All right. So I'm sure we've all been in this situation. Your flight might be delayed, it's getting late, and you're stuck in a crowd of annoyed people and even some crying babies Now, everything about this experience sucks, and you're questioning whether you really wanted to take that special vacation anyways. Little did you know, then someone else on the other side of the same airport that you're in is sitting in a comfortable Lounge Also waiting for that same flight while enjoying a whole different world of luxuries.

free food, open empty space, quiet, and even the ability to take a shower. Look I Know what you're thinking though. Memberships to these lounges are super exclusive and they're pretty expensive. Well look, you're not wrong.

Airport lounges back in the day were reserved only for people flying first class. But times have changed because now you can access airport lounges for free just by watching this video all the way till the end. So first let's start with the absolute Basics What are airport lounges? So I think the best way to explain this is by showing you all the stuff that the new Capital One Lounge that recently opened in my home airport in Washington Dulles has to offer. Now this Lounge opened up literally a few days ago from the time when I filmed this video about September 7th and this here is a game changer.

There's tons of seating, couches, chairs, table charging Outlets free hot and cold coffee as well as a fridge full of to-go drinks. By the way, all the food that you see is for free. All the drinks you see are for free and any amenities that come with it. Once you get in, it's your own little paradise and they serve you whatever you're looking for.

Now to access this: Lounge by Capital One It has a fee of 65 dollars per person, so if you're traveling with your spouse, it's going to be about a hundred thirty dollars in total. On the other side, though, you can actually access this Lounge completely for free and even get two of your friends complimentary access by the use of one tool that we'll talk about later on in this video before we do that. though, our airport lounges really worth it even if you you don't use the secret tool I'm going to talk about and you pay that flat rate of 130 for two people I Would still definitely say yes and this is mainly for four reasons. Number one: when you're at an airport, you're at probably one of the most chaotic places ever.

Everyone's either running late or they just don't want to miss their flight. And if you want to enjoy your next destination of when you're traveling, an airport lounge is probably the best way to do it. Instead of getting crammed and sitting next to all these people waiting in an airport and you feel those bad vibes in an airport lounge, you can do pretty much anything you want, whether it's take a cell phone call or get to work, or even chat with your team. This stuff would normally be pretty hard when you're on really spotty Wi-Fi in a giant Airport Building or when you just have people running around you all the time.

I Love the fact that lounges make it super easy for you to get into that workflow in case you're an entrepreneur or even if you're just working for another company. The third reason I love it is that you can save money on food and drinks because you will not have to pay for any of the amenities that the airport lounge has to offer you. If you are a more frugal traveler like I Am, this is definitely going to be something that you value. And last but not least, for the fourth reason, you get a ton of options worldwide.

So I recently took a trip from Cancun back to DC and while we were in Cancun our flight had gotten delayed. Quick little tip too. If you want to find flights that don't get delayed, usually try to book those flights way earlier on in the morning because as time goes on, late afternoon flights usually get delayed just because people are slow. Little hiccups happen and I've noticed that the percentage of my flights getting delayed in the morning is far less than at night.

Well, while I was in Mexico It turns out that flight got delayed and it got delayed for about an hour or two, and within that time that airport is not the best one in the world. It's pretty crazy, a lot of people moving around and I actually had access to three different airport lounges, all for free and it made a whole world of a difference just being able to sit down somewhere, enjoy that free food and chill out. So the fourth reason is that a lot of this is just Available to You Worldwide, it's not just limited to the US. You can usually access airport lounges no matter where you are in the world.

So with all that being said, what options do you have when it comes to airport lounges? Well, there's just a few main ones that you need to know about. We'll start with the most notorious one and this is going to be the American Express Centurion Lounge. So generally these lounges have been known to have really good amenities, but they have now their own share of problems too. Over the past few years, American Express Interior lounges have been dealing with the problem of being overcrowded and waiting in long lines.

With the most recent changes though that they made on the Platinum card and the updated guest policy, this should now get better over time because now if you have a guest unless you're spending 75 000 a year on one of your Platinum cards, you would have to then pay an additional fifty dollars to bring them in. The reason why a lot of people like these center-on lounges though is that they offer generally pretty decent perks. You got free food, free drinks, and there are also 40 locations mostly focused here in the U.S Now this next Lounge is from a company that's been stepping up their game and this is Capital One. So Capital One has entered the lounge game recently and they have been doing a crazy good job so far from the review videos that I've seen even with the one that they opened in Dulles and even the one that they open in Dallas Texas the amenities have been amazing.

The quality is good, it doesn't seem like there's a huge wait line either. and on top of that, even simple things like the food is a lot better. So in my experience of using the center-on lounge, oftentimes it's like buffet style and if you guys ever watch a video where they take like a microscope and see like all the food and nasty little germ particles that people share, it makes you not ever want to eat from those type of buffet style meals. But even recently with the Capital One lounges that they've made I've seen that they've completely changed the way that they present their food by having more individual Styles which I think go a long way.

Bottom line is the amenities are great and you don't have have to worry about it being overcrowded, but at the moment there's only two of these lounges. The next Lounge that they're opening is in Denver Airport I'm super excited for that one and it's also spicing up the game and leveling up the bar for some of these other companies to make sure that these lounges are a good, luxurious experience rather than another place of chaos. Now the third Lounge to know about is going to be the Priority Pass. Lounge This here is a collection of a thousand different lounges all around the world.

Now, although these Priority Pass lounges may not be the best in the world, there are still some special perks that they have that some of these other lounges don't. As an example, there are things like the Priority Pass Restaurant collection where you can get free food on an elevated level. Some also have access to sleep pods and short stay hotels to allow you to get even more rest. Generally, Priority Pass allows you to bring one additional guest in with you.

What? I Also love about Priority Pass is that you can also get a digital card so you don't need to be carrying around that ID card with you. Once you sign up, you can always just access it from your phone. When you pull up to any one of the Priority Pass lounges which are pretty common all around the Us, all you have to do is go in and scan that little QR code and you're good to go. Now the next Lounge I want to mention is going to be the Chase Sapphire lounges.

similar to Capital One they've been coming up, they've been investing and these lounges have been looking spectacular. So Capital One has been doing a great job with the ones that I've seen available. so that one is in Boston uh, the other one is in Hong Kong they're making one in Las Vegas they're making one in New York City Philadelphia Phoenix San Diego and that seems to be the collection for now. To access the Chase Sapphire Lounge you need to have the Chase Sapphire Reserve which has a rather High annual fee.

or you can use your priority pass to get into those lounges too. And for a membership for the priority pass, it's going to be about 99 a year all the way up to 469 dollars a year depending on how much you travel. By the way, priority pass memberships can be found completely for free too. So we'll talk, talk a little bit more about that soon.

And guys I know I'm holding it off. it's coming up I Promise you. Now the next Lounge you need to know about is going to be the Plaza Premium Lounge and these here are geared more towards being super basic compared to the rest that we've talked about. With this Lounge you can bring up to two guests and in total there's about 165 Plaza premium locations all around the world.

Last but not least, let me quickly touch on the airline lounges that exist because we have things like Delta Sky clubs to American Airline lounges and something that I frequently take is the United Club lounge access. Now these here vary in quality and luxury depending on what location you're in. So I won't go into too much detail just because it would be a long video for me to cover every single airport lounge access and to review the quality of all that stuff. But basically all you need to know is that if you have a ticket for a flight with that Airline generally business or first class, you would be able to get free access to the airline lounges.

Now one more thing, here's an additional tip on knowing which airport lounge just you have access to before your trip because there's a lot of them and it can get confusing and the last thing you want to do is to be running around not being able to find that airport lounge and by the time you get there it's already time for you to check into your flight. All right! So what I personally like to do is use a company called Lounge Buddy. This is a completely free app. A lot of the travel veterans and experts use them to and it's just a way that you can save time.

So here's how this works. Download the airport Lounge Buddy or you can literally just type in Loungebuddy.com on your computer I'll use it on my phone for this example and have a screen recording and next week actually less than a week from now I'm actually going to Austin Texas so I would just type in Austin airport right here and I could actually see all the different airport lounges that are within this terminal. so they have American Airlines I'm flying United so I'd have access to this I have a domestic first class ticket and I can also take a look at this airport lounge right here and if it looks a little crusty I could also check out another one. So Chase Sapphire Terrace I got the priority pass and I also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and judging by these photos, even looking at this, this is crispy.

This is clean and I would not waste my time going to the United one even though I have access to that Instead I would go into the Chase Sapphire Terrace Now what's cool about this is too. They'll tell you all the complementary access you get. So snacks, beer, wine. Wi-Fi that's a big deal if it doesn't have Wi-Fi I'm probably not going in there and on top of that, you can see the reviews so people will be honest.

You know it's a bit crowded. it's not worth it. it needs Improvement So if I see bad reviews like that, I'm probably not going to be checking out that airport lounge. So anytime you fly or travel, this is just a quick, easy way to do it.

You can type in whatever airport you're going to and see what Lounge they have. Another thing is you can also import your trips based on your flight number. so I put mine in here I'm going from Dolis over into Austin Texas and like we mentioned earlier, Dolis recently added the Capital One Lounge. It looks like the app has not refreshed that into their own system just yet, but I'm sure I'll be able to see that there.

One of my other favorite features is the fact that you can see all the different airport lounges based on The Concourse. So once I check in if my Concourse is completely on one side like where the flight is coming in and then the lounge is on the other, I can then make a better predicament on if I should go to that airport lounge. so I don't actually miss my flight or know when to leave it. so I can board my flight a bit quicker.

Now if you guys want to check out Lounge Buddy, be sure to see the link Down Below in the description in order for you to get started. Now the next part of this video is finally covering how you can access these lounges all for free. Simply put, it's by using travel credit cards. so right now we're going to be walking through five of the most popular, easiest travel credit cards to get started with.

So number one here on this list is going to be the AmEx Platinum Card What this card will give you access to is Centurion lounges, priority Pass lounges, and Plaza premium lounges to get access to Centurion Lounge All you have to do is just show them your car card or you can bring up your Apple wallet and then show it there. Now all the different memberships that you get with this card is entirely for free. but keep in mind that this card actually has a 695 dollar annual fee. Now look I Know to your average person who's not into credit cards is gonna sound insane.

Why would you pay 700 a year in order to just hold one single credit card? Well look I wonder the same thing for quite a while. but I Went ahead and broke down the exact benefits that you get with this cart because you got a lot of different things aside from the airport lounge access which can really add up. as an example, this card comes with an 80 000 Point bonus offer for when you sign up. That is going to make it a lot easier for you to even travel in the first place.

If you do want to learn more about the benefits of the Platinum Card you are interested, be sure to check out the links Down Below in the description and I also made a video going over it was like either 12 or 13 of the best American Express Platinum Card benefits that you get with this card so you know exactly what you're signing up for. Now the second credit card here that I think is a sleeper One of the best travel credit cards for this year is the Capital One Venture X card. Now this card here is going to give you access to those Capital One lounges that we talked about earlier, but the only thing to keep in mind is that these lounges are still pretty limited with this card though. you will have a complimentary priority pass access and you'll also get that Plaza premium membership.

With this card you're not going to be getting hit with an annual fee of 700 a year, but instead it'll be 395 dollars. which out of the major premium tier travel credit cards, this is still one of the lowest now. The Venture X also offers a 75 000 mile welcome bonus offer which I believe is huge in order to score a free trip somewhere. now.

the third best credit card to mention is going to be the Chase Sapphire Reserve. With this card here you have access to the Chase Sapphire lounges, the priority pass membership and I love the Chase Sapphire Reserve I Love it so much that I recently picked it up that I made a full review video on. Now the Sapphire Reserve has an annual fee of 550 per year so a little bit more than the Capital One Venture Your Ex, but a little bit less than the American Express Platinum Card Now this credit card here gives you a 60 000 Point welcome bonus offer and on top of that, you get a ton of free credits to add onto the perks of this being one of the better travel cards as well. Now I'm not gonna go too in depth on all three of those cards in this video, but I have full dedicated review videos on each one and recently I made a video as well reviewing and comparing all three of them to let you know which card is best for you.

Now the fourth credit card I want to mention is going to be a U.S Bank One. Now this card here carries a 400 annual fee, but it also gets you a ton of access to Great earning rates and benefits. One of those benefits is that you get access to four complementary visits to Priority Pass lounges as well as four complimentary guest passes. Now, in comparison to some of the other cards, we mentioned, the benefit is not as great, especially for the 400 you're paying.

I Think you can get better bang for the buck within the category of lounges, but this credit card is still one to to consider because they offer you fifty thousand points as a welcome bonus offer and you get a variety of different categories that you can get your money back on. Now last but not least, this is a card that you might not have considered, but for someone who's beginning to travel early on I still think it's well worth considering. This is going to be the American Express green card with a smaller annual fee of 150 and a smaller welcome bonus offer of 40 000 points. But with this card, you'll get a 100 annual credit for Lounge buddy.

Now Lounge Buddy is the app that I mentioned earlier and pretty much with the way this works is that if you want to access a Premier Lounge you don't have a specific credit card for it. This card will give you a 100 credit to use that app and if they charge you fifty dollars per person, that 100 dollar amount would go ahead cover you and your guests now. I Do think some of the other cards that we mentioned are much better credit cards, but if you really are a beginner within the space and you're just trying to put your feet into the doors of this whole world, the green card is not a terrible card to get started with either. Personally for me though, I think the Chase Sapphire preferred is a much better alternative just because you still get money back on travel rewards and it also opens the door up for other Chase products which I still think is one of the best within the space.

Now your miles may vary. If you're someone who really likes going to Boston the Chase Sapphire card is going to make sense, but say you never go to Boston and you like going to a specific airport that has a specific Lounge, you may want to consider that card instead. So do your own research and see which airport is one that you're gonna often visit frequently. For me, that IAD Capital One Lounge is making it very competitive and me wanting to cancel or get rid of my platinum card.

but I'll tell you this, even the IED Lounge As soon as they've opened this Capital One launch, they're now opening the Centurion lounge and I'm like, okay, this interior Lounge is not too bad Then it's another reason for me to keep this card and to arrive to the airport a little bit earlier in my own home. City So in summary, with all that we've discussed in this video, you should now at this point know about airport lounges, how to maximize it, and how to get them for free. I Honestly believe that once you experience airport lounges, you probably won't want to go back unless you're just getting to the airport right on time, ready to board your flight. Now if you guys are interested in learning more about this whole world, be sure to subscribe to this channel! I Also have a Facebook group that you guys can join in a completely free Discord group where we talk all things credit cards and travel related.

so be sure to check out the links Down Below in the description for that. Now by the way, all the content here on my channel is supported directly from you guys through the use of those affiliate links. so anytime you use them, it allows me to make more videos like this. I Can travel more often, visit some of these lounges and even review it for you guys, so be sure to check out those links Down Below in the description.

And one last thing I'd Love to meet up with you guys in person and a way for us to do that is through the travel Summit of 2024 in August that's going to be happening in Toronto Canada this is going to be I believe the second time I'm in Canada so I'm super excited to check it out if you guys want to join. I'm also going to be having my own little Meetup a little credit Society thing going on I'd Love for you guys to check it out and join. If you want more information, the links for all of that will be down below in the description. Thank you all so much again for watching! Have a blessed day and I'll see you all soon! Peace.