Airline Lounge Access Is My Favorite Credit Card Feature. Here Are 3 Reasons Why

I'll never get a travel credit card without it.

There are lots of great travel credit cards that offer many benefits, including trip interruption protection, rental car insurance, and more. But, my absolute favorite feature of any credit card is airline lounge access.

Airline lounge access is a must-have for me, and there are three big reasons why I absolutely love this cardmember perk.

1. We don't have to worry about finding a spot at crowded gates

My family and I travel a lot, and it's a bit of a process when we go places because we bring along two children and a dog. Before we had a card with lounge access, we would have a difficult time finding a spot where we could all sit together unbothered at crowded airports.

Dealing with separating the kids or having people step over the dog made the entire flying experience a really stressful one. But that's no longer an issue now that we have lounge access. We've always been able to find a comfortable, relatively private section of airline lounges where we can sit in comfort as a group. This removes virtually all of the stress of waiting to board our plane.

2. We don't have to buy meals at the airport for our family

Most of the time when we fly, we end up eating at the airport. After arriving a few hours before your flight and then spending a few hours on the plane, it's inevitable that you're going to be hungry.

The problem is, airport food is expensive and usually not very healthy. But lounge access eliminated this issue for us. We're Admirals Club members thanks to our credit card, and the Admirals Clubs offer a great selection of food, including breakfasts and dinners, complimentary drinks, cheese, crackers, fruit, and desserts.

Since we can eat a full meal at the Admirals Club lounge, we end up saving a lot of money. In fact, the savings on meals for the four of us more than covers the annual fee we have to pay for the card that provides us with the lounge access. The food is also a little bit healthier and higher quality compared with fast food, so I feel better about my kids eating it.

3. Flight delays are a lot more pleasant

The last major benefit of lounge access is that flight delays are a whole lot more pleasant. Flying has been difficult for most people in recent months as many airlines have had problems with flight delays and cancellations. We've been delayed on several of our trips, but it's not a crisis for us because we have a comfortable lounge to relax in with food and wifi.

Thanks to these benefits, lounge access has become undeniably the best credit card perk I take advantage of. I won't ever have a travel card again that doesn't offer this perk, and I'm more than happy to pay my card's annual fee in order to enjoy it.