(photo by Joe Shlabotnik)
Airport waiting areas are not exactly the height of luxury. But how to get into one of those airport lounges without racking up 1 million miles on one airline first? Or what if your Platinum program doesn’t have a lounge in your terminal of departure?
Enter Priority Pass. This fabulous program is targeted towards business travelers but is open to anyone willing to ante up the yearly membership fees. Membership plans are staggered based on your anticipated usage: a fee of $399 gets you into over 500 airport lounges worldwide for a year, or you can pay $99 a year and then $24 per lounge visit. (The $399 is generally less than you’ll pay for membership to one airline’s program with no frequent flyer discount.)
Lounges from Continental’s Presidents Club and Delta’s Crown Club are well-represented, although American’s Admirals Club is conspicuously absent. A handy lounge guide is mailed to all members, with changes emailed and mailed throughout the year. You can also download the guide to your computer or PDA, or just check the website for a specific airport and terminal.
The best part? Guests are allowed, meaning every family member doesn’t need to be signed up for access. In most cases you’ll pay a $24 guest access fee (again, often cheaper than the airline’s own day-access pass), and in some cases, kids under a certain age are allowed in free. Each lounge sets its own rules regarding guests but in one instance, a lounge attendant refused to charge us for our 18-month old although the rules dicated otherwise, which we greatly appreciated. (On the other hand, virtually all of the UK lounges ban children under 12 altogether - obviously the wave in luxury family travel hasn’t caught on over there yet…) All in all, it’s a great way for frequent travelers to get a little more comfort at the airport without being a slave to one particular airline…
And not to worry. On the occasions we’ve visited these lounges, we’ve seen everyone from small infants to teens in the facilities. Perks include non-alcoholic beverages, cheese, crackers, fruit, and periodicals, all gratis, not to mention comfortable seating, clean non-crowded bathrooms (equipped with changing tables!), WiFi access, meeting rooms and other business facilities. Some lounges even include showers, if you’re so inclined.
In other words, a much nicer way to spend all that down time at the airport waiting for your flight…
