Airport Lounge access

This may look a little ostentatious, but when you break down the cost, and consider the benefits, it’s really not… especially when you consider the price of a meal, pint of beer or even bottle of water at an airport which soon racks up… especially if the aircraft is delayed a little.

So, I really think it’s seriously worth considering the airport lounges, especially when departing for a trip, especially if you are anything like me and arrive at the airport earlier than most!

Indeed, I consider the journey to be part of my holiday experience… and in my view there is nothing better than spending a few hours relaxing ahead of a flight in a quiet bar with an unlimited supply of wine, beer, fizz and food.

The price of a walk in access ticket to lounges is around £30-£40. However, they are getting quite popular nowadays so its advisable to book in advance to guarantee access.

HOWEVER, and here’s the tip…..I would also strongly advise looking to your bank or credit card provider/s to see what accounts they have that have airport lounge benefits.

We actually manage to avoid the lounge access charges altogether, given we both have bank cards that provide free access.

If you look hard enough you will find that many High Street Banks and Credit Cards have accounts which, for an annual fee provide limited or unlimited access to any number of airport lounges across the globe. Indeed the card we have (Dragon Pass), provides unlimited access to over 1,300 lounges worldwide.

On top of lounge access I also benefit from a host of other bank/card benefits, including worldwide travel insurance, car breakdown cover, European car recovery etc + many more.

This really does pay for itself and costs nothing over the year! So I’d call this another no brainer.

It can, and will transform the start of your trip if you get the right bank account or credit card.

Of course, the lounge quality varies massively over the globe, the best one we’ve visited was in Vienna, the more basic ones are in the UK (especially Stansted). However, we travel out of South Terminal Gatwick a lot, and I’d recommend paying a small fee (£15) to upgrade to the nearby clubroom lounge (next to No1 Lounge), which has waiter service and some great food.

I always book in advance to guarantee access at time I want it to avoid disappointment. There’s a small charge for pre booking, but it’s worth it.