A UAE card does not get you into a lounge. It gets you a membership of a lounge programme — Visa Airport Companion, Mastercard Travel Pass or DragonPass, for the cards in our data — and the lounge decides which programmes it lets in. So the question has two halves, and this guide answers them separately: which programme your card carries (from our card data), and which lounges at the three big UAE airports say they accept which programmes (from the airports’ own pages).
The short version, as of 19 October 2026:
- Abu Dhabi (AUH): the airport names the programmes for one lounge, Pearl Lounge — Priority Pass, LoungeKey, DragonPass and DreamFolks. That is the clearest card route of the three airports.
- Dubai (DXB): Dubai Airports lists the lounges and where they are, but its pages do not say which card programmes any of them accept. Check your programme’s app before you go.
- Sharjah (SHJ): Sharjah Airport’s pages describe its two lounges as paid, and name no card programme at either.
Step one: which programme your card carries
This is what our card data records, card by card. A visit allowance is shown only where the issuer’s page states one.
| Card | Programme | Allowance in our data |
|---|---|---|
| ENBD Skywards Infinite | Visa Airport Companion | Unlimited, +1 guest per our review; the current product page states no allowance |
| ENBD Skywards Signature | Visa Airport Companion | Unlimited |
| ENBD SHARE Visa Infinite | Visa Airport Companion | Unlimited |
| ENBD U by Emaar Infinite | Visa Airport Companion | Unlimited |
| ENBD SHARE Visa Signature | Visa Airport Companion | Capped; the issuer does not publish the cap |
| ENBD Visa Infinite | Visa Airport Companion | Cardholder + 1 guest; no cap stated |
| HSBC Live+ | Visa Airport Companion | 12 visits a year |
| CBD One | Visa Airport Companion | 8 visits a year |
| ENBD Voyager World | Mastercard Travel Pass | Unlimited |
| ENBD LuLu 247 Platinum | Mastercard Travel Pass | Not stated on the product page |
| Citi Cash Back | Mastercard Travel Pass | 8 visits a year, subject to non-AED spend |
| Standard Chartered Platinum X | ”20+ local and international lounges” via Mastercard; no programme named | Unlimited |
Several other cards list lounge access in their perks without naming a programme we have confirmed — among them the FAB Cashback (“8 visits/year cardholder + 6 for plus-one”) and the Emirates Islamic, Liv and RAKBANK cards. For those, the card’s own page or app is the authority on which lounges count.
How a Mastercard Travel Pass visit works
Citi’s lounge page sets out the mechanics plainly, and they are a useful template for the other programmes too. You download the Mastercard Travel Pass app, register the card, check that the lounge shows you as eligible, and show the app’s QR code or membership number at the desk. Citi’s Ultima page adds three rules worth knowing before you bring company:
- each cardholder, primary and supplementary, registers separately and shows their own QR code;
- guest visits are deducted from your yearly allowance;
- a USD 32 charge applies to every guest above the allowance, billed to the card, and children over one count as paying guests.
Those are Citi’s terms for Citi cards. Other issuers set their own guest rules, so read your card’s page rather than assuming Citi’s apply.
Abu Dhabi — Zayed International (AUH)
Zayed International lists five lounges. Two are Etihad’s own, for its premium passengers; one is a private terminal; one is for arrivals. One is the lounge most card-holders will use.
| Lounge | What the airport says |
|---|---|
| Pearl Lounge | ”Open to all travellers.” Departure level 3, beginning of Pier D. Open 24 hours |
| Etihad Business Lounge | Etihad Airways’ business-class lounge |
| Etihad First Class Lounge | Etihad Airways’ first-class lounge |
| Diamond Lounge | ”Nestled in a separate terminal”, private entry |
| Yas Island Lounge | For arrivals, “offering complimentary services” |
Pearl Lounge is the one with a published card route. Under “Loyalty Programs Accepted” the airport lists:
- Priority Pass (Visa, MasterCard)
- Lounge Key (Visa, MasterCard)
- Dragon Pass (MasterCard ME, Visa)
- Dream Folks (Diners, MasterCard, Visa, Rupay)
The bracketed card names are the airport’s own, and it does not explain them. Two things follow for a UAE cardholder. DragonPass is on the list by name, but none of the cards in our table currently uses it. Visa Airport Companion and Mastercard Travel Pass are not named on the list, so if that is your programme, open its app and check that Pearl Lounge appears before you rely on it.
If no programme gets you in, the airport gives a walk-up price: AED 265 for three hours.
Dubai — Dubai International (DXB)
Dubai Airports’ “Relax & refresh” listing mixes lounges with spas, a hotel, a gaming lounge and family spaces. The lounges on it are:
| Lounge | Where, per Dubai Airports |
|---|---|
| Plaza Premium Lounge | Terminal 3, A gates (departures) |
| Ahlan Lounges | Terminal 3; the listing places it at the B gates |
| Ahlan Business Class Lounge | Terminal 1 |
| Ahlan First Class Lounge | Terminal 1 |
| British Airways Lounge | Terminal 1 |
Dubai Airports also points to the Emirates lounges in Concourse A, which are Emirates’ own. The Ahlan Business and First lounges are described as being for business- and first-class guests “on airlines that don’t have their own dedicated lounge”. Dubai Airports describes the Plaza Premium Lounge as offering “a premium experience even while travelling economy class”.
What the Dubai Airports pages do not say is which card programmes any of these lounges accept. We have not found that published on an airport page, so we are not going to guess at it. The network’s app is the place to check, on the day, at the terminal you are flying from:
- Visa Airport Companion — the Visa Airport Companion app
- Mastercard Travel Pass — the Mastercard Travel Pass app
- DragonPass — the DragonPass app
Check by terminal. The lounges above sit in Terminal 1 or Terminal 3, and a lounge that accepts your programme is only useful if it is in the terminal you are flying from.
Sharjah (SHJ)
Sharjah Airport lists two lounges, both open 24 hours a day, and says of both that “charges do apply and entry to the lounges can be pre-booked”.
- The Lounge — the airport’s “newly renovated premium airport lounge”. Entry is by voucher, bought from your airline or travel agency, through Hala Services or the transfer desk, at check-in, or at The Lounge’s own reception. Children under two are free; children from two to 12 pay 50% of the adult price. Fees carry 5% VAT. The page gives no adult price.
- Al Diyafa Lounge — part of the airport’s Al Diyafah meet-and-assist service. The page lists 280 for one passenger with lounge access and 650 for a family of up to four with lounge access, without stating a currency. Its FAQ asks “Which cards are allowed to access Al Diyafah lounge?” and answers: “This service is not available in Al Diyafah lounge.”
No card programme is named on either Sharjah page. Do not count on a card for lounge access at SHJ unless your programme’s app lists a Sharjah lounge on the day you fly.
Before you go
- Find your programme in the table above, or on your card’s own page.
- Install and register the programme’s app before the trip — at the gate is too late, and the app is how most programmes now admit you.
- Check the lounge in the app for your terminal and date. Lounge participation changes; an airport page and an app can disagree, and the app is what the lounge desk will look at.
- Count the guests. On Citi’s terms a guest uses one of your visits, and every guest above the allowance is charged.
Sources
Read on 19 October 2026.
- Dubai Airports, Relax & refresh, Plaza Premium Lounge and Ahlan Lounges
- Zayed International Airport, Lounges and Pearl Lounge
- Sharjah Airport, Airport Lounges, The Lounge and Al Diyafah Service
- Citibank UAE, Airport lounge access
- Card programmes and allowances: our card data, each entry sourced to the issuer’s product page and linked from the card’s review
