Anyone who makes a definitive statement about which credit card is the best for lounge access is frankly wrong or, at best, naive. Picking the right card for airport lounge access depends a lot on the airports you frequently visit and your family size. Make sure to listen to the end for information on a secret card option for lounge access. That's actually one of the best. Welcome back to Points for Normal People. I'm Katie and I'm here because I know that travel costs add up, especially for a family. But I believe travel isn't just for the rich. That's why, on Points for Normal People, I share the tips and tricks that our family has been using for over a decade to help you use your everyday expenses and credit card welcome offers to supercharge your travel points so that you can pay for entire vacations every year. Most normal people in my experience, when they start getting into points, can stomach a $95 annual fee and people understand that the welcome offer you're getting is worth. Can stomach a $95 annual fee and people understand that the welcome offer you're getting is worth far more than $95. And if you tuned into season one, I talked in depth about the benefits on my favorite beginner's card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and to me. All those benefits add up to way more than the $95 a year I pay for it, which is why we consider that card a keeper. But there's a whole group of premium cards with annual fees of $395 to $695. And when we first got into points, I could not fathom spending that much on an annual fee, because even $395, that's enough for a round-trip flight to Europe if you wait for a fair sale. But about 10 years ago we got our first premium card and there is one benefit in particular that hooked us. That's the airport lounge access. Through the years we've had a lot of different cards that give us lounge access. That first one we got was the now-discontinued City Prestige when the Chase Sapphire Reserve was released in 2016, we got that one. We've held American Express Platinum cards. Currently we hold both the Capital One Venture card and a Ritz Carlton card. I get asked a lot which card is best for lounge access and the answer is resoundingly it depends. Today I want to walk through how you can make a decision on which card is best for you.
Speaker 1The airport lounge landscape has changed a lot over the past few years and, generally speaking, it's been a great shift, especially in the United States. Let's talk first a little bit about the lounge options in the US. Airport lounges can vary in quality a lot. Typically, lounges will offer some free snacks and drinks, as well as decent internet and a quieter spot to wait than the terminal. We love the free snacks and drinks, but I didn't know how much I loved the lounge for the relative quiet. You really don't realize how incessant the noise and the announcements are in the airport until you have the chance to get out of it.
Speaker 1It used to be that there were barely any lounge options in the US, or if there were, they were often what our family calls fruit snack lounges. Now, to be clear, our kids love fruit snack lounges. A few examples of these lounges would be the Plumeria Lounge in Honolulu and the Swissport Lounge at Chicago O'Hare For snacks. These ones often usually have fruit snacks, chips and maybe granola bars, and then they usually have a coffee machine, soft drinks and beer. This is still such a nice treat compared to paying airport prices, but this pales in comparison to some of the full-service lounges that you can find that have full-meal buffets, full complimentary bars serving specialty cocktails or even showers or sleeping suites. The experience can vary so much by lounge and location, and many airports have no lounges. I just want to set your expectation that even if you get a premium credit card, that doesn't mean you will always be able to go into a lounge on every trip.
Speaker 1But there are a variety of types of lounges you might be able to access. First of all, there are airline-based lounges. So United and American and Delta all have their own lounges. They won't have them at all airports, but they certainly have them at their hubs. For all of these there are specific airline-branded credit cards that can give you access to these lounges when you hold that card and fly on that airline. So if you are extremely loyal to any of those airlines, those co-branded cards very well may make sense for you. Business passengers on those airlines also get access to those lounges. Sometimes international airlines will group together to operate a lounge for their business class passengers together too.
Speaker 1Next, there are various independent lounges operating at airports. Some are chains of lounges, like there's one called the Club that operates in various airports, or there's another network called Plaza Premium Lounges, and then there are a growing group of lounges that are operated essentially by banks. So American Express has these Centurion lounges, capital One now has Capital One lounges, and Chase is opening more and Centurion lounges. Capital One now has Capital One lounges and Chase is opening more and more Sapphire lounges. Different credit cards are going to give you access to different lounge networks. They also have different policies as to whether you can bring guests in and how many, and these lounge networks are not represented equally across all major airports, so the airports you travel to can make a big difference as to which lounges you'll be near regularly.
Speaker 1The lounge network that has the largest number of lounges in its membership is called Priority Pass, and Priority Pass has some actual airport lounges in its membership network. But, to add another layer of complexity, it also has some restaurants in its network and some spas and some gaming locations, and the Priority Pass membership you get with any given card can give you access to some, but not all, priority Pass locations. This is what I mean about. This starts to feel complicated, but I'm going to walk through all the variables today so that if you decide you want to enjoy lounge access, you're confident about which of these cards is best for you and you may end up like me and pick more than one in the end. I already mentioned the airline-specific lounges. If you always fly United or American or Delta and fly them frequently, I think those cards might make the most sense for you. I don't have that kind of brand loyalty personally, except to Southwest, which of course doesn't operate lounges, but if you do have brand loyalty, that's something you should look into. I'll get American Express out of the way first, because frankly it is my least favorite option for lounge access. American Express operates at Centurion Lounges and overall these are great lounges. They have been for a long time, though, having issues with overcrowding. So to handle this, american Express removed almost all guest access and that's the main reason why it's a tough sell for me.
Speaker 1If you want to access Centurion lounges, you need to have a platinum card and the annual fee is currently $695. Then that just gets you access for yourself. If you want to have a platinum card and the annual fee is currently $695. Then that just gets you access for yourself. If you want to have access for a guest, you have to either pay $50 per visit or add them as an authorized user on your card. If you add them as an authorized user on your card, that's going to cost you another $175 per year per authorized user If you're using the Centurion lounges a lot, it might make sense for you, but overall you have to be a very heavy user of Centurion lounges to make the math work in your favor. You can also spend $75,000 a year on your platinum card to unlock guest access, but that's a lot of spending.
Speaker 1When I was preparing this episode, I actually went through the airport list of Centurion lounges and found that every single one of them has other lounge options, either through Chase or Capital One or Priority Pass. I'll rattle off the list of Centurion lounge locations in the US, but also I'd encourage you to check the show notes, because we have a new article out that goes through different airports to compare lounge access, and that's going to be more clear than you just hearing it one time. Currently, centurion lounges operate in Charlotte, north Carolina, dallas-fort Worth, denver, the George Bush Airport in Houston, las Vegas, atlanta, jfk, laguardia, lax, miami, philadelphia, phoenix, reagan, washington DC, san Francisco and Seattle. So all of those have Centurion lounges. But, as an example, in San Francisco, seattle and Atlanta, for instance, you'll find a Centurion lounge, but these airports also have a lounge called the Club. Now, the Centurion lounge is definitely an upgraded experience over the Club, but it's easier and cheaper if you're a couple or a family to get into the club, or if you're single and you want to bring your friends in.
Speaker 1So again, unless you're going to be visiting Centurion Lounges a lot, or if you're a solo traveler, this probably is not the right card for you for lounge access. Now here's one exception Platinum cards do give you and two guests access to Escape branded lounges as well as Priority Pass lounges. Most Escape lounges are also in the Priority Pass network. So generally you're going to be better off getting Priority Pass access through one of the cards we'll talk about later in the episode. But there are a few Escape lounges that are only accessible with a platinum card. So if you happen to frequent Fort Lauderdale, palm Beach or Reno Nevada, you may want to look at a platinum card so you can access those specific escape lounges. Still, a family of four would need to get a platinum card for $695, plus add an authorized user for $175 more. So you'd still only find that worth it if you're a heavy user of those escape lounges.
Speaker 1Next I want to talk about the Capital One Venture X, which is the card I recommend the most often for lounge access. This is a newer card. It's only been around since 2021. It has a much lower annual fee than the Platinum card. The annual fee on the Venture X is currently $395 a year. You also get a $300 credit each year to use at Capital One Travel, kind of like a coupon. So it's really easy to drop the annual fee cost mentally. In fact, I personally think that even if you don't use the lounge benefits, this card is still a keeper. Next week I'll talk more about that, but today I want to focus on lounge access.
Speaker 1The VentureX offers access to three different lounge networks, but what I love most about it is its ability to get so many people into those lounges. Now there are fewer Capital One lounges than there are Centurion lounges. These are currently available in Dallas-Fort Worth, denver and Washington Dulles. It also has some new locations that have been announced as coming soon, and those will be at Washington, reagan, laguardia, jfk and Las Vegas. It also has access to certain Plaza Premium lounges. Most Plaza Premium lounges on the list are international locations, but one we do frequent regularly is the one at the Cancun Airport, which is a really nice one.
Speaker 1With AdventureX, you're able to get into the Capital One lounges and the Plaza Premium lounges and bring two guests in with you. But what sets this card apart even more is that you can add four authorized users for free, and each authorized user can also bring in two guests. That makes it really easy and affordable for even large families to get lounge access for everyone. Or you can share access with a friend you trust. My sister added one of her friends to her VentureX card so that her friend also has access to the Capital One Lounge in Denver. It gets even better with Capital One access to Priority Pass lounges, because when you read the fine print you'll find you actually get unlimited guests to Priority Pass lounges. Now guest access can still be limited by the specific lounge, so you might go to a lounge that says it only lets you bring in two guests If you frequent an airport that has, or is getting a Capital One lounge or has a Plaza Premium or Priority Pass lounge.
Speaker 1I really think that the Venture X is a great card to have in your wallet, and next week I'll do a more in-depth episode just on the Venture X, like I did in season one for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and I want to do that because this is the number two card I recommend in my three-year plan. It has so many great benefits and I want to make sure that you're getting all the value out of it if you have the card. But for now, I do have a detailed YouTube video about that card that goes through all the benefits. I'll link that in the show notes. I also have a video of how you can get on the waiting list for a Capital One Lounge from your phone, which I will link as well in the show notes, because sometimes you'll need to do that and you may as well do it as soon as you get to the airport, rather than walking all the way to the lounge before you get on the wait list.
Speaker 1I also want to mention briefly a little trick you can use if you have a family of four or more but you don't want to affect your partner's 524 status by adding them to your VentureX card. If you're foggy on 524, go back and review episode four of season one. Now, if you've had your VentureX more than 24 months, you can add your partner to it and it should backdate your open date and it won't affect their 524 status anyway. But if it's a newer card, what you can do if you don't want to add your partner to it and affect their 524 status is you can add one of your kids. Actually, this is one of the ways you can build your kid's credit score and we can discuss this more in the future. You can add a kid of any age and they will get a physical card in the mail. You'd use that physical credit card when you're accessing Capital One or Plaza Premium Lounges as a family.
Speaker 1For both of those you have to show your Capital One card and a boarding pass that matches the name, but you'll have that if your kid is traveling with you. For Priority Pass, you have to use your VentureX card number to open a Priority Pass account at a certain Capital One link. You also have to be 18 to make the Priority Pass account, but the name on the Priority Pass account doesn't have to match the name. That goes with the card number for the Venture X. So in our case, I opened a Venture X, then I added my son Jerome as an authorized user, then I used his Venture X number to open a Priority Pass account in my husband's name and now that I've had my VentureX for more than 24 months, I should really just go back and add Micah as an authorized user, especially for those cases where he might be traveling to an airport with a Capital One lounge and wants to access him without us. I love the generous guest policy and the authorized user policy of the VentureX. I honestly don't expect it to last forever, since it's so generous. I won't be surprised to see the annual fee raise or a fee added for authorized users, but we can enjoy it while it lasts.
Speaker 1The last major network of bank lounges are the Sapphire lounges that Chase has been opening. These are currently open in LaGuardia, boston, austin and JFK, and coming soon are Las Vegas, philadelphia, phoenix and San Diego. Now these lounges are technically in the Priority Pass network, so if you have a VentureX you'd be able to access them, but these are some that have caps and also a no-guest policy, so you can only visit the Sapphire lounges one time if you have Priority Pass access per year and you can't bring any guests. If you're at one of these airports frequently and you want to use these lounges more often, you'll need to get either a Chase Sapphire Reserve or a Ritz-Carlton card. The Ritz-Carlton card is a more secret card option because it's not available for new signups. I'll talk more about that one in a minute because you have to jump through various hoops to get it.
Speaker 1But the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the premium Sapphire card. Its annual fee is $550 a year, but you do get an extremely easy to use $300 travel credit. This one actually will just automatically give you a statement credit anytime you use your Sapphire Reserve for a purchase that is coded as travel up to $300. That leaves you with a net of $250 for the annual fee. Now that's still $155 more than the Sapphire Preferred and for that you're, of course, getting a few more benefits. One of those benefits is lounge access. Another benefit is that your points go further when you book through Chase Travel.
Speaker 1I know that's not what this episode is about, but I want to mention this again because I've recently seen a couple points. Influencers make this mistake when booking through Chase Travel and in fact they don't even realize that they've made this mistake. The Sapphire Preferred the $95 annual fee version, gives you 1.25 cents per dollar if you book via Chase Travel. The Sapphire Reserve, which costs $155 more per year once you account for the travel credit, gives you 1.5 cents per dollar. If you are booking via Chase Travel and are using more than 60,000 points, you'll come out ahead. If you upgrade to a reserve, that's because the points you save will be worth more than the net $155 you paid to upgrade. Because if you're using 60,000 points with the Sapphire Preferred, you can book $750 of travel in Chase Travel. If you're using 60,000 points with the Sapphire Reserve, you're going to be able to book $150 more or $900 of travel. I discuss this more in Season 1, but trust me when I say if you like booking via Chase Travel, you'll want to upgrade.
Speaker 1But let's talk about lounge access. On the Sapphire Reserve, you get to bring two guests in with you to Sapphire lounges and Priority Pass lounges. You also get to go into Air Canada lounges in San Francisco, laguardia and LAX if you're flying on a Star Alliance flight. But if you have more than three people in your family, you'll need to add an authorized user for $75, so it will cost more. Then that authorized user will get the same access and guest benefits. Though it's harder to get guests and bigger families into Priority Pass lounges, with the Sapphire Reserve you do get access to more Priority Pass options. That's because, while the VentureX only lets you into the Priority Pass locations that are marked as lounges, the Sapphire Reserve lets you access experiences. Now, those experiences are not super exciting, but they do include the Be Relaxed Spa, where you get to sit in a chair massager for 30 minutes, and some airports have these Gameway locations where you can play video games, and then you get to use your credit to pick out snacks like chips and candy as part of your free perks.
Speaker 1Now there is one more, even better option to get into Sapphire Lounges, and that's the Ritz-Carlton card. This card is no longer available for signups, but you can upgrade to it. If you have a Chase Marriott card. You would have to hold that card for more than a year before you'd be eligible to upgrade. The Ritz-Carlton card has a much lower annual fee than the Sapphire Reserve does. It's $450 a year and in addition to lounge access, you get a $300 annual flight incidental credit as well as an annual free night certificate for Marriott properties. The flight incidental credit is a little harder to use, but if you google what counts for RIT's $300 credit, you'll get some good ideas. After you account for the $300 credit, the effective annual fee is only $150. And for that you're getting lounge access, along with this Marriott annual free night certificate at a property up to 85,000 points and, like the Venture X, this lounge access is particularly generous.
Speaker 1With the Ritz-Carlton card, you can add unlimited authorized users for free and the Priority Pass access it gives you allows you to get in unlimited guests, but again up to the lounge if they decide to cap it. And, like the Sapphire Reserve, you get access to Priority Pass experiences in addition to the lounges. And remember how the Sapphire Reserve limits you to two guests. For the Sapphire lounges, the Ritz-Carlton card gives you unlimited guests. The only small exception is the Sapphire Landing at Austin, which won't let you get in at all with a Ritz card. Now these benefits aren't publicized widely because, again, this card isn't open to new applicants. But it's pretty easy to open a Marriott card from Chase, wait a year and then upgrade to it. I have a full guide to the Ritz card on my blog if you're looking for more information, and that's linked in the show notes. We actually upgraded to this card about a year ago but still haven't had a chance to use the lounge benefits that are specific to this card. Ago, but still haven't had a chance to use the lounge benefits that are specific to this card. But I plan to keep it, at least for now.
Speaker 1The last little detail I want to go over is Priority Pass restaurants. When you search in the Priority Pass app, you'll find some restaurants listed in there. It used to be that a lot of cards gave you $28 per person to eat at these restaurants. Now almost all of them have sadly pulled that benefit. But if you're looking at Priority Pass options at your home airport and you see a lot of restaurants, it is possible to get access to those $28 per person credits. You just need a very specific card strategy. As of now.
Speaker 1The only cards that offer this that I'm aware of are these two. First, the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite credit card, which has a $550 annual fee. This one will actually give you four Priority Pass memberships and each one has unlimited guests. This does give you access to restaurants, and there are other benefits that will also help you make up that annual fee For Priority Pass restaurants. This is an outstanding option. The US Bank Altitude Reserve is another great way to get access to Priority Pass restaurants, but your visits will be capped at eight per year. You can use your visits for guests who are with you, so it's limited, but the effective annual fee on this card is very low. The annual fee is $400, but you get a $325 credit every year that comes off automatically for a statement credit for things like restaurants and travel purchases. Either of those are worth considering if your airport has some Priority Pass restaurants.
Speaker 1I also want to acknowledge that lounges are always a little bit in flux. New ones open and other ones will drop out of the Priority Pass network, so you do need to be prepared for that. We're so excited that Chicago Midway recently got its first lounge this fall and that it is in the Priority Pass network. Midway is our home airport and it used to have some decent, cheap options for eating, but now it went upscale with the restaurants and the prices are just crazy. It's a small lounge there, so we'll be getting to the airport early in the future to get on the wait list to get in, which is also important to note. Sometimes lounges are full or at capacity and you need to wait to get in, so for a tight connection, they won't always be an option. Let's talk action steps.
Speaker 1You'll want to take a few minutes to figure out which card, if any, matches your travel style and patterns. To see the best overview, check out our new blog post, which has a chart to compare each major airport and the bank lounges it has. I listed them out in this episode, but I know it's easier to read through a chart. Those bank lounges are going to be generally much nicer than any other US-based lounge. So if you frequent one of those airports, look at the cards that can get you in. Then you'll want to look at PriorityPasscom to see if there are other specific lounges in airports you frequent.
Speaker 1If your home airport only has a PriorityPass restaurant, you may want to consider the Bank of America or US Bank cards. Otherwise, your choice may depend on your family size, how many cards you want to hold and if you value the locations of the Sapphire lounges or the Capital One lounges. If you have your site set on the Ritz card, you'll need to open a Chase Marriott card and wait a year to upgrade. But you could also open a VentureX now in the meantime and start enjoying some lounges now. Generally, I still think that the VentureX is the strongest option overall for most people due to the overall value that it has. But of course, if you're by a Sapphire lounge, you should consider a Sapphire Reserve or a Ritz card. For us, our sweet spot is the VentureX plus the Ritz card. That gives us both Capital One and Sapphire networks and most priority pass options, though I have to admit, after preparing this episode I've almost justified adding the US Bank card too, just in case we're at an airport that has restaurants, but since we don't usually go to airports that have restaurants from Priority Pass with our travel patterns, we'll likely hold off on that for now. Remember that there's no right answer to this, because it depends on where you go and who you travel with, and no card is permanent. You can upgrade a Sapphire Preferred or Freedom card to a reserve for a year and see if you find it worth it. A year later you could downgrade again. So ultimately, every year you can choose what strategy makes sense for you.
Speaker 1I wanted to make a quick behind the scenes note while I wrap up. Credit card affiliate links are the primary way my business is able to run. I offer my comprehensive course for free. I keep my guides free, and I'm able to do this because so many of you take the extra step to apply for a card through my links instead of just Googling an offer. Thank you to all of you who do.
Speaker 1I believe you shouldn't have to spend money to learn how to save money, because I know that over a decade ago, when I was starting to learn all of this, I didn't have spare money to take a course to learn it. When you use my affiliate links, it supports our team and allows us to keep bringing resources free resources to more people. I'm also committed to sharing the best available offers on my site, even when they don't earn me a commission, so you can have peace of mind when you apply there. That's why you'll often find that the Amex links, for instance, are reader referrals, because certain cards have much higher personal referral offers than my affiliate links show. It is, to be honest, somewhat tedious to try to stay on top of all the best offers, but I'm doing my absolute best to do it, because I know that's what I would want in a site too. Thanks so much for spending time with me today, and I look forward to seeing you next time, where we will continue to unlock these secrets of travel points together.