MrWilliamston

how much $ is a visit to a nice Star Alliance Gold lounge worth? (nice as in the good ones operated by SQ, NH, LX, etc... not the crappy UA ones)

I know it's probably not possible to put a $ value on each visit... the reason I'm asking is that I basilly maintain my Gold status just for the lounges. During the last several years, I visit the lounges only 10 to 14 times a year. (Asia and Europe)

Unterwegs

You can get better food and drinks at most airport restaurants. For 10 - 30 Euro you will have a better food/drink experience than in most lounges (if you are not talking about the FCL/FCT for LH or LX).
A better place to sit/work, free Wifi (if the airport does not have it anyway), some newspapers. It all depends on the amount of hours your are going to spend there, but personally I would put the value at 20-30 Euro.

dvs7310

I put the value pretty low, depending on which airports you're frequenting. I would not pay anything for example to enter NH, OZ, or CA lounges in their hub airports, I only use them because it's free. In Asia, SQ and TG usually have a bit of decent food so have slightly more value to me. I can also see value in LX & LH Senator lounges, TK lounges, maybe SA as well. UA lounges in HKG and LHR are truly excellent and could be worth maintaining *G if you use those airports often.

In general though, if you are keeping *G only for the lounges and you're paying more than a few hundred dollars per year to do so, then you'd be just as well served getting a credit card that has Priority Pass (unlimited version) included, or just a Diners Club card which usually don't have such a high annual fee in many markets. Priority Pass and Diners Club lounges almost always overlap (though it's not exactly 100%).

MrWilliamston

I had Priority Pass for free a few years ago, but rarely got the chance to use it... probably due to the airlines/airports that I was using. There was either no PP lounge or the lounge was only in a different terminal, making it useless.


I probably spend a couple hundred bucks extra each year, just so I go over the UA threshold for Permier Gold. (helps a lot that I don't need to meet PQD)

sbm12

Correct.

What are you paying over and above your normal travel patterns to earn the status?

As for estimating what the value is, what is your real replacement cost? Are you eating in the lounges simply because there is food available or are your flights timed such that you need a dinner of some sort at the airport. If the latter, what does a decent meal (likely better than what you're getting in the lounge anyways) cost at your most common airports? Ditto for booze costs. Do you use the free wifi and does the terminal offer similar? Do you nap or shower in the lounges typically?

Add up those costs and you'll know if it is a worthwhile investment.

catocony

If you're just going to clubs for free drinks and snacks and a more comfortable place to wait for your flight to board, then it can be priced like any other luxury. Where clubs really help out is IRROPS. Doing reroutes and rebookings in the club is a vastly superior experience than doing it over the phone or at a gate or customer service line at the airport.

Other things that can be very valuable include having a shower after a long international flight, a more quiet place to do con calls and such, things like that.

Kacee

I'd pay $25 for a shower after a long-haul.

Doc Savage

This. If you're stuck for 4-5 hours, it's probably worth it. 1-2, I'd say no.

Unless you want to do a lot drinking.

sbm12

True, but only if the club is staffed/operated by the carrier you're flying. When partners - either airlines or 3rd party lounge operators - get involved that advantage disappears in a hurry. So it depends in large part on the routes and airlines one typically flies.

MrWilliamston

in the good old days, lounge attendants took down the names and flight numbers of people as they entered.... when it's almost time to board, they go around the lounge and round up the people and lead them to the boarding gate as a group...

I also remember being personally escorted from the gate to the lounge and then back to the gate when the connecting flight was ready to leave.

vbroucek

When is it you flew last time? 20 years ago?

sol95

OP wasn't talking about the last time he flew. He was talking about the "good old days"...

Kacee

Some airlines still do this, especially if you're flying F (hello, TG and LH).

Most recent experience was at USM flying J on MI (SilkAir).

lhrsfo

I generally fly between LHR and SFO. Access to the LHR lounge I value at about Ł20 maximum. There are spacious and excellent eateries in T2 at which I could spend that sort of money and have a peaceful place to myself. The UA lounge has windows to the outside world but can be too crowded.

Access at SFO is worthless. The UC is so crowded you often have to wait for a seat and the food and drinks offering is lamentable. The restaurants in the G concourse aren't great but are a whole lot better and the gate areas are perfectly pleasant.

MrWilliamston

The experience I was referring to was more like 37 years ago.