I first discovered airport lounges when I watched Unaccompanied Minors. The movie features a scene where a rich teenager sneaks into a luxe airport lounge with an access pass that she presumably got from her parents. That scene stuck with me and left me with the impression that airport lounges were an exclusive club reserved for the rich elite -- the kind of glamorous place that someone like me, whose middle-class family rarely traveled, would never experience.
It's funny how wrong I was. Last year, I left my job as a full-time personal finance editor to travel the world. Armed with my knowledge of credit card points, savings hacks and smart money advice, I figured out how to visit more than 36 countries on a budget.
One thing I learned along the way: Airport lounges are hardly exclusive . You can typically snag a day pass for around $35 to $75, and there are plenty of ways to get free access. A Priority Pass membership, which grants members access to a network of over 1,600 airport lounges and experiences worldwide, is one of the most popular ways.
Here's how you can get Priority Pass airport lounge access affordably, and in some cases, for free. Read more: These 10 Credit Cards Offer Cell Phone Insurance for Free -- But This One Is My Favorite How much does Priority Pass membership cost? The prices for an annual Priority Pass membership range from $99 for the Standard plan (with a $35 charge for each lounge visit) to $469 for the Prestige plan (with unlimited complimentary .
