(slow music)
- I know I'm not the only one that gets overwhelmed
when you go to an airport.
You have to wait in long lines,
you go through TSA
and then when you get to your waiting area,
you're sitting next to somebody in cramped seats,
shoulder to shoulder that you don't even know.
And it's just all normal.
A simple meal at any of the restaurants
that are okay quality are $30 and above
and especially now,
when a lot of people are taking their first trips
in two plus years, it can be a lot.
But why is it that when some people go to airports
and they start flying, they make it look so luxurious.
They're in comfort, eating the best food,
sitting in the best seats.
It's because they have found a secret oasis in airports
where you have free, unlimited, catered, quality food,
also spacious seating,
where you have more than enough area and enough room
to sit in these beautiful lounge areas
and they're called airport lounges.
Hi, I'm Maria from Following Maria
and I worked in the travel industry for over seven years.
and I'm here to help you travel like a pro.
I heard about airport lounges a long time ago
and truly only thought that it was available to those
with premium ticket seatings
who paid thousands upon thousands of dollars,
people who are the Prince of Dubai.
I know you're probably thinking,
why do I even wanna get into an airport lounge?
I went to the American Express Centurion Lounge
in Phoenix, Arizona.
What's great about airport lounges is so many
of them are beautifully designed compared
to when you're in the terminal and everything looks the same
and it's not very visually appealing.
Once you get into these lounges,
you can feel the stress and the anxiety melt away
from your body
and you really feel like you have found the ultimate getaway
where your vacation truly starts in the airport
like it should.
American Express airport lounges are known for the food.
There are hand picked celebrity chefs at each
of the different lounges around the world that cater
and curate the specific menu at every lounge.
You're able to get your food buffet-style
and most of the time the food is significantly better
compared to what you're paying for in the terminals
and this is all free.
Trust me, I have gotten seconds
and even thirds at these lounges.
Do note that the menus also change seasonally.
Hello.
That is awesome.
And if you go soon and the cheesecake is still on the menu,
please get that because it was my favorite part,
as well as eating it alongside an espresso
from the coffee machines.
You can take your food and dine at the cafeteria
that overlooks the airport terminal
or you can take it into one of the multiple living areas.
So how do you get into these lounges?
There are so many different ways
because there's different kinds of lounges.
There's not just one type.
I'm gonna talk about three
of the most popular ways you can get into lounges
and then you can choose the avenue that's best for you.
Just because we talked
about the American Express Centurion Lounge,
I'm gonna talk about how you can get access
to those specific ones,
because for right now in the United States,
those are my favorites.
In order to get to Amex Centurion Lounges,
you just need to simply be a card holder
of the American Express platinum card,
the American Express Centurion card,
which is also known as the black card.
And then there's also
the most premium Delta American Express branded cards.
If you like bougie on a budget travel like I do,
then I highly recommend that you apply
for the Amex Platinum card,
which is my personal favorite card right now,
or the Delta Sky Miles Reserve card.
Do note though,
that both of these cards have a high annual fee.
The Amex Platinum one every single year
actually is an investment of almost $700.
I really only recommend applying for these credit cards
if you have the budget in order to do so,
if luxury travel is your thing,
and if you're gonna be traveling a lot
throughout the year.
Also don't even think about applying
for these cards if your credit score is not that great,
or even if you know that you are not responsible
with credit cards right now.
I talk about my debt-free journey
and I did not even think about applying for these cards
until I was completely debt free.
If you don't wanna go the credit card route,
because you're still paying off your debt,
then there's another way that you can do this
and that's through Priority Pass.
Priority Pass is one of the most common
airport lounge companies
because you get access to so many different kinds of brands
just through one pass.
Priority Pass does come complimentary
with a lot of premium luxury travel cards
like the Amex Platinum card
and even the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
But if you want to purchase it all out,
there are actually three different kinds of tiers
that they have.
Their first tier starts at $74 a year.
and then you just paid $32 every single time you go
into their partnered, branded lounges
and it goes all the way up to a membership of $386 per year
and then you get unlimited access to the lounges
that you go to.
You do not have to pay that $32
and you can bring in guests at an additional rate.
I recommend that you go the Priority Pass route
if you really are that bougie on a budget lifestyle,
but you don't wanna apply for credit cards,
but also moreso figure out if this would be worth it
for you, because if you're doing no airport travel
for the year, don't get the Priority Pass.
Wait until you go on a trip where you're able
to use this at a couple of lounges.
The last way that I recommend you get access
to airport lounges is just through paying for a day pass.
There are specific lounges like the Club lounges
and Airspace lounges, and even some airline sponsored brands
that you can get into by paying an upfront cost.
Access can be as little as $30 a day
and can even be as high as closer to a hundred dollars
for the day.
You can not pay for all airport lounges,
like the Amex Centurion lounges are not accessible
through payment, same with other airport lounges
that are dedicated to the more premium fliers
for specific airlines, but paying
for these airport lounges can be completely worth it
if you have a big family,
if you know you have kids or even yourself
that gets stressed out when you fly,
if you have a really long layover
and you know that you're gonna be paying for food anyways,
why not be able to have unlimited snacks
or an unlimited meal?
Paying for an airport lounge for only about an hour
or two hours probably isn't gonna be worth it
for most people.
So study up on the lounge
because not all lounges are created equal.
Yes, you saw the Amex Centurion Lounge,
but those are one of the best lounges in the states.
There are other lounges that have really minimal food,
like really basic charcuterie boards
and the design of the area is okay,
but it still has the benefit of being able
to have more comfortable seating.
There are a bunch of reviews about airport lounges
all over YouTube.
I've done a ton of them as well on the Amex lounges,
the Delta lounges, the Club, the Airspace,
as well as the Escape lounge,
so feel free to check those out afterwards.
I also have a bonus tip for y'all.
If you don't necessarily wanna go through any
of these avenues, see if you have a friend
that has a premium credit card,
because a lot of them are able to take one or two guests
for free.
This may be great for those who have best friends,
that you travel with a lot or even significant others
that have better credit scores,
already have those cards, or open to applying to those cards
and then taking you as a player too.
If you wanna see a tour of my favorite lounge
in the United States, go ahead and click this video up here.
And if you wanna see more content from me as well,
go ahead and subscribe down below and like this video.
The algorithm will love it
and I will love you too.
Let me know in the comments down below
what route you're gonna be taking,
whether it's the credit card route, the membership route,
or even the day pass route.
Also, if you wanna connect as well on social media,
feel free to reach out to me on followingmaria on Instagram
or even on TikTok and it's a really great way
for us to chat offline and geek out over travel.
I post travel tips on there as well.
Other than that, I'll see y'all in the next video, bye.