In one of my previous posts I have talked about Star Alliance Gold status and one of their most interesting benefit: airport lounge access. Attaining a gold status at one the alliances is not feasible for everyone so I made this post to show alternative ways that grant you access.

Airport lounges are designated areas in airports between security control and the gates, where you can relax, eat and drink something and sometimes even take a shower without additional costs. Lounges give flying a new meaning and makes your airport experience much less stressful.

There are several types of airport lounges.

Airline lounges allow customers to their lounge who own a certain airline status depending on the alliance that specific airline is affiliated to. Business class ticket holders with any airline within the whole alliance are also allowed into the lounge.

Contract lounges have specific criteria to allow people in. Most of them allow people who pay to enter or who own a subscription to airport lounge programs such as LoungeKey or PriorityPass, depending on the lounge. Below I will list all the ways you can get airport lounge access through others ways than buying business class tickets or having an airline status.

Bid for upgrade to your flight ticket

Most airlines allow you to bid for an upgrade to business class. You’ll be able to fly for a cheaper price in business class and have all the benefits: fast track, airport lounge access and extra luggage allowance.

Most airlines use the “PlusGrade” system, which allows you to use a scrollbar to choose the amount of money you want to bid. I tell everyone the same: if you use Plusgrade, just offer the lowest price you can offer, except if you really want to fly business. The likelihood you’ll get the upgrade is big even with the lowest offer, except if the flight is overbooked. In case the flight is overbooked, even a higher offer will probably be denied. The barometer will always say that the likelihood to win is poor but that’s just to push you psychologically to offer more in the hope you get the upgrade.

Get the American Express Gold or Platinum card

The American Express Platinum is a quite costly card but gives a lot of benefits if you travel frequently. The card will cost you a whopping 60 euro per month and will get you several benefits:

• Fast lane access at Brussels Airport
• Subscription for PriorityPass: access to >1300 airport lounges worldwide
• Several (travel) insurances
• Fine Hotels Booking platform allowing you to book very luxurious stays including room upgrades

PriorityPass membership for a year costs 399 euro each year and is included in this card. The most interesting thing about the platinum card of American Express (Amex) is the fact that you can request a second complimentary Platinum card for a family member, which will also grant this person a PriorityPass membership. This Amex benefit is therefore worth two times 399 euro.

Alternatively, the Amex Gold Card grants you 4 PriorityPass passes each year.

Save ‘Hearts’ with Brussels Airport for free

Enjoy Program by Brussels Airport is a benefits program offered by the airport of Brussels. You can earn so called ‘Hearts’ by flying from Brussels Airport and registering your boarding pass, from answering surveys or shopping at the airport.

You can use your hearts for the following:

• Fast lane pass (160 hearts)
• Make free use of the Naki Charging Stations (power banks) (until September 2024)
• Access to the Diamond Lounge (225 hearts)
• bTag (150 hearts)

The different tiers and their options:

I often get the question how I afford my travel habits and have the luxury travel perks without breaking the bank. I wrote this article to explain my personal experience as a Belgian with hotel and airline loyalty programs, credit cards, cash-backs and great travel deals. If you’re a beginner in travel hacking or want to know more about my experiences, read on!

1. Frequent flyer programs

A. Earn miles & spend miles

Some people enrol in a random frequent flyer program they get recommended by the airline they book their flight. However, choosing the right frequent flyer program is crucial when starting out the points and miles game. I often see that most Belgians choose to register to the Miles & More program because it is advertised by Brussels Airlines, the main carrier of Belgium. Miles & More is a good program but your miles will expire within 36 months. If you don’t accumulate enough miles to actually use them, you might end up losing your earned miles due to expiry.

Miles & More however is an interesting frequent flyer program if you own one of their credit cards as they prevent your miles to expire as long as you use the card. I have an extended post about choosing the right frequent flyer program for Belgians but also how you can earn miles through credit cards as a Belgian. The most interesting being American Express who runs promotions frequently, especially if you try to do all your spending as much as possible with American Express. This will boost your earnings and return of investment.

Long haul business class cabin with LATAM Airlines I booked with Miles & More miles

Your earned award miles can be used for hotel bookings, shopping and even rental cars, but the most obvious and profitable way to use your miles is by booking flights. Business class or first class flights are the most interesting as you still pay taxes and fees on your bookings. For example, a flight from FRA (frankfurt) to SIN (Singapore) in economy class may cost you over €250 in taxes, which is close to the retail price of the economy ticket. €250 however, is a very good deal for a business class ticket and an amazing deal for a first class seat. Some airlines are known for their low taxes and fees such as Singapore Airlines, Air India, Thai Airways, Ethiopian Airlines,… . Make sure to check out those airlines out when you want to avoid high taxes and fees. Business Class is especially amazing for long haul flights. You’ll get a lie-flat seat and you’ll be able to sleep during the flight, take some breakfast and/or dinner and arrive refreshed at your destination!

My starter on a Brussels Airlines flight to FNA (Freetown) in Business Class

B. Travel in comfort with your airline status

A frequent flyer status with your favourite alliance can give you great advantages. The greatest benefit is definitely lounge access. A gold status allows you to invite one additional guest to the lounge. Getting a status is generally not very easy, but with some tricks it might be much easier than some people think. I chose Miles+Bonus as it is the easiest program to get a Gold status for me. Flying 4 times with Aegean Airlines each year lowers the threshold by half to attain and retain the status. I have written an extended post about the best ways to get frequent flyer status as a Belgian, however my list is not exhaustive.

The bar at The Loft by Brussels Airlines – Free drinks and food in the lounge!

Lounge access is not the only perk of being a gold status holder. I can use priority check-in, fast lane at the security and enjoy priority boarding. Altogether these benefits make air travel less stressful and the time you need from the check-in desk to the gate reduces tremendously.

If your flight is overbooked, you are guaranteed a seat at the plane as a gold status holder. If you’re lucky, you might even get a free upgrade to premium economy, business or first class because gold members are the first in line to get an operational upgrade.

Operational upgrade with Ethiopian Airlines business class. Lie-flat seats so I can sleep during the flight, for the price of economy!

2) Hotel Loyalty Programs

Staying loyal to a certain hotel chain can give you a lot of benefits. There are many options on the market but the main hotel chains are Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy and IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group). I have made an extensive post about hotel loyalty programs for beginners. My go-to hotel chain is IHG, as I have the highest status with them as long as I refresh my paid-to-have Ambassador status. I have tried different hotel chains by using status matches so I can enjoy benefits over multiple hotel chains without having to stay 75 nights a year in hotels. All this is well explained in the linked post I have mentioned above.

My way to maximize my IHG Ambassador status is by booking a room with lounge access. With the annual weekend certificate I can book a weekend trip for two nights for the price of one. The lounge access gives me access to breakfast in the morning and hors-d’oeuvre or canapés with (alcoholic) drinks in the evening. This is a perfect way to enjoy a luxury get-away.

InterContinental Berlin – Club Lounge drinks selection during the evening

The ambassador status also gives me a room upgrade to the next available room type on my InterContinental stays. For example, I booked the basic room in Geneva and my hotel status got me upgraded to a suite with amazing lake view.

InterContinental Geneva ambassador upgrade to a suite with lake view and welcome amenities

While enjoying all those benefits you will also earn hotel points. Those award points can be used just like air miles for shopping, flights and free hotel nights. You can get the best value for your hotel points by booking free hotel nights. Hotel points are extremely valuable as they get you free nights without any additional costs except the occasional city tax of a few euros. For example, I used a part of my points for a booking of 3 nights at the luxurious InterContinental Danang Resort.

InterContinental Danang Resort with large bathroom and huge private terrace on points

3) Get the most for every euro you spend in life

Air miles can be earned through flying. Hotel points can be earned through hotel nights. All purchases whether they are travel related or not, can earn you points through credit cards. Changing the way you spend your money on a daily basis can boost your travel experience drastically. Try to do your daily shopping, fuel stations payments and travel bookings with your points-earning credit card. When you are moving or if you have a period where you have to spend a lot (e.g. your first time buying furniture), it would be a waste to not have a points-earning credit card on hand. To get even more return of investment of every euro you spend, you can use online cashback websites to earn back a percentage of your money. MobileVikings has something called Viking Deals where you earn cashback in mobile credit. Other websites allow you to cash out the earned money. To read more about cashback websites, check how to book cheap hotels (point number 4).

This is my quick personal guide when I spend money in daily life:

• Compare prices online until you find the cheapest offer
• Look if the website accepts Paypal, American Express or Mastercard to earn points or miles
• Check if the website is mentioned on any cashback platform (Topcashback, Shopbuddies or Mobile Vikings)
• Make the purchase.
• If a points-earning credit card is not accepted as payment option, find a loophole: for example buying Ikea gift cards in Carrefour to use in Ikea when American Express was not accepted in Ikea.

Result: paid the lowest price for the product, earned points during the transaction and received a cashback on the purchase. A win-win-win.

My personal cashbacks from the cashback platform Topcashback.com

When I book a flight, I make sure that I:

• look for the cheapest flight that fits my travel plans (see how to book cheap flights)
• earn miles through flying according to one of the frequent flyer programs
• pay the ticket with a credit card that earns me miles or points
• use a cashback website to earn back money whenever possible

I have covered the basic topics about maximizing your travel budget for luxury travel in this post and linked to several other posts on my blog. Make sure to read all the details before enrolling into something. Credit cards are a great way to earn points & miles but they require financial planning as you will have to pay your expenses weeks after the actual spending. You will also need a minimum amount of spending to profit from those credit cards as you have to pay annual fees. Some topics I covered are linked to additional expenses, such as the Ambassador status at IHG Hotels. If you plan wisely and inform yourself about the IHG program and Ambassador status and ways to maximize the use of the status, you can benefit a lot from it.

Spend, but spend smart.

4) Scout the internet on a regular basis for exceptional deals

Taking the time to look for great deals on a regular basis can be extremely rewarding. I made it easier for you by creating posts about how to book cheap flights and how to book cheap hotels.

One of my most valuable experiences I managed to book was an exceptional deal, where a great fare was bookable from Düsseldorf to Madrid with various stopovers in business class. During that time, a Cessna Citation jet was flying twice weekly from Düsseldorf to Luxemburg, which could be incorporated into this booking. I managed to book a ticket during low season and was able to have a private jet experience, including two business class flights all for about 160 US dollars!

This flight has been a once in a lifetime experience. On several forums it was posted that you could book a reasonable priced business class flight from Düsseldorf to Madrid with various stopovers. One of the stopovers that you could include was a flight from Düsseldorf to Luxemburg with a Cessna citation flown by Hahn Air.

I was able to create a booking for three business class flights including this Cessna flight. The itinerary looked like this and costed me only 160 US dollars.

The itinerary involved a whole day flying but I had access to airport lounges, had great food and drinks throughout the day and on top of that I took it as an opportunity to visit Madrid and I was able to walk in the city of Luxemburg for a few hours.

I started my trip in Düsseldorf airport. I was too early at the check-in counter because I was excited for this day and waited until a check-in agent would arrive. As soon as the check-in counter opened, I went to the agent to check-in for the flight. I received my boarding pass and the check-in agent immediately closed the counter as I was the only passenger on this flight.

I quickly went through the security, grabbed some breakfast at the airport lounge and went to “my personal gate” to wait for boarding.

After the gate opened, a bus took me right in front of the plane.

After a few minutes, the bus arrived at the Cessna Citation. It seemed so unreal that I would be flying that plane as the only passenger!

After a short briefing by the captain, I was informed that the flight would take about 30 minutes to Luxemburg and that I’ll be able to consume a drink and snack after take-off.

Shortly after boarding, the two pilots and I were ready to take off. I had a control panel next to me where I could control cabin lights, temperature and even audio.

The plane took off to Luxemburg and shortly after take-off, we started the landing procedure.

As we arrived after a 30 minute flight in Luxemburg, I took the bus to the city centre. A few hours later it was time to take the remaining flights of my itinerary. The second flight was from Luxemburg to Frankfurt with Lufthansa.

Upon arrival in Frankfurt, I had a few hours of layover before catching a flight to Madrid. The long layover is totally fine, because Frankfurt has a lot of Star Alliance airport lounges so I could hop lounges throughout the whole evening. One of my favourite lounges is the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. This lounge is very quiet during the day and has a very modern interior.

The last flight I took, was a Fifth Freedom flight by LATAM Airlines, a South American airline. A Fifth Freedom flight is a flight that stops at two different destinations, before flying back to its initial departure airport. Flights between European countries are usually served by short haul air planes such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. Those air planes have a standard business class cabin, while long haul air planes have a different business class cabin with the usual lie-flat seats. Therefore, a Fifth Freedom flight allows you to fly a short destination within Europe in an exclusive premium cabin.

After a long day of three flights, I arrived at Madrid. This was an amazing once in a lifetime experience which even earned me air miles during the process. If you want to have the same luck to stumble on such an amazing deal, I recommend you to read my how to book cheap flights post.

Being part of my trip from Brussels to Beijing I flew the A320 from Brussels to Copenhagen in SAS Plus followed by SAS Plus A340-300 from Copenhagen to Beijing to cross the border at Dandong and visit North Korea. I already flew 2 flights with Aegean, so this trip boosted me to my first airline status: Aegean Miles+Bonus Silver status.

Economy class passengers have the same types of seats as business class passenger on intra-European flights. Most carriers offer a blocked seat so you have a little bit more space in business class. This however, is not the case with SAS Plus / SAS Business.

SAS Plus passengers enjoy:

• Lounge access
• Fast Track & Priority boarding
• Free snacks and drinks on the flight (SAS Go passengers pay for food and drinks on the flight)

My flight started at Brussels Airport. First stop: The Loft by Brussels Airlines” lounge.

After visiting The Loft by Brussels Airlines Lounge I went to the gate to board. I was pretty surprised how much leg room I had on my seat 4A for being an economy seat. At least I could stretch my legs. This was not the case when I flew Aegean Airlines (Economy) to Athens last week.

After take-off, we received something called “Frittata” with spinach and a cold chicken salad in a cube made with horseradish and rosehip. Not my cup of tea. I think SAS food is a hit-and-miss, as the breakfast of my return flight from Copenhagen to Brussels was decent. Unfortunately no pictures of the (bad) food, only the box off the breakfast, oops. Smoothie was a bit strange.

Before landing, we received a small box with three Swedish pralines.

I’ve flown SAS Plus on other occasions and those are other examples of food services on SAS Plus:

Overall conclusion: Don’t book SAS business for the food or for the seat. You’ll be disappointed. you’ll get the most benefits by ground services. If you’re a Star Alliance Gold member it is not worth being a business class passenger unless you’re in for the miles or you get it additionally with your SAS Plus ticket. Keep in mind that the seat next to you is not blocked with SAS.

I would also like to add that SAS handled my IRROPS pretty well. I missed a transit flight in Oslo so SAS offered me an overnight stay at the Radisson Blu Airport Hotel. I was also allowed to take dinner there and received a €12,5 voucher to be used in the airport shops.