Who actually gets you in.

"Complimentary lounge access" is one brochure line wearing five different machines. Priority Pass is a membership your card carries — the world's biggest door-opener, and in India pointed almost entirely at international terminals. DreamFolks ran India's domestic-airport swipe-and-enter visits until it exited that business on 16 Sep 2025 — what's left is its international network and the railway-station lounges (banks now contract domestic access direct); LoungeKey is Priority Pass's white-label twin, and it's what answers when your card says "Mastercard lounge programme". Network programmes (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay, Diners) live on the card itself — no membership kit, which is exactly why a quarterly spend gate can switch them off without telling you. Direct doors are issuer tie-ups with the lounge — shortest list, most reliable swipe. The chips on every door below tell you which machine you're dealing with.

Priority Pass

The global membership network. Your card carries the membership — in India it is pointed almost entirely at international doors.

DreamFolks

The former domestic aggregator — it EXITED India’s domestic-airport lounge programme on 16 Sep 2025. What survives is its international lounge network (still behind many intl visits) and the railway programme (shown separately).

DreamFolks Railway

The railway-station lounges — a ₹2 EDC swipe and you are in. The one piece of DreamFolks’ India business that outlived the Sep-2025 domestic-airport exit.

Visa

Visa’s own programme, keyed to the card tier (Signature, Infinite). Quietly spend-gated on most issuers.

Mastercard

Mastercard’s programme for World and World Elite tiers — run on LoungeKey, Priority Pass’s white-label twin.

Diners Club

The Diners network list — HDFC territory, and still the strongest domestic coverage per rupee of fee.

Amex

American Express’s own and partner doors, including the Centurion lounges.

RuPay

NPCI’s programme. Usually one visit a quarter, and yes — spend-gated.

Direct

The lounge admits the card itself. Issuer tie-up, no network in between — shortest list, most reliable swipe.