Complete Guide to LoungeBuddy Membership

If you’re a frequent traveller you may be wondering how to use LoungeBuddy¹ lounge membership to get access to airport lounges during your trips. LoungeBuddy is owned by American Express, and offers lounge booking services in many major airports globally. You can book in advance for guaranteed lounge access, with different lengths of stay available depending on your flight times.

Read on for our full LoungeBuddy guide including how to book and what you get for your money. Plus, we’ll touch on Wise as another handy way to make life easier when you travel. Get a Wise account and card for easy spending at home and abroad, with mid-market exchange rates and low fees from 0.33%². More on that later.

What is LoungeBuddy Lounge Membership?

LoungeBuddy is owned by American Express, and offers airport lounge booking services in many global airports. You can search for available lounges online, and then book for a visit of 3 hours or more, depending on your needs. Many airports have several different lounges including Plaza Premium branded lounges and some operated by individual airlines. The services available - and the price you pay - depend on the specific lounge you select and how long you want to stay.

It’s important to note that because the platform is operated by American Express you can only pay with an AmEx card. Make sure you have your card to hand when you’re booking, to make the whole process hassle free. Then all you need to do is turn up at the lounge and show the staff your booking confirmation - easy.

How LoungeBuddy Lounge Membership Works

LoungeBuddy is a network of airport lounges in airports around the world. It’s a pay as you go service so there’s no membership fee to pay - you just pay the costs of your specific booking, based on the lounge you want to get into. LoungeBuddy guarantees access to your booked lounge which is a benefit. Some other providers’ lounges can become very busy at peak times, and drop in customers may be turned away if the location is too full.

The services you get in the lounge will depend on the specific option you select, but you can generally find:

• Free food, drink and alcohol
• Wifi and charging points
• Business services like printers and copiers
• Entertainment such as newspapers and magazines
• Showers

You’ll need to read the options offered carefully as there are some big differences between different lounge offerings. For example some lounges can not be reserved through LoungeBuddy during certain hours. Some lounges only offer snack food rather than full meals, and some lounges offer a full bar service including premium spirits and wines while others limit the alcohol options. Compare the lounges available in the airport you’re departing from to see what your options are - bear in mind that not all lounges can be accessed by all passengers, so you’ll need to find one in the correct terminal for your flight.

Membership Options and Fees

LoungeBuddy doesn’t offer ongoing membership, but instead allows you to book lounge access for the date and time you need it. This is different to many other lounge pass providers which offer ongoing membership and a drop in service.

The costs of your LoungeBuddy booking can vary depending on where you’re booking, when and for how long. To give an example, booking 3 hours in the Plaza Premium Lounge in Sydney would cost 60 AUD at the time of research - or you can extend the time to 6 hours for only a few dollars more if you have a long layover. Other airports might have different costs or different lounge types available. If you’re passing through London’s Heathrow airport for example, you could call into the Lufthansa lounge for 118 AUD or more per visit, or pick a less expensive option in a different brand of lounge. Plaza Premium Lounge access, for example, starts from 66 AUD per traveller.

If you’re thinking of getting a membership to a lounge access service, you might want to take a look at some options like Premium Pass³ and Dragon Pass⁴, both of which have extensive networks of lounge locations. These providers operate on a membership basis, so you’d need to pay an annual fee, and then depending on which package you select there may also be a charge when you enter the lounge. To give an idea of costs, both providers have annual fees starting from 99 USD and running up to over 400 USD, with fees of 35 USD to enter the lounge if you’ve used up your plan’s free access allocation. This entry fee is slightly lower than the lowest costs of LoungeBuddy entry - but bear in mind that there are also the ongoing fees to pay, which may mean it’s only cost effective if you use the lounge services very frequently.

LoungeBuddy Lounge Network

LoungeBuddy has lounges in 4 Australian airports:

• Adelaide
• Brisbane
• Melbourne
• Sydney

There are also many more lounge locations in major airports globally. In many airports you’ll be able to pick from several different lounges to find the booking which best suits your needs. There are tools on the LoungeBuddy website to let you find the lounge or lounges which work with your travel plans.

How to Book Lounge Access with LoungeBuddy

You can easily book lounge access through LoungeBuddy online - here’s what to do⁵:

1. Visit the LoungeBuddy website and select Make a reservation
2. Enter the city or airport you’re looking to make a booking in
3. Toggle to the option to show only purchasable lounges
4. Pick the LoungeBuddy lounge you want to book into
5. Follow the prompts to enter your personal and contact details
6. Pay using your American Express card
7. Show your booking confirmation to the lounge staff on arrival in either digital or physical copy

When you book a lounge you’re booking a specific location, so you do need to pay careful attention to the lounge access arrangements. As lounges are usually after security, you may not be able to access a lounge if it's not in the same terminal you depart from. You won’t be able to drop into a different lounge if you make a mistake on your booking.

Introducing Wise for International Spending

While you’re sorting out the details of your trip, check out Wise to see if you can save on your international spending.

Open a Wise account online or in the Wise app, to hold and exchange 40+ currencies, and order your Wise card for low cost cash withdrawals and international spending. Top up your account in AUD from your bank or with a card, and spend and withdraw wherever you travel, with great exchange rates and low fees.

Sign up for Wise today

Wise doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee, and all currency conversion uses the mid-market exchange rate with no markup or hidden charges. Instead you’ll just pay low transparent conversion fees, from 0.33%. Plus, you’ll get 2 ATM withdrawals up to 350 AUD in value every month for free, for those times when only cash will do.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for easy occasional airport lounge use, LoungeBuddy might be your solution. There’s no ongoing fee to pay, so you can simply book lounge access as and when you need it, with a LoungeBuddy guarantee that you’ll get entry to your chosen lounge at the time you’ve booked. Many airports have several different lounges in the LoungeBuddy network so you can choose the features and services which matter to you, with slots of 3 hours or more available if you’ve got a layover or connection.

One possible barrier with LoungeBuddy is that you’ll need an American Express card to pay for your booking. As the service is AmEx owned, this is the only card network accepted for booking payments.

Get organised for your next trip now, with lounge access to smooth your passage through the airport - and why not also get Wise for low cost spending and cash withdrawals no matter where you’re heading off to.