You’re traveling from city to city, taking depositions, meeting with clients, and doing the work lawyers do. It’s taxi, airplane, hotel, airplane, taxi punctuated by a to-go sandwich from Quiznos. You frequently find yourself huddled in a crowded airport gate area using the hotspot on your phone and trying to upload documents from your laptop. It’s an adventure, but it’s sometimes miserable.

Airport lounges can be an oasis for the weary traveler. They’re especially wonderful when your flight is canceled or delayed.

Airport lounges offer a range of services from quiet space to comfortable chairs. They often include snacks, meals, and beverages—sometimes free and sometimes paid. They usually have TVs, magazines, and other entertainment. Many of them offer showers, workstations, and conference rooms. They always have free WiFi.

Lounges aren’t, however, always welcoming to the weary traveler. They often have complicated and expensive systems for gaining entry. Just because you need a quiet space to work doesn’t mean that pleasant attendant at the front door is going to let you enter.

How to Get In

Of course, you can simply join each club. For instance, you can join the American Airlines Admirals Club for $500 per year. Annual renewal is less expensive, and there’s a discount if you have status with the airline based on your travel. Similar deals are available for Delta and United. Joining directly is usually the most expensive option for gaining access.

A less expensive option for getting in is to obtain credit cards that include entry as a benefit of the card. That’s my approach. I get access to the lounges, plus I get other benefits included with the card. (For instance, my American Express Platinum card reimburses me for my Global Entry fees, and it comes with a $200 per year statement credit for travel.)

Here’s what I carry in my wallet so the club door is usually open:

• American Express Platinum Card. With an annual fee of $450, this card used to be amazing. It opened the door to lounges all over the world. That’s not the case today. This particular Amex card now gets me into the Delta SkyClubs, but guests cost an extra $29 per person. American Express has also built its own airport clubs dubbed Centurion Lounges, and you (plus your guest) get admitted to those too. There’s one at Las Vegas’s McCarran International, one on Concourse D at Dallas/Fort Worth, and another in Terminal B at New York’s LaGuardia airport. Another Centurion Lounge will soon open in San Francisco. The Centurion Lounges are nice, with lots of free food.
• Priority Pass Select. The American Express Platinum Card comes with a “free” membership in Priority Pass Select, a network of about 600 clubs worldwide that include the Alaska Airlines Board Rooms, complimentary use of the Airspace Lounges, plus use of a collection of Amex VIP lounges overseas. There’s a handy app for your phone that helps you locate the lounges.
• Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard. This card also carries a $450 annual fee. It gets you into Admirals Clubs plus US Airways Clubs (which are going away as part of the merger). You don’t get quite the number of perks that come with the Amex card, but it’s the least expensive way into the Admirals Clubs unless you have elite status with that airline. You can bring a guest in with you if you wish.
• Chase United MileagePlus Club Card. This card runs $395 a year. It comes with full United Club membership, and you’ll actually get a separate membership card from United. You’re a regular member of the club, so you can bring two guests free of charge and receive access to hundreds of clubs run by United’s Star Alliance. I did some hunting when I got this card and was able to find, via the United site, an offer that included the first year free.
• Lounge Club. This is another service, like Priority Pass Select, that gains you admission to a range of clubs around the world. It’s free with the Chase Ink cards and comes with two complimentary club admissions per year.

Other Options

The credit cards aren’t the only option for entry. You may be able to purchase day passes to some clubs should you choose to go the one-off approach. Typically, clubs charge $50 for entry if they offer that option. Day passes are the best option for the infrequent traveler. If you hold elite status with one of the major airline alliances, check with it to see what club privileges you may have as part of your status.

Finally, you can enter the clubs by flying first or business class. Flying up in the front of the plane—using cash or points—will usually get you access to the lounge of the airline you’re flying. It might be worth the money depending on your circumstances. It sure is nice to swing by the club for a hot shower midway through a very long day of flying to or from Asia.

Should you spend the money to get into an airline club? The expense of the clubs, or the upgrade to business or first class, is easily justified if it makes you more productive while on the way. Recovering an hour or two of billable time per year can pay the annual fees associated with lounge access. It’s a smart investment if you find yourself flying as part of your work.