HOW TO GET LOUNGE ACCESS EVEN WHEN FLYING ECONOMY

Business and first-class lounges: the elusive unicorns of the airport waiting game. Mostly reserved for business and first class fliers: you know, the upper echelons of the travel elite! How nice it would be to not fight for that one empty seat like it was the Hunger Games. How blissful it would be to stay away from the long food court queues, hordes of loud passengers, and untidy public toilets of most airports.

Changi Airport's Krisflyer Gold Lounge

Image: Singapore Airlines

There are ways though, for us mere economy-traveling mortals to legitimately gain access into these airport wonderlands.

1. Get a credit card that has airline and airport lounge partnerships. Not a license to go on a credit card application or splurging spree, mind you. Some cards don't require any purchase for you to start receiving lounge benefits, all you need to do is show your card and register at the lounge reception. I maintain cards just for the sake of getting free lounge access because they give out vouchers for every yearly membership renewal or have tie-ups all year round with various airport lounge providers globally. Below are a few cards that provide access. Note that the list is based on my personal experiences thru the years and there are other cards out there that do the job, too. Use responsibly!

• American Express: Krisflyer Ascend and Platinum. Ascend gives out 4 vouchers a year, while Platinum is linked to Priority Pass for unlimited access. The latter is a pretty good deal IMHO, see my second point below on why. Plus, AMEX provides limo airport service! :)

• ANZ: Travel Visa Signature and Signature Priority Banking Visa Infinite . They tie up with Veloce Lounges for unlimited complementary access and give out bonus Krisflyer miles, too! My favorite among the bunch.

• HSBC: Similar to ANZ, Visa Infinite not only provides complementary lounge access, it also gives customers 30,000 bonus miles upon enrollment.

2. Get a Priority Pass. This one is a paid membership, but think of the long-term savings you'll get by not spending on airport food, drinks, and transit hotels. Think of the included hot buffet, private shower and toilet facilities, and seats and electrical sockets that you don't need to fight for with every weary and battery-drained traveler in the departure and arrival halls. More bang for buck for frequent and long-term travelers. There are three membership tiers and prices, and even if you don't spend a lot on airport food and beverages, I can attest that the convenience I got for getting the Prestige package over the years were totally worth it. Plus, it's way cheaper than paying for business class tickets every time I flew! Best used if you don't have the cards mentioned above.

Your golden (black) ticket to airport lounges around the world!

Image: Lounge Buddy

3. It pays to be loyal to an airline/s. I've gotten better at focusing on being a member of a couple of frequent flyer programs over the years (Emirates and Singapore Airlines). I've had experiences where airline staff provided me free business or first class lounge access because they saw my frequent flyer card or number, even if I just belonged to the most basic tier. Airlines know it makes for satisfied repeat customers, especially in this era of tough competition from LCCs giving rock-bottom prices for flights.

4. Start saving your airline miles so you can upgrade to the premium / elite membership level. Flagship miles like Singapore Airlines' Krisflyer are now also redeemable for Scoot and TigerAir flights, so it's a win-win. The credit cards above also have airline partnerships, so that's one way to rack up points. There's a whole load of tips and tricks in the travel blogosphere as well on how to jack up points via miles runs and membership bonus points, which I'm not an expert on, but this TripHackr guy is.

5. Ask nicely and turn on that charm for a seat upgrade to Business Class. Get upgraded, get lounge access. Sometimes it works, sometimes I just get an exasperated face looking back at me. :-) Best done during off-season flights. Same tactic I shamelessly employ in hotels. Ask and you shall receive.... sometimes! But hey, it's worth a try. One of my best upgrades was on an A380 to Sydney, which allowed me access to the mythical sky bar and it was awesome!

Emirates A380 bar at cruising altitude - yes, it exists!

6. If the airline can't provide a seat upgrade, ask nicely if they can give you lounge access instead. Make sure you dress appropriately, too - a lot of airport lounges around the world require smart casual attire. Leave the singlet, cutoff shorts, and ratty flip flops till you reach your destination.

And voila! You're just a voucher, card, or stamp away from airport lounge nirvana!

HAPPY TRAVELS! x

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