Living the Lounge Life

  Until recently, I haven't been a frequenter of airport lounges. In fact I'd only been in one once on our way home from LA in 2008 when we got upgraded to first class because it was our 10th anniversary, and my husband had MVP Gold status with Alaska from all his work travel. I barely remember it, just a vague sense of feeling like an imposter, that I wasn't supposed to be allowed in there.

 When my daughter began working for an airline in 2022, we started flying more. As parents of an employee we are granted the privilege of flying standby when there is room on a flight. Lets just say when you don't have to pay for airfare, it makes travel a lot more affordable! We did find, though, that we were spending a lot of time in airports. Number one, airports are expensive. Food, drinks, you name it. Next, airports tend to be uncomfortable. I think they don't want you to feel like you could settle in for the long haul. So I looked into the Alaska Lounges as this is the one you find first thing when you go through security at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It costs $595 per year for a basic membership and that only gets you into 9 different lounges around the country. Yeah, there's one in Seattle, but will there be one wherever else we go? So, I thought I'd check out Priority Pass,  a major, worldwide operator of airport lounges. They have different levels of membership starting at $99 per person per year, but you have to pay $35 per person each time you visit a lounge. That adds up quickly for a couple! $35 per person would buy us a decent meal in an airport restaurant. So, the lounge was out for me until...

 Last fall, as you might remember, I began learning about travelling with miles and points. This involves credit cards and, low and behold, some of the travel credit cards come with lounge access! The first card we invested in was the Chase Sapphire Preferred (1) because of its excellent travel insurance coverage. That made sense for us because we were already spending up to $2,000 per year on travel insurance so it would save us a great deal of money. For our next card, though, I really had my eye on lounge access. The Capital One Venture X (2) seemed to be the best option for this because it gave you access to the Priority Pass Lounge Network as well as the Capital One Lounges. Even better, you don't have to pay $35 per person to get in. You and an unlimited number of guests can get in free to a Priority Pass Lounge and you and two guests can get in free to a Captial One Lounge.

 There's got to be a catch, right? You can't just get a credit card and get into lounges free if it costs hundreds of dollars a year to enter them regularly? You're right, there's a catch.  The credit card comes with a $395 yearly fee.  But don't despair yet, wait till I tell you the good news! Not only does this card get you into airport lounges for free, at a lower cost than purchasing an equivalent membership, it also gives you a $300 travel credit each year and 10,000 points (valued at a minimum of $100). Right there the card more than pays for its own fee if you plan to travel at all. And if you don't, why would you sign up for a travel credit card? There's a whole list of additional benefits, including an incredible online shopping portal I'll be writing about in a post very soon, that you can read about here if you'd like, but I want to focus on the lounges for this post. 

 To date, since receiving my Venture X last December, I've visited five airport lounges. That, by itself is a value of $449 ($99 enrollment + $70 per visit (two people each) for 5 visits). Two of them have been at the Seattle airport.  Of the two, if you're just as close to either one, I'd recommend the lounge at the S gates.  It takes a little bit to get there because you have to take a train, but if you've given yourself plenty of time before your flight, or you have a long layover, it's worth it. There's construction happening in and around the lounge at the A gates, so that one is less pretty and more crowded. The A gate lounge's windows look out on to the terminal sitting area, but the S gate lounge faces outside so you can watch the planes and see the sky.  Both lounges have the same food and drinks.  There is a buffet with time appropriate food (breakfast in the morning, etc), a fancy espresso machine that'll make eight different types of coffee, and a bar that serves alcohol and soda. All of this is included in your lounge entrance, even the drinks! Just be sure to know your limits as they won't let you on the plane if you've had too much. The seats are cozy and typically have some sort of table near them and power outlets.  There's restrooms in the lounge so you don't have to go out to the airport and back. Many lounges also have a flight update board if you like to watch that sort of thing. 

 In Miami, we visited one of the Turkish Airlines lounges. They had an excellent buffet.  They also had the fancy coffee maker the Seattle lounges had, but in addition to this they had a tea station and a Turkish coffee machine.  I'd never seen one of these before and by husband was game to try it. He likes his coffee STRONG. He very much approved of the Turkish coffee, noting that it has a fair amount of grit left in the bottom, but he poured that over his brownie and said it was really good 😂. This lounge had a self- serve bar with different wines and beers and several liquors.  

On my way home from my transatlantic cruise in January, I hit up a lounge in the London Heathrow airport. Their buffet was primarily serving British Indian food, but it was sub par. Things were hard and chewy that really shouldn't have been.  They also had some pre-made sandwiches and soups, but being gluten free I don't get to eat many of those things.  I say at the bar here initially because it was the only seat available. At this lounge, the house wine and tap beers are included, along with soda, but anything else costs extra. Oh, and they, too, had the fancy coffee machine.  I ate my food and sat with my soda for a bit then decided to head out and look for a less crowded lounge, but on my way out I came across a nice, comfy seat that had opened up so I sat there instead until it was time to board my flight. 

 To say these lounges are crowded, though, would be an understatement. In both London and Miami we were struggling to find a seat. It certainly detracts from the feel of "luxury". I have been told that lounges overseas, particularly in Asia, are much nicer.  

 Today, though, I feel like I won the lounge lottery! On our way home from Las Vegas, I have been looking forward to visiting my first Capital One Lounge. This lounge is actually brand new, having been open for only a month. I can't begin to tell you what a difference there was between this lounge and the others I've visited. The Capital One Lounge was quiet and there were several seats open.  Now, we were flying at a less busy time than usual, so take that into account.  The food offered I would describe as tapas, small bites.  You could, of course, have a much as you wanted of them though.  And it was GOOD! I mean really, really good.  Today they had crostini, mushroom "steak" with turnip puree, a lemon-herb farro chicken bowl,  

steakhouse truffle short rib with parsnip puree, 

and caviar.  Yes you read that right, caviar.  They had blini with caviar on the coolest spoon/plates. 

There were several desserts including tiramisu and orange blossom olive oil cake.  

 

This was NOT your standard buffet fare! Their drink options were many and varied as well. The soda fountain had the standard options in addition to pineapple cream and black cherry tarragon soda. 

There were two types of brewed coffee and lots of high end teas, but I opted for the oatmilk latte they had on tap and a pineapple turmeric agua fresca. I, so I probably shouldn't have had both of those drinks because they spiked my blood sugar like crazy, but man they were good! We sat at a comfortable table with power outlets built in, right next to these giant picture windows overlooking the planes, and had a wonderful, relaxing time.  It totally made getting to the airport early worth it! Following this, we had our best gate and flight experience in a very long time that I wrote about last Saturday if you missed it. 

Here's the Thing: Would I spend $600 or even $400 for lounge access? Probably not.  I'm too frugal for that.  But would I open a credit card that gives me a 60,000 sign up bonus after spending $4,000 I would have spent anyways, and then gives me enough credits to cover the fee plus unlimited lounge access? DEFINITELY! 

(1) Earn 60,000 bonus points with either Chase Sapphire® card. I can be rewarded if you apply here and are approved for the card. https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19q/34LM080256

(2) I have a Capital One Venture X credit card and really like it. You should check it out. If you apply using my referral link and are approved, I'll get a referral bonus!