Five Best US Airport Lounges for Your Money

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Lounge Access Tips

Have time to kill before a flight? An airport lounge can provide a perfect place to relax. The best lounges pamper you with access to fast WiFi, fresh food, drinks, and other amenities while you wait for your boarding time.

Once a perk exclusively for business and first-class flyers, airport lounges have become havens for all types of travelers. What’s more, a growing number of credit cards offer airport lounge access to certain cardholders. For example, the Capital One Venture X Rewards and the Chase Sapphire Reserve include complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, a network of over 1,500 airport lounges worldwide. (You can find out more details about these cards and other credit cards with travel rewards below and in our roundup of the best travel credit cards.)

Don’t have a travel rewards credit card? Don’t worry — you can access many airport lounges by getting a day pass, with prices typically ranging from $40 to $100 a day, according to Kayak. But which lounges offer the best value?

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5 Best Airport Lounges

Here are five airport lounges in the U.S. that are well worth your travel dollars.

1. Escape Lounge at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Day pass: $45, or $40 if you pre-book at least 24 hours in advance

Location: Terminal 3

Hours: 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

“It doesn’t get any more bang for the buck than this,” says Scott Leazemby, a San Diego-based travel blogger who chronicles his travel experiences at SANSpotter. Although it lacks private areas, the lounge’s selection of food is “excellent for a small independent lounge, featuring a variety of hot and cold entrées and plenty of snacks,” Leazemby says. The bar offers complimentary drinks including lattes, draft beer, and wines.

2. Admirals Club at Miami International Airport

Day pass: $79

Location: North Terminal, Concourse D

Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily

This two-story lounge offers no shortage of ways for families to pass the time. It features Android tablets, where you can play games, catch up on the news, and browse the Web; an enclosed kids’ room, where the little ones can get their energy out; and a main sitting area with great views of the tarmac, according to a review on the travel site Upgraded Points.

3. Capital One Lounge at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

Day pass: $65

Location: Terminal D

Hours: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Featuring a cycling and yoga room with Peloton bikes, nap pods, shower suites, and luggage lockers, this buzzy airport lounge from Capital One almost feels like a wellness retreat. After a nap, shower, or workout, visitors can head to the bar which offers a wide assortment of beverages, including craft cocktails, local craft beer, and cold brew coffee on tap. There’s also a grab-and-go cooler with salads, sandwiches, juices, sparkling water, and desserts. Plus, “The décor is sleek and modern, and most areas offer a view of the runway,” writes Stacy Brooks, a Minneapolis-based blogger, in a review of the lounge on her travel and food blog Tangled Up In Food.

If you're considering a Capital One card with lounge access, the Capital One Venture X card, was voted the best airline credit card in the Kiplinger 2024 Readers' Choice Awards for best travel credit cards.

4. United Club B East at Denver International Airport

Day pass: $59

Location: Terminal B

Hours: 5:00 am to 9:30 pm.

This 35,000-square-foot, 600-seat lounge, unveiled in 2023, captures the essence of the Mile High City. Beer lovers can sip on a flight of beers from Colorado breweries in the second-floor bar, which has shuffleboard tables and an exposed ceiling for an industrial vibe. When you get hungry, the lounge offers three buffets, serving up unique dishes like maple-mustard chicken thighs, vegetarian green chili, and an egg frittata inspired by the Denver omelet.

Throughout the two-story space, you’ll find a wide array of furnishings and artwork from Denver artists, including photography, paintings, sculptures, and murals. Both levels feature floor-to-ceiling glass views of the airfield and a gas fireplace with neatly stacked logs.

5. Chase Sapphire Lounge at New York LaGuardia Airport

Day pass: $100

Location: Terminal B

Hours: 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily

This is the highest-priced lounge on our list, but it’s an all-around winner. Opened earlier this year, the 21,850-square-foot lounge offers two floors packed with amenities. The seasonal menu, from West Village bistro chef Joseph Leonard features fresh pastries, Korean fried chicken bites, vegan spinach bowls, and other dishes that you can have served directly to your seat using a QR code.

Ben Schlappig, of the One Mile at a Time travel blog, called the seared salmon and lentil ragout "phenomenal” in a review of the lounge. In addition, the lounge features private rest pods, wellness treatment rooms with complimentary facials, and a retro-inspired game room with a photo booth, pinball machines, a jukebox, and shuffleboard.

Tips for Saving on Lounge Access

Credit cards with lounge privileges and sign-on bonuses

If you plan to visit your favorite lounges often, some airlines offer discounted lounge memberships to frequent flyers or travelers who have the airline’s credit card. Below, we've listed a few of these cards that are also offering generous welcome bonuses to new cardholders. But not all cards provide lounge access and some require you to enroll in the benefit to activate it, so read the terms carefully.

For example, new cardholders can earn points worth up to $750 with a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, but they won't get lounge privileges. Only the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers lounge access.

And don't forget credit cards that are co-branded with hotels. For example, the Hilton Honors Surpass card offers premium airport lounge access in the form of a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership. Enrolled members get ten free airport lounge visits each Priority Pass Membership year. Just remember to enroll in the perk after you sign up.

Hot tip: Some of the best bonus and lounge offers are for business credit card customers.

$1,500 to $3,000 Amex Card Intro Offer (for the Business Platinum Card)
$2,775 Capital One Venture X Business Card Intro Offer
Alaska Airlines Credit Card: $660 Bonus Offer
Earn Delta SkyMiles Worth up to $840 (note only the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card includes lounge privileges)
Best Airline Credit Card Bonuses with a Free Ticket
Hilton Honors Bonus Offer Worth $780 Plus Free Night

Getting access through memberships

Frequently fly on a particular airline? A number of major carriers, including Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, Hawaiian Airlines, and United, offer annual memberships that provide access to their network of lounges. This year, JetBlue is adding itself to that list, opening its first lounges and offering complimentary access to those with the airline's new JetBlue Premier Card.

Memberships typically cost anywhere from $400 to $850 per year. For example, a one-year Delta Sky Club membership, which offers access to more than 50 airport lounges, costs $695. A one-year United Club membership, with access to more than 45 locations, costs $650.

Compare the cost of the membership with the cost of a day pass to that airline's lounge network to figure out how many visits you need to make per year for the price of membership to be worth it.

Daniel Bortz is the Personal Finance Editor at AARP and is based in Arlington, Va. His freelance work has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Consumer Reports, Newsweek, and Money magazine, among others.