This $118 Expense Saved the Day After a Last-Minute Flight Change

I'm a chronic planner, and approach just about everything in my life with checklists and the utmost organization. So a surprise change to my plans came as an unwanted shock on the day I was set to fly home from an otherwise amazing vacation.

One of my three flights home was canceled, and United rebooked my entire trip -- leaving me with 10 hours to kill in the airport. Luckily, I freelance here at The Ascent, and one of the personal finance topics we cover frequently is airport lounges and how they can enhance your travel experience. So instead of crumbling into despair, I asked the agent at the check-in counter if the United terminal had a lounge.

What would lounge access cost me?

Having left our checked suitcases at the counter, tagged and ready for the cargo hold on our flight (in 10 hours), my travel companion and I made the trek to the United Club. We arrived just as it was opening for the day (at 6 a.m.), and I got ready to plunk down my favorite travel credit card.

I had asked the United check-in agent if we needed a United credit card for access (as I don't have one), and he said no -- but didn't know how much entry would cost us. I figured that if it was $100 or less per person, it would be worth it.

It turned out to be $59 each, for a total tab of $118. Despite spending freely on food, museum admissions, two boat rides, and a cooking class over the trip, I still had money left in my vacation fund, and was comfortable with this figure. I also knew that it would more than pay for itself based on the included perks.

An oasis in the airport

You've probably hung out at an airport before. If you're in the open main areas or near gates, it's usually not all that great. It's loud, crowded, and everything is expensive. But in the United lounge, we discovered comfortable seating, electrical outlets aplenty, fairly nice bathrooms, and strong wifi.

Since I was intending to spend the bulk of the day working (freelancers don't get paid time off), this cheered me about my decision. I settled in and got right to catching up on emails, Slack messages, and my waiting assignments.

What about the food!?

Meanwhile, my very excellent travel companion discovered the breakfast buffet, and of course rushed to bring it to my attention. Our hurried 3:30 a.m. breakfast at our vacation condo was coffee and yogurt. But we both got a hot breakfast (or two) after we got settled.

Free snacks were available all day, as was coffee, and the incredibly nice lounge attendants came by to take plates and cups and keep us informed about impending meals. We had a nice lunch, and we even took advantage of free basic alcoholic drinks at the bar (making friends with a bartender trainee in the process).

The cost savings -- hard to quantify

How much did we save by taking full advantage of our lounge's amenities? I can't quantify what decent wifi, comfortable seating, and decent restrooms are worth -- but getting a full day's worth of work done meant that I more than covered my $118 price of admission.

As for the cost of airport food, Simple Flying notes several factors to explain $6 bottles of water or ridiculous prices on fast food, including high rents for restaurants in airports and paying for staff parking. So when you consider the cost of multiple airport meals consisting of a variety of reasonably healthy food and multiple free waters, coffees, and cocktails, I think we came out ahead.

Is it worth paying for lounge access?

If hanging out in airport lounges is something that interests you, you might wonder if you should pay for it like I did. I was willing to spring for the cost because this was an unexpected situation and I could run the math for myself and see that I'd come out ahead based on food, drink, and productive hours worked in a comfortable space. If I flew more often, I'd probably consider an airline credit card that came with complimentary lounge access.

If you find yourself facing a long delay at the airport, you might want to pay for lounge access, too. Having a comfortable space to rest and work before an extremely long flight (almost nine hours) was worth it for me. Will it be worth it for you?