Loungepedia Just Launched Its App To Help You Find Airport Lounges

There’s a new app to help you find airport lounges — not just lounges, but those you can visit without paying. The Loungepedia app is available for download now, and the best part is that it’s free.

The timing couldn’t be better, given that American Express shut down its LoungeBuddy offering today, January 30.

Here’s a look at what Loungepedia’s app has to offer.

Finding Lounges With the Loungepedia App

The Loungepedia app is available to download for free in the Apple App Store, though it’s not available for Android users yet. The timing of this launch is great, considering Amex shut down its LoungeBuddy service today and removed the perk from its cards earlier this month. Now, Loungepedia has an app that offers some of what LoungeBuddy had — and maybe more.

After opening the app on my phone, I had the option to allow location access forever, never, or just when using the app. The next page offered the ability to configure my lounge access or send a message to the Loungepedia team.

To configure lounge access, options included adding elite status, a credit card, or a lounge membership.

When choosing an elite status, you’ll search by the name of the tier, not necessarily the name of the program. For example, there’s no mention of United MileagePlus if you’re trying to add your Premier elite status.

On the lounge membership page, there was no option to choose Priority Pass. Instead, that will be covered if you add a credit card with Priority Pass access, covered below.

After adding a card that gives me lounge access (the Platinum Card^® from American Express in this example), I searched for lounges at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Lounges I could access for free were listed at the top (with a green dot), though this didn’t account for what flight I might be on — it was simply a full list of what I might be able to access at no charge.

It didn’t account for Delta Sky Club access rules, for example. Passengers flying in a premium cabin may have access to additional lounges marked with a red dot, indicating they don’t have access. Note this when traveling.

When viewing information about The Centurion Lounge at LAX, I saw information about access criteria and the lounge’s hours, though the information about how to find the lounge was cut off. There wasn’t a way to view the additional text.

Searching São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) in Brazil, lounges in multiple terminals were displayed, and lounges I should be able to access for free were again sorted at the top. These show a green dot, such as the Espaço Banca Safra (formerly the Star Alliance lounge) in Terminal 3 and the airside Plaza Premium Lounge in Terminal 2

If you have location services enabled in the Loungepedia app, it will detect the airports closest to you. You also have the ability to search for an airport by name.

Final Thoughts

Loungepedia just launched its app, and configuring it is pretty easy. Then, you should be able to use this app to find airport lounges — including their locations and hours — that you can visit at no charge. The app doesn’t account for your travel plans, so you should still verify further details, such as your lounge access rights depending on the flight you’re taking.

However, the ease of use and the fact this app can cover your multiple methods of accessing a lounge should make it popular. Hopefully, Loungepedia will launch an Android version in the near future.