Best Airline Lounge card program
 

1. Which is the best airline lounge membership program for which one can become a member.

2. How is Priority Pass.

3. What about IAPA programs?

Thanks

How often do you fly

Which airline do you fly on most often?

Where is your home airport?

Which airports do you fly to or have long layovers at?

If your travel is international do you fly business class or have lounge access because of elite status?

Do you fly alone or with a companion?

The answers to these questions will help us answer your question.

Welcome to Flyertalk.

This doesn't appear to have anything to do with miles or points, so I'll move it to TravelBuzz.

Regards,

Flipside

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR RESPONSES.

There are others here better qualified to answer but let me start.

You are flying in two alliances -- Delta is a Sky team member and Lufthansa a Star Alliance member. Thus your miles are being split and cannot be credited to a single carrier. With Sky team once you are elite plus (Delta Platinum) you have free lounge access on international flights even if flying economy.

What with 24 international flights a year (two per month) you should be accumulating miles at a fast pace. If not yet an elite, you should see if you can qualify on a challenge basis.

Now elite status will not get you lounge access when flying US domestic routes. Atlanta, Seattle, London Gatwick (not Heathrow) and Washington National (but not Dulles far as I know) all have Crown Rooms. No idea about Ottawa.

Am not that familiar with the Star Alliance programs but certain elite status will also get you access to its many lounges.

Priority Pass is worth considering although unlike the others it will not get a companion in free. I often fly our of LGA in New York and am never in the right terminal to use my Pass and time and security issues make use difficult if not impossible.

Perhaps a combination of elite access and Priority Pass is what you need. Check Priority Pass to see if it has lounges where you need them. Also, see if you can get discounted or free access (AMEX Centurion card for US holders has some lounge access and a free Priority Pass). Also see what other credit card programs work for you. For US Card holders AMEX Platinum gives access to DL, NW, and CO lounges when flying their metal.

Good luck.

Star Alliance Gold gets access to lounges with a same day Star Alliance boarding pass irrespective of ticket (so economy class gets access as well).

If you make a lot of international/longhaul flights with Lufthansa you should be able to reach elite status in the Lufthansa Miles and More program in my opinion.
Of course this depends on how much you pay for your ticket and what booking classes your tickets are booked in. The lower the price the less points you get, that's the normal rule.
Have you already joined Lufthansa Miles & More?

Even when you reach the first status level called "Frequent traveller" you get lounge access when flying Lufthansa and Lufthansa partners.

If you manage to reach the next level called Senator you get access to all Star Alliance lounges with a same day Star Alliance boarding card, this includes many of the much better gold lounges.
As a Senator you also get access to the Lufthansa lounges (but not other lounges) irrespective of what airline you fly.
So you could fly Delta and still get access to the Lufthansa lounge, as long as there is one and the airport authorities allow you to get to it.

If you haven't looked at this yet I really think you should...

DEL-North America should be around 8000 miles or more while DEL-Europe should be around 4000 miles or more. So if you take one DEL-NA flight and one DEL-EU RT a month, that should be 24,000 miles a month. Multiply that by 12, you are flying 288,000 miles (give or take). If you fly international, I would say you don't need a lounge membership. You can access lounge by being Skytem Elite+ and *G at the same time.

If lounge access is important to you, go for AF/KL Flying Blue, with 40k miles you are Skyteam Elite Plus and you get lounge access on all international Skyteam flights. You can credit DL flights to FB (100% mileage, even on the cheapest fares). Priority Pass is also not bad, often comes for free with Amex Plat. Sorry, can't comment on *A.

If you wish to join a club, NWA worldclubs would probably be the best bet, with clubs in all of the cities you mentioned, except Ottawa.

There is a club in Delhi, Seattle, Atlanta, ones in both LGW and LHR, and ones in both Dulles and National.

Also one in frankfurt you can use.

If you continue to fly internationally twice per month, you should be focusing on attaining elite status with one/both of your preferred airlines. This will allow you lounge access, as well as other perks - perhaps even flying in Business.

I would focus on that, which will bring further mileage redemption abilities, etc. The lounge access will come with all the other benefits. Good luck.

Thanks a lot experts.

I am very hesitant about Priority Pass.

The least expensive annual pass costs $99. With it, I can visit a member lounge at a cost of $24.

The member lounge in Tel Aviv is the Dan Lounge. Even without the Priority Pass entry is only $20.

If I am flying on Delta, I can get into any Crown Room Club for $25 (without a Priority Pass).

I don't know, but I would imagine that many other airlines, and other airports, also allow me entry by paying somewhere between $20-30 -- so why shell out the $99 for Priority Pass?

I agree with your figures. The trouble is PP is expensive if you just buy it. Its much cheaper if you can get it with something else.

Many countries partnership schemes. For example in the UK Amex Plat gets you a free priority pass for GBP275 a year. And that's the version that gets all your trips for free. I think they've just changed it so another cardholder also gets free PP (not sure about that). The Amex plat also gets you free medical insurance for worldwide travel.

Many countries (not sure about the US) seem to have these tie-ins - usually with credit cards. I think that's the way of getting a PP. Often its the kind of PP where your visits are free. If you get PP directly then its expensive - probably because those are the PP holders that tend to use the card (and therefore cost PP) the most.

I've just stopped Amex for other reasons. But for some 3 years I had Amex plat just for the insurance and PP. I never spent money on it.

Priority pass generally:
I found that as time went on, in generally the "quality " of lounges on the PP scheme has deteriorated. I think it just becoming more common for people to obtain lounge access other than as C/F class fliers. What was a perk/reward for frequent flying is now available to the unwashed masses. Online booking systems offer lounge access for a fee and everybody wants to buy "VIPness". (of course that's what PP is about!)

I've just noticed that as time has gone by, PP lounges are becoming more populated by noisy leisure travellers intrigued to see how much free stuff they can get. It seems that there is a growing number of airport-operated lounges competing just to pick up this business. Whether its through cost cutting or "real lounges" getting fed up I'm not sure - but PP often ends up getting you access to these lounges.

There are some exceptions - so I think its important to check that PP have a lounge where you want it and that it meets your expectation. Nothing more annoying to end up in a lounge that offers little more than pretzels, a soft drink, zero internet access, kids, and nowhere quiet to sit.