Access To Lounges
Access to airport lounges may be obtained in several ways. In Australia, Canada, and the United States, a common method to gain access is by purchasing an annual or a lifetime membership, while in Asia and Europe this is usually impossible. Membership fees are sometimes discounted for elite members of an airline's frequent flyer program, and may often be paid using miles. Certain high-end credit cards associated with an airline, such as the Delta Reserve Credit Card and the United MilagePlus Club card (formerly the Continental Presidential Plus card), include membership to the lounges for as long as one owns the card.
Lounge access can also be attained with an airline status card which is common in Europe. The top frequent-flyer levels often offer access to any of an airline's lounges or partner airlines' lounges, when traveling in any class of travel on any of the partner airlines (usually it is required for the cardholder to be booked on one of the carrier's flights within the next 24 hours). Most airlines also usually offer free lounge access to anyone in their international or transcontinental premium cabins (first class or business class) on their days of travel.
Independent programs such as Priority Pass offer access to selected airline lounges for an annual fee, while Airport Angel, Red Dot Lounges and Go Simply offer prebookable access without need for membership. Premium credit and charge cards such as Diners Club International, American Express Platinum and Centurion Card charge cards, and the Morgan Stanley i24 Card, offer lounge programs for members. As of 2008 the American Express Platinum (in some countries) and Centurion charge cards, Morgan Stanley i24 card and the RBS Black Card include Priority Pass membership. American Express also offers access to lounges belonging to partner airlines when flying with those airlines. Some banks like HSBC now offer a lounge access program for premium clients.
Generic lounges operated by private companies, such as Servisair, also exist. Inviting passengers from any airline, most only offer day passes, but some also offer yearly and lifetime memberships.
Read more about this topic: Airport Lounge
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