Twitter is full of airport lounge selfies. The chai and coffee is free and the chairs feel premium. But the real cost often sits in annual fees, forex markups, spend targets, and shrinking rewards. A quick audit of visits, fees, and trip markups shows if the lounge habit is good value or an expensive routine.

I open Twitter on travel days and see the same posts.

A tray of snacks, a cup of chai, soft chairs in the background, and a caption that says free lounge access with my card. Many people post it and celebrate it. I felt the same when I held multiple cards. Lounge entry felt like a small upgrade, so I told friends to get the same perk.

Then I started reading my statements line by line.

Annual fees after the first year. Spend targets to waive fees. Caps on visits that run out, too. Foreign currency markups on every swipe abroad. Reward values that shift without notice.

That is when I surrendered all my credit cards. I wrote about that decision here: I paid my bills on time and never paid interest. Here is why I quit credit cards anyway.

Since then I look at the lounge photo differently. The chai feels free in the moment, yet the bill often sits elsewhere. It sits in the annual fee. It sits in the spend you do only to keep a waiver. It sits in the forex markup that can exceed the value of the food on your plate. Miss one payment, and the interest can turn that visit into the costliest snack of the year.

This piece is a simple breakdown of that math. Before the next lounge selfie, it helps to ask one question. What did I truly pay for this plate and this chair.

The Annual Fee And The Spend Target

Let us start with the simplest cost. The fee.

When I held multiple cards, the first year felt easy. Free welcome, free visits, free chai. The second year was the turn. Renewal hit. I told myself the lounge perk made it worth it. Then I did the math.

A fee is not a line on a brochure. It is money out of your pocket. If a card costs a few thousand rupees and you visit a lounge three or four times in a year, you have already paid a high price per visit before you even sit down.

Many cards add a condition on top. Spend a large amount in the year and the fee will be waived. That sentence sounds harmless. In real life it changes behaviour.

Think about how people chase that target. I did it too. You bring forward purchases. You choose the card even when UPI or a debit card would have been cleaner. You add an extra order to a sale because the counter is close. You pay a bill early only to push the number up. None of these choices feel wrong in the moment. Together they create spend you would not have done at the same pace. The waiver feels like a win. The extra spend is the real payment.

Caps are the next surprise. Complimentary access is rarely open ended. There are quarterly limits or annual buckets. If your travel is lumpy, you can hit the cap in a single busy month. The next visit is billed. Add-on cards often draw from the same bucket, so a family of four can use up the allowance without noticing. The benefit that looked rich at sign-up becomes thin when you actually need it.

Here is a simple check you should use.

Ask yourself three questions.

Answering honestly is uncomfortable. It was for me. I realised I was paying for a feeling of access rather than a service I used often. That is why I surrendered my cards. If you fly every week, the math can favour a premium card. If you fly a few times a year, the fee and the target can turn a cup of lounge chai into an expensive habit.

In short, the bill for the lounge rarely shows up at the lounge. It hides in renewals, in targets that push spending, and in limits that reduce real use. Once you see that clearly, the next section becomes important. The foreign currency markup that attaches itself to every trip abroad.

The Foreign Currency Markup That Follows You Abroad

Think of a normal trip. You glide into the lounge, click a photo, sip chai, and board. The real bill starts after you land. Every coffee, taxi, museum ticket, and hotel swipe overseas carries a small extra line on your card. That line is the foreign currency markup.

Most Indian credit cards charge about 2 to 3.5 percent on every foreign transaction. Then GST gets added on that fee. The brochure writes it as a neat percentage. On a real trip it feels different.

I noticed this when I still had cards. One family trip. Roughly ₹1,20,000 spent abroad. My statement showed two extra lines I had ignored for years:

* International Markup Fee

* IGST on International Markup

At a 3.5 percent markup, that was ₹4,200. Add 18 percent GST on that fee, about ₹756 more. Total ₹4,956. No one at a counter asked me to pay it. It just appeared on the bill later. That single trip’s markup could have paid for a few lounge entries outright.

Where it adds up

* Every swipe overseas. Cafes, taxis, pharmacies, attractions.

* Online buys in foreign currency. Software, courses, subscriptions, hotel portals that bill in USD or EUR.

* Hotel deposits and car rentals. Pre-authorisations get added and released later. Rate changes in between can create small losses.

* Dynamic currency conversion. The terminal asks, “Pay in INR or pay in local currency.” Choose local currency. INR at the machine often bakes in a poor rate on top of the bank markup.

Run your own “trip test”

* Add up last trip’s foreign spends.

* Multiply by your card’s forex rate.

* Add 18 percent GST on that fee.

* Compare this number with what you actually ate and drank in lounges on that trip.

If the markup plus GST is bigger than your lounge consumption, then the lounge was not free. You paid for it through the markup.

Why this matters for lounge lovers

Many people keep a premium card mainly for international lounge access. The same card then collects 3 percent to 3.5 percent on almost every spend during the trip. If a family spends ₹1,50,000 abroad, a 3.5 percent markup plus GST is roughly ₹6,195. That is real money for a silent line item.

What about zero-forex cards

Some cards advertise zero forex markup. Read the conditions. Often there is a higher annual fee, a cap, or narrow categories. If you travel very often, a clean zero-forex product can work. If you take one or two trips a year, the fee can wipe out the benefit.

Small habits that save a lot

* Always choose to pay in the local currency on the terminal.

* Avoid cash withdrawals on credit cards overseas. Cash advance fees and interest start from day one.

* For online purchases, check the billing currency before you click pay.

* Keep one card for domestic use and one for foreign spends so you can track markups easily.

When I finally laid my statements side by side, the picture was clear. The lounge photo felt free. The markup paid the bill. This was one more reason I surrendered my cards. Next, let us talk about the slow leak that many people miss at home. Rewards that change value and give you less for the same fee.

Before You Renew: A Simple Audit That Works

One note before we wrap. I do not use credit cards now. I surrendered them. Still, I suggest this audit to anyone who cares about value. It is quick, honest, and helps you decide if lounge access is worth it for you.

The five-minute audit

Small rules that save real money

* Do not chase fee waivers: If you are buying only to hit a target, count that extra spend as a cost.

* Track the cap: Quarterly or yearly limits apply. Add-on cards share the same pool.

* Kill markup at the counter: Always pay in local currency overseas. Avoid cash withdrawals on credit cards.

* Right tool for the job: Keep one simple card for daily use. Use a separate travel card only when you travel.

* Auto-pay in full: One late fee can wipe out a year of perks.

* Downgrade fast: If your fee per visit is high, ask for a waiver or move to a lower-fee product.

* Buy access when needed: If you expect two or three visits a year, paid entry on those days may cost less than a premium fee all year.

Disclaimer

Note: This article relies on data from fund reports, index history, and public disclosures. We have used our own assumptions for analysis and illustrations.

The purpose of this article is to share insights, data points, and thought-provoking perspectives on investing. It is not investment advice. If you wish to act on any investment idea, you are strongly advised to consult a qualified advisor. This article is strictly for educational purposes. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of my current or past employers.

Parth Parikh has over a decade of experience in finance and research. He currently heads growth and content strategy at Finsire, where he works on investor education initiatives and products like Loan Against Mutual Funds (LAMF) and financial data solutions for banks and fintechs.