendation. In fact, I would say that it’s best for either people who travel solo, or a couple who each hold the card. Because I truly love Capital One lounges. They are beautiful and often have elevated experiences such as the cheese tasting at the JFK Capital One Lounge.
Annual Fee: $395. However, it comes with a $300 Capital One Travel credit and 10k points annually at renewal, so it’s very easy to break even and actually come out ahead.
The Capital One Venture X also earns 2 points per dollar spent, making it a great credit card for everyday purchases.
American Express Platinum Card
My second recommendation is the American Express Platinum Card. It does come with the highest annual Fee, but I more than recoup my cost with the generous credits offered.
First, it includes the Priority Pass Select, which allows you to access the Priority Pass airport lounges with 2 free guests.
In addition, you can only have guests at the American Express Centurion Lounge, and they are not free. You are charged $50 for adults and $30 for kids under 18. So, for us, it makes sense for Matt to either have his own card or be an authorized user on mine for $195 per year. When we access the Centurion lounges as a family of four, we pay $60 ($30 per kid) per visit.
Since we travel so much, Abby actually has her own American Express Platinum authorized user card, so we only spend $30 for Jake each time we enter Centurion Clubs as a family. Why would I spend another $195 on that card for my teenager?
Well, the American Express Platinum Card also includes access to the Delta Sky Clubs when traveling on a Delta ticket for up to 10 visits (24-hour window) per year. This is a huge perk for me. You can bring in up to two guests (also on Delta tickets) for $50 each.
We use the Delta Sky Clubs numerous times each year in Atlanta, and Abby and I travel often, just the two of us. So, it makes more sense to pay $195 per year than $50 for each visit. If all four of us want to use the American Express Platinum Card to access a Delta Sky Club, we either pay $50 for Jake or use one of the one-time passes that come with my Delta Amex Reserve Business Card.
Annual Fee: $895
But it comes with a lot of credits that are worth more than that. Yes, it’s essentially a big coupon book, but I’ve spent all my credits, and this is actually my favorite card overall. Credits include a $300 Amex Hotel Credit twice per year, $75 Lululemon 4x per year, a $200 airline incidental credit, $200 annual Uber cash, a $240 annual digital entertainment credit, a free Walmart+ membership valued at $100, , and more. As you can see, it covers the annual fee and then some.
The American Express Platinum Card earns 5 points per dollar spent on airfare, making it my card of choice for all of my airfare purchases. However, I don’t use it for most of my spending, as other cards earn me better rewards. But I love it for the benefits.
Click here to learn more about signing up for the American Express Platinum!
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
In 2026, I think this is actually my top recommendation. Between this and the American Express Platinum card, it really just comes down to whether the airports you will use most have more American Express Centurion Lounges or Chase Sapphire Lounges.
The other most popular way to access airport lounges is with a Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I do hold this card as well as the two above. So, obviously I see value in it!
I like this card because it includes a $300 travel credit to help offset the $795 annual fee. It again comes with Priority Pass Select, which allows two guests to enter Priority Pass lounges with you.
Additionally, if you travel out of an airport with a Chase Sapphire Lounge, it’s a real treat. The first two guests are free!
Annual Fee: $975
Click here to learn more about signing up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve!
Travel Tip: My ATL Airport Lounge Strategy
Since many of my readers are located here in the Southeast, I want to share my specific lounge strategy for the Atlanta airport. We almost always start there for our big trips. Or, I fly in and out of my hometown airport in Dothan, Alabama, and have to connect at Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.
My American Express Platinum Card is all that I really need. The Priority Pass lounge is way over in the international terminal and pretty crummy compared to most.
So, we always use the Delta Sky Clubs and the American Express Centurion Lounge. We pretty much always fly Delta, so my card gets me into both. And it’s wonderful to have the American Express lounge for when we don’t fly Delta.
That said, Matt also has the Delta Reserve Card, and I have the Delta Reserve Business Card, which gives each of us 15 visits and 4 Delta Sky Club guest passes. Read all about that here!
With Abby as an authorized user, the three of us can get into either the Delta Sky Club or the American Express Lounge, and even The Club, anytime we travel.
At worst, I pay $30 or $50 for Jake if I am out of one-time passes. This may seem expensive, but it would easily cost us upward of $100 to dine at the terminal food court or restaurants each time we travel. Now, we look forward to visiting the airport lounges and saving money while we travel!
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Now You Know How to Get Into Airport Lounges
Every time I post about airport lounges on my Instagram stories while traveling, people ask me how to get in! It’s a little hard to answer in one or two sentences. So, I hope this guide on how to get into airport lounges answers some questions for you and helps you learn to enjoy travel days as much as I do!
Do you have a favorite airport lounge? Please comment on this post and let me know!
More Travel Tips & Travel Blog Posts
If you enjoyed this post about getting into airport lounges, you’ll love my other travel blogs! I have posts about travel tips, travel destination guides, and more.
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