CNBC Select lists lounge access options

CNBC Select published a guide on May 21 laying out lower-cost ways travelers can get into airport lounges without paying the annual fees attached to top-tier travel cards. The article, reported by Ryley Amond, said lounge access is often associated with cards charging $500 or more a year, including the $795 Chase Sapphire Reserve and the $895 American Express Platinum Card. (cnbc.com) It said travelers who do not want to pay that much still have several alternatives. ### Which lower-cost options did CNBC Select put at the center of the guide? CNBC Select said the main alternatives are standalone lounge memberships, one-time day passes and access tied to airline elite status or selected lower-fee card products. (cnbc.com) The piece framed those routes as options for travelers who want lounge entry without carrying what it described as a premium-fee card year-round. The May 21 article said those alternatives can work differently depending on how often a traveler flies. CNBC did not present them as interchangeable; it described them as access paths that fit different travel patterns and budgets. (cnbc.com) ### How expensive are the premium cards CNBC used as the comparison point? CNBC Select cited two cards as examples of the high-fee end of the market: the Chase Sapphire Reserve at $795 a year and the American Express Platinum Card at $895 a year. The article said those products typically offer the broadest lounge access, but added that some travelers may not fly enough to justify that cost. (cnbc.com) A separate CNBC Select guide updated on May 12 also highlighted travel cards priced below $100 a year, underscoring the outlet’s broader focus on lower-fee alternatives in the travel-card market. (cnbc.com) ### Where does Priority Pass fit into the lounge-access picture? CNBC Select said Priority Pass Select can provide access to more than 1,300 lounges. In a separate CNBC Select article published in April, the outlet said the network had expanded with more than 60 Plaza Premium lounges rejoining Priority Pass, and described the benefit as available through certain travel cards. (cnbc.com) That network size matters because Priority Pass is not tied to a single airline. CNBC’s coverage presented it as one of the broadest lounge-access systems available to cardholders and some paying members, rather than a perk limited to one carrier’s club network. (cnbc.com) ### What did CNBC say about Chase Sapphire Lounge access? CNBC Select pointed readers to Chase Sapphire Lounge access as one example of how lounge entry can come through card-linked benefits rather than a direct lounge membership alone. A related CNBC Select explainer updated on May 15 said Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club do not always require a Chase credit card for entry and detailed guest-access rules and eligible cards. (cnbc.com) That May 15 guide said the first Chase Sapphire Lounge opened in Hong Kong in October 2022 and closed in January 2026, while the first U.S. location opened in Boston in May 2023. CNBC described the lounges as offering amenities including food, drinks, Wi-Fi and workspace areas. (cnbc.com) ### What should travelers take from the CNBC guide before paying for access? CNBC Select’s guide was presented as a cost comparison exercise rather than a blanket recommendation for one product. The article said travelers should weigh how often they fly before paying for a premium card, since occasional travelers may get more value from a day pass, airline status benefits or a lower-cost access route. (cnbc.com) CNBC has continued to expand that coverage with separate 2026 explainers on Priority Pass cards, Chase Sapphire lounges and broader airport-lounge card rankings. Those pages remain available on CNBC Select’s credit-card and travel coverage pages for readers comparing access methods and annual fees. (cnbc.com 1) (cnbc.com 2) (cnbc.com 3)