The news: Complimentary food and beverage, positive staff experiences, and respite from crowds drive guest satisfaction with airport lounges, per JD Power’s US Airport Lounge Satisfaction Study.

• 45% of guests say they go to lounges to escape airport crowds.
• 39% of guests check in to lounges to avoid high-priced food and beverage selections in the terminals.

How we got here: Issuers are expanding lounge access for premium members at airports to create exclusive oases for high-spending frequent travelers.

• American Express Platinum Cardholders gain access to 1,550 airport lounges in their Global Lounge Collection.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve members’ Priority Pass Select Membership opens up over 1,300 lounges. 
• And Capital One Venture X members also gain access to over 1,300 lounges through its network.

Amex has also pushed into lounges at sporting and entertainment events like Formula 1, the US Open, the NFL Draft, and concert venues for popular artists like Harry Styles and Olivia Rodrigo—elevating experiences where cardholders already want to be.  

Implications for issuers: As annual fees creep up, cardholders want quality lounge experiences as a return on their investment. 

Enhancing dining and lounge service within particular venues can help boost satisfaction, but issuers have to be careful about eroding exclusivity if too many people have access: Airport lounge satisfaction lounges when customers report overcrowding.

This calls for issuers to either raise the barriers for entry through higher annual fee cards or build out more infrastructure to support more travelers without degrading the sense of exclusivity. 

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