What was once a useful (and free) way to figure out which lounges you could get into based on your airline status or credit cards and even purchase lounge access, LoungeBuddy will soon be gone for good.
As first flagged by Loyalty Lobby, American Express is officially shuttering the LoungeBuddy website on Jan. 30, 2025. The news comes after Amex recently announced the American Express® Green Card would lose the $100 annual LoungeBuddy credit, effective Jan. 13, 2025. The benefit was one of the primary ways for travelers to quickly recoup most of the Green Card's $150 annual fee.
Amex first acquired LoungeBuddy in 2019, but has been slowly phasing it out over the last year. The LoungeBuddy iPhone app was already taken off the Apple App Store a few months ago. The website remained live, but not for much longer.
For years, LoungeBuddy and its mobile app has been a boon to travelers, helping to sort out which airport lounges you have access to based on the credit cards in your wallet, your airline elite status, and the airport you're at. LoungeBuddy also offers single-use airport lounge access passes starting at just $25 each, so long as you have an Amex card, making
With LoungeBuddy (almost) dead, travelers are losing a way to search for airport lounges. Luckily, there are a handful of other useful options out there. Let's take a look at some of the best.
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LoungeReview
The free LoungeBuddy mobile app used to really come in handy, using your phone's location to display the lounge options you can visit as well as where you can purchase single-use passes. LoungeReview is nearly identical to LoungeBuddy, allowing you to search for lounges at any given airport and purchase lounge access.
It's not the prettiest website, but it certainly does the job of providing you with a great directory of lounges, as well as useful information on opening hours, amenities, and much more. The interface on the mobile app is much better, and I highly recommend that you download it for your travels.
While we recommend looking into getting credit cards that come with lounge access instead of paying for single-use visits, this app is still useful for finding lounges to use before your flights.
Priority Pass App
LoungeBuddy is a Priority Pass competitor whose app functions similarly.
Four of Amex's personal and business cards come with a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, so it doesn't make the most sense to promote its competitor on only one of the bank's cards.
Regardless, if you have one of those cards, like *amex platinum* or even *venture x* or *chase sapphire reserve*, you'll be able to use the Priority Pass mobile app to search for available lounges that you have access to through these credit cards.
With the app, you can check in using your mobile card, as well as pre-book a limited number of lounges. For the most part, you'll be using this app to check if there is an available Priority Pass lounge at your airport, in addition to restrictions when it comes to entry times.
Amex Global Lounge Collection
Whether you're accessing it on the app or on desktop, you can search directly with Amex to check which lounges you can get into with your Amex Platinum card at the airport you're departing from.
Simply pull up the Amex app and select “Airport Lounge Access” to see what lounges are available. With Centurion Lounges, you could generate a QR code for the front desk lounge attendants to scan for entry.
You can also search on the desktop site, but I prefer the convenience of the mobile app.
Either way, searching for lounges through Amex provides you with a quick view of the lounges available, hours of operation, and location within the airport – and a quick way to check in to Centurion lounges, too.
Capital One Mobile App
If you have a Venture X card, you can login to your Capital One banking app to search for lounges and join a waitlist for entry into one of the Capital One Lounges.
Click “Travel” under Rewards & Benefits, then select “Lounges” in the upper right. That'll bring you to a dedicated tab for all things Capital One Lounges as well as any other lounges you have access to with your Capital One card including any Priority Pass and Plaza Premium lounges.
Since you can flash your Venture X card to enter any Capital One and Priority Pass lounge, this is your one-stop shop for searching for available lounges.
Bottom Line
Although LoungeBuddy is going away, there are still plenty of ways to search for airport lounges you can get into.
LoungeBuddy be missed, but now we're all left to wonder what Amex will replace the $100 LoungeBuddy Green Card credit with. Only time will tell.