Flight delayed 90 minutes? Expedia will now give more flyers a free lounge pass, but read the fine print

A late flight usually means a hard seat at the gate. Expedia wants to change that for some of its most loyal customers. In a press release on Oct. 6, Expedia said it is extending free lounge access during flight delays to Gold members of its One Key loyalty program. Platinum members already had the perk.

The pitch is simple. If your eligible flight is delayed by 90 minutes or more, Expedia says you can get free entry to an airport lounge or another airport venue. The fine print matters more than the pitch, so here is what Expedia has said, and what it has not.

How the delay lounge pass works

Expedia says the passes work in the LoungeKey network. It names independent operators such as The Club, Escape Lounges, Plaza Premium and Aspire. The pass may also cover airport bars and restaurants, spas, gaming lounges and sleep pods that take part.

Expedia says it gives eligible travelers QR-enabled access to a lounge in the terminal. Other people on your booking can come along. Expedia says eligible Gold and Platinum members and additional travelers on the same itinerary can get access, subject to the benefit terms.

If your airport has no lounge or other venue in the program, there is a fallback. Expedia says each eligible passenger on the itinerary receives $20 in OneKeyCash. One dollar of OneKeyCash is worth one dollar on eligible Expedia bookings. Expedia says it can't be cashed out.

Expedia has not published a list of the lounges that will take these passes. In the Lounge Frog directory, LoungeKey is listed at the Escape Lounge in Portland, the Escape Lounge in Minneapolis-St. Paul and the Escape Lounge in Phoenix Terminal 3, among others. Check the pass itself before you walk over.

The catches

This is not a lounge membership. It is a backup plan for bad days, and it comes with rules.

• Book through Expedia. The pilot covers eligible flights booked through Expedia between Sept. 30, 2026, and Dec. 31, 2027.
• Register early. Expedia says flights must be registered at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure.
• Some airlines are out. Expedia says certain airlines are excluded. It did not name them in the release.
• Airline lounges are mostly out. Expedia says major airline-branded lounges are generally excluded. Don't count on a Delta Sky Club or a United Club.
• US members only. The benefit is for eligible U.S. One Key members.
• It is a pilot. Expedia says the benefit will start as a pilot while it studies how members use it. Pilots can change or end.
• You need Gold or Platinum. Expedia says members reach Gold after 15 trip elements and Platinum after 30. It counts pieces of a trip, so two hotel nights and a three-day car rental add up to five.

Expedia also cites a survey it commissioned. OnePoll asked 2,000 U.S. adults who travel, from Sept. 15 to 21, 2026. Expedia says 48% of them had sat through a delay of 90 minutes or more.

What else changed in One Key

The lounge pass came with a bundle of other changes, some good and some not.

Cheaper CLEAR+. Expedia now sells CLEAR+ by tier. Platinum members pay $129 a year. Gold and Silver members pay $179, and Blue members pay $209. A membership with two CLEAR Concierge departures costs $199 for Platinum and $249 for Gold and Silver.

Price Drop Protection. Gold and Platinum members who book eligible flights in the Expedia app get the difference back in OneKeyCash if the fare drops before departure. Expedia says it paid out $28 million this way in 2025, counting U.S. and U.K. customers.

New earn rates. The old flat 2% rate is gone. Blue members now earn 1% back in OneKeyCash, Silver and Gold earn 2%, and Platinum earns 3%.

The cuts. Standalone flights no longer earn the 0.2% in OneKeyCash they used to. Flights still count toward status. Expedia is also ending its Hotel Price Guarantee for new bookings.

Our take

We think this perk is a nice extra, not a reason to switch how you book. Standalone flights booked on Expedia no longer earn OneKeyCash through the loyalty program. And delays rarely hit one flight at a time. On a stormy day, many late travelers may head for the same small lounge.

Still, if you already book flights on Expedia and hold Gold or Platinum, there is little reason not to register each eligible flight at least a day ahead. A free seat, a drink and a working outlet beat the gate floor during a two-hour delay.

If you want lounge access you can count on, a card or membership that gets you in without a delay is still the stronger play. Our LoungeKey guide shows where the network reaches.