Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.
Lounge access can make travel much less stressful. Whether you’re traveling during a busy season and need to escape the madness of the terminal or simply need a place to stay when your flight is delayed, lounge access can make the difference between being flustered and remaining calm.
Many cards provide Priority Pass memberships, but the American Express® Green Card takes a slightly different approach to lounge access. Instead of providing membership to a network of lounges or a set number of complimentary lounge access passes, the American Express Green Card provides up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year when you use the card to purchase lounge access directly from LoungeBuddy through its website or app.
Lounge access through LoungeBuddy starts at $9 per entry, although most lounges cost between $27 and $54. So today, we’re looking at how to maximize the $100 annual statement credit for LoungeBuddy passes that comes as a benefit of the American Express Green Card, which has a $150 annual fee (see rates and fees).
Use other lounge passes first
If you have complimentary lounge access through other means, use that lounge access when it’s available so you can save your LoungeBuddy statement credits for other trips.
For example, if you have The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, you have access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which provides Centurion Lounge access, a Priority Pass membership and access to Airspace and Escape lounges, along with Delta SkyClubs on the day you fly. Enrollment is required for select benefits.
Additionally, if you have select airline cards you may have access to the airline’s lounges when flying that airline or its partners. Elite status or flying in premium cabins also may afford you lounge access.
In short, it’s worth checking whether you have complimentary lounge options before booking a paid visit through LoungeBuddy.
Related: Best credit cards for airport lounge access
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Research your options
If you want to book a lounge using LoungeBuddy, you can see all the bookable lounge locations on the LoungeBuddy website. For example, the following image shows all the U.S. airports that currently have a lounge bookable through LoungeBuddy. As you can tell, there are still a lot of airports where you won’t have any lounge options.
You can use the LoungeBuddy website to compare lounge options before booking. It’s worth the time to compare amenities, important information, reviews and cost on the LoungeBuddy website to help you decide which lounge to visit. And you might be surprised at the little difference in cost between lounges. The Escape Lounge at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), for instance, actually costs less than The Club at CVG, so researching in advance will help you choose your most valuable option.
Likewise, if you decide on a particular lounge, it can be a good idea to determine whether you can purchase lounge access for less through another method if you’ll easily use your American Express Green Card’s $100 annual LoungeBuddy statement credit on other lounge visits.
Related: Airport lounge do’s and don’ts
Use LoungeBuddy to pay for extra guests
Amex Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders get complimentary access for themselves and up to two guests to Escape Lounges, but you can use LoungeBuddy to purchase passes for additional guests if you’re traveling in a larger group.
Similarly, if a lounge participates in both Priority Pass and LoungeBuddy, you can purchase access for additional travel companions through LoungeBuddy if you aren’t allocated enough guests through your Priority Pass membership.
Related: How to get a family of four or more into an Amex Centurion lounge
Keep track of your usage
You can certainly keep using LoungeBuddy to purchase lounge access once you’ve exhausted the American Express Green Card’s $100 annual statement credit. But you may want to keep a note on your phone so you can track your LoungeBuddy usage.
This way, you’ll know when you book the lounge visit that puts you over the $100 mark for the year, which means you won’t see any more statement credits from your American Express Green Card for additional LoungeBuddy visits the rest of the year.
Related: Credit card perks you should be using
Splurge on an impressive lounge
Maximization doesn’t have to be about getting the most lounge visits from your American Express Green Card’s $100 LoungeBuddy statement credit.
Instead, maximization might mean using the statement credit to visit an impressive lounge you wouldn’t normally splurge to visit. For example, you can use the majority of your credit for a single visit for two to the Lufthansa Business Class lounge in New York JFK if you’ve been wanting to check it out.
Related: 7 lounges that are worth going out of your way for
Consider international lounges
Many lounges outside the U.S. cost less than domestic lounges. This means you may be able to squeeze more lounge visits out of the American Express Green Card’s $100 LoungeBuddy statement credit if you are abroad. Many of these lounges include more substantial food and better amenities than comparably priced lounges within the U.S.
For example, you’ll find multiple lounges bookable through LoungeBuddy in Singapore (SIN) that range in cost from $28 to $43 per entry, and in Bangkok (BKK), there are several lounges you can book for just $36 per entry. These prices are only slightly less than you’d normally find in the U.S., but it’s nice to have affordable options no matter where you find yourself.
A few lounges are accessible for even less. You can get an entry to the Mingalar Sky Lounge in Yangon (RGN) for $10. Similarly, the Aviserv Lounge in Mumbai (BOM) offers three-hour lounge access for just $9 or seven-hour access with a shower and sleep pod for $52.
With options like these, you can stretch your $100 statement credit if you’re traveling abroad.
Related: How valuable is a Priority Pass membership?
Bottom line
One benefit of the American Express Green Card is an annual $100 LoungeBuddy statement credit, which you can use in many different ways. You could visit a $10-per-entry lounge in Yangon 10 times, or use the credit to splurge for Lufthansa Business Class lounge in New York JFK. Maximization looks different for each traveler, but you have plenty of options to use your LoungeBuddy statement credit in a way that provides the most value to you.
If you want to learn more about lounge access and the American Express Green Card, check out the following guides:
For rates and fees of the Amex Green Card, click here.
Additional reporting by Emily Thompson.
