PHOTO: The Plaza Premium Lounge at Vancouver Airport. (Photo via Flickr/Traveling Otter)

Airport lounge access might seem like an unnecessary luxury, but it can be a total game-changer if you start traveling often. This is especially true if you fly itineraries that are always running late, or if you fly routes with long and boring layovers. With airport lounge access, you can avoid sitting at a noisy gate for hours and escape into a hidden airport oasis instead.

Beyond getting away from the noise and stress of the terminal, airport lounges offer additional benefits. These benefits can vary, but they typically include food, beverages (including wine and beer), and Wi-Fi. Some especially luxurious lounges even offer mini-massages and manicures for free, along with nap stations and showers where you can freshen up.

Getting a Credit Card with Airport Lounge Access

While some airport lounges are independent, many are owned and operated by airlines themselves. American Airlines offers its own Admiral’s Club and Delta offers Delta Sky Clubs, for example. Most other airlines offer their own lounges in certain airports at home and abroad.

Then there’s Priority Pass, which is basically a conglomerate of different airport lounges around the world you can access with a single membership.

While you can generally pay for a day membership to most airport lounges, day passes are fairly expensive and hard to justify. A one-day visit to an Admiral’s Club lounge is $50. If you have an eight-hour layover, that might be well worth it. But, for a 40-minute stop? Not so much.

If you travel often enough to make use of airport lounges frequently, the best way to get airport lounge access is for free with a travel credit card. Make sure you know which lounges you could use most, then check out these cards.

• Ritz Carlton Credit Card – Priority Pass Select Membership
• Chase Sapphire Reserve – Priority Pass Select Membership
• Platinum Card from American Express – Delta Sky Club when you fly Delta Air Lines, Priority Pass Select, and Centurion Lounges
• Business Platinum Card from American Express – Delta Sky Club when you fly Delta Air Lines, Priority Pass Select, and Centurion Lounges
• Citi Prestige – Priority Pass Select Membership (plus Admirals Club until June 2017)
• Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard – Admirals Clubs worldwide
• Delta Reserve Credit Card from American Express – Delta Sky Clubs
• Delta Reserve for Business – Delta Sky Clubs

Before you Sign Up...

While it’s true these cards offer airport lounge access to cardholders, make sure you read the fine print before you sign up. Some cards like the Delta Reserve cards require you to fly Delta to access the lounge, and they will check your boarding pass prior to entry. Other lounges limit guests, or make you pay extra to bring your travel companions in the lounge with you.

The most generous cards in terms of lounge access are probably the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Ritz Carlton credit card since they both allow complimentary guests and don’t limit the number of people you can bring. Always make sure to understand your airport lounge’s policy before you show up so you can avoid unwelcome surprises at the airport.

Do you have airport lounge access? What is your favorite lounge around the world?