[REVIEW] Smart Delay: get airport lounge access when your flight is delayed with Boursorama and Revolut
Over the past few months, neobanks have been trying to go upmarket.
After winning over many customers (including travelers delighted not to have to pay foreign transaction fees when using their card!) with free or very cheap offers, they all tend to be increasing their prices.
But at some point, to soften the blow, you have to offer more services. It’s hard to get people to accept paying more for the same thing!
It’s in this context that Boursorama and Revolut have recently introduced the Smart Delay service, which gives you free access to airport lounges when your flight is delayed.
Airport lounges: what are they?
We’ve already told you all about airport lounges in this article because they’re a bit of a guilty pleasure of ours: not at all essential but something we enjoy treating ourselves to.
They’re “VIP” areas where you can wait for your flight in far more comfort than in the regular waiting areas.
When you get into an airport lounge, you have access to:
- Comfortable armchairs
- A quiet space
- Unlimited, fast Wi-Fi
- A bar (usually an open bar)
- Food options (ranging from a simple snack to a delicious meal)
- Clean toilets
That’s what’s available as standard, but some lounges go much further with showers, beds, and even massage rooms, …
In short, it’s pretty cool when you’re about to spend several hours squeezed into an airplane seat. And it’s even wonderful when you can use one during a layover between two long flights.
Smart Delay: what is it?
Smart Delay is a service offered by Revolut , and Boursorama that lets you access airport lounges for free if your flight departure is delayed by more than an hour.
Through your mobile app, you’ll get a Lounge Key voucher Lounge Key that will give you access to one of their 1,000+ airport lounges available almost anywhere in the world.
A nice touch: in addition to the cardholder, up to 3 additional people can benefit from it as long as they’re on the same booking.
Smart Delay: which plans include it?
Since Smart Delay is part of the push to offer premium banking cards, you can imagine that this service isn’t available with all plans.
For Boursorama, you need to be a customer of their Boursorama Ultim Metal plan (not to be confused with the Boursorama Ultim one I recommend). This plan costs €9.90/month.
For Revolut, you need to be a customer of the Premium or Metal plan, which cost €7.99 and €13.99 per month respectively.
Smart Delay: my review
Personally, I’m not a Smart Delay customer—I’m lucky enough to have access to airport lounges regardless of delays thanks to my card. Priority Pass.
In my opinion, the Smart Delay offer has a major drawback: you can only access the lounge after a one-hour delay. That means if you find out at bag drop that your flight is delayed by 2 hours, you still have to wait an hour after the scheduled departure time to get into the lounge. Considering the time it takes to get the voucher, get to the lounge, and that boarding usually starts about 30 minutes before departure, you’d have to leave the lounge a few minutes after entering…
The Smart Delay offer is only worth it if your flight is delayed by at least 3 hours. Such delays are actually quite rare, but even then, airlines (serious ones, at least) usually take care of passengers by offering a meal at a restaurant or even a hotel room.
So clearly, if you have this service with your card, you might be happy to use it someday, but it seems not profitable at all to choose a higher-tier card just for this reason.
Also, keep in mind that you can usually buy a one-time lounge pass right at the airport lounge reception. It’s quite pricey (about forty euros on average), but probably less than paying for the Smart Delay option every month without using it 🙂
