Flights and Lounges

In the recent past we've made several flight reservations and visited lounges in airports. I'm summarizing my experience and observations so that I don't have to repeat the same things with many people.

Flight Booking

Several people, including myself initially, think that we should book flight tickets separately using multiple credit cards on multiple websites to get discounts. However, that's fine if the group size is small (two or three people), otherwise it'll cost a lot more eventually. Why? Because after every ticket is booked, the remaining tickets' price goes up.

Flight booking websites offer fixed amount discounts, 10% or 12% with some maximum limit per booking, etc. which is why most people think of booking tickets separately to get maximum discount. However, what they fail to recognize is that the price of next ticket increases after every ticket is booked. Sometimes the price might increase drastically, or sometimes it might not. It depends on the number of seats available in the flight, as the price is decided dynamically by the airlines.

So the best strategy is to find website(s) that provides maximum discount and book all the tickets in one shot. However, since there's usually a restriction of 6 travelers per group booking, perhaps do it from multiple websites in parallel at the same time.

For example, if you're booking six tickets separately then the difference in cost could end up going beyond 50% extra for the sixth ticket compared to the price of first ticket. Let's assume that the the price of first ticket was INR 4000 then the sixth ticket might cost you INR 6000, which far exceeds the discount you get! So it's better to let go of the individual discounts per ticket and instead book for everyone at once.

Complimentary Lounge Access

If you have a Credit or Debit Card which provides complimentary lounge access, then utilize it fully! It's totally worth it. A visit to the lounge without complimentary access would cost approximately around INR 1000 per head, but with some credit or debit cards you only need to pay INR 2.

Several credit cards, such as HDFC Regalia, SBI Elite, Axis Signature, etc. offer at least one free visit to the lounge per quarter. If you do not have a Credit or Debit card that provides complimentary lounge access, then check your eligibility and get it upgraded. Alternatively borrow or get an add-on card from someone in your family who has a credit/debit card with those benefits.

Almost all major airports have lounges. Lounges provide a place to take rest and have unlimited food with a decent buffet spread at all times of the day (morning, afternoon, evening, midnight, early morning, etc.). You may redeem multiple times on same day, but with a few terms and conditions.

If you exit the lounge but would like to go back in without paying again then they will allow if it's within one or two hours of swiping your card. Otherwise if the time is exceeded, then you'll have to swipe again (that would be deducted from the annual complimentary access balance).

If you have only one Credit/Debit card with complimentary lounge access but more than one person would like to use it, then usually redeeming the complimentary access within an hour is not allowed. The next person could keep your card (or use their add-on card) to enter the lounge with complimentary access after one or two hours - check with the reception at the lounge for the time difference. Note that the primary card and add-on card cannot be used at the same time since they are considered as the same card.

For example, let's say you utilized your card at 10:00 then you may use the same card (or the add-on card) again after 12:00. However, if you exit the lounge and would like to enter the lounge again after 12:00 then you'll need to swipe the card again. The charge would still be the same, i.e., INR 2, if you have sufficient complimentary lounge accesses balance.

The number of complimentary lounge access per annum varies for every Credit/Debit card. Check with your bank for the benefits, terms and conditions. Irrespective of the number of complimentary lounge access per annum or quarter, the card accumulates some complimentary accesses per month or quarter (depending on how the bank provides them). The count is reset to zero at the end of the year.

For example, if your Credit/Debit card offers two complimentary lounge access per quarter, then the balance would start with two on first of January. If you didn't utilize any of those until the end of March, then two more would be added and the updated balance would become four on 1st April. If you're traveling in May, you could redeem complimentary access to airport lounges for four times. However, the entire balance is reset to zero on 31st December and starts again with two complimentary lounge access from 1st January in next year.

HDFC Regalia Credit card offers one complimentary access per month, so if you have that card then you may redeem for a dozen times in a year. There are few Credit/Debit cards which offer even more. There are a few Credit/Debit cards which offer only one complimentary access per quarter, which sums to four per annum. There are some expensive cards which offer unlimited access.

When making flight booking, try and make sure you plan for sufficient time between the flights (at least a couple of hours) for transit or layover, so that you may utilize the lounge access. Also, reach the airport early and utilize complimentary lounge access before boarding your first flight too!

Note that only the major airports have lounges, so check that before your travel. There's no point in planning for long transit hoping to utilize lounge but realizing later that the airport doesn't have a lounge!

There are several websites that provide reviews and summary of the features and benefits of various Credit/Debit cards offering complimentary lounge access. Following are a few I could find:

• https://www.cardexpert.in/15-best-credit-cards-in-india-for-airport-lounge-access/
• https://www.paisabazaar.com/credit-card/top-10-credit-cards-airport-lounge-access/
• https://cardinfo.in/best-debit-cards-in-india-for-free-airport-lounge-access/
  

If in doubt, just call up your bank to inquire about the privileges of your card.

Note that the above applies for domestic airport lounges in India only! If you're going for international travel then you may need Priority Pass.

Happy journey and all the best.