Overview
Priority Pass is a membership service which allows you to use lounges (mainly third-party) at airports even if you do not fly premium classes or have an airline status. Depending on your membership subscription you have to pay a certain amount to visit a lounge and you can even bring guests with you.
The lounges
With over 1200 lounges worldwide, the Priority Pass program will give you access to a lounge at nearly every major airport in the world. At most airports, you will have access to a third-party lounge which is often not as nice as the airline lounges, but at many small airports you will have access to the same lounge as premium passengers and status members. Nevertheless what you will have guaranteed in every lounge are:
- Free WiFi
- Complimentary soft drinks and alcohol
- Small Snacks
- A place to sit and relax before your flight away from the hustle in the terminal.
On some airports like for example in Sydney or Portland, you also have the possibility to visit a restaurant instead of a lounge and you will simply get a voucher of the amount which a visit would cost do wine and dine at the airport.
Different Memberships
Priority Pass offers 3 different memberships:
- STANDARD: Annual Fee of 89€, each visit will cost 28€
- STANDARD PLUS: Annual fee of 259€, 10 visits included, thereafter 28€ per visit.
- PRESTIGE: Annual fee of 399€, unlimited visits included.
If you bring guests to the lounge, each additional person always needs to pay a 28€ entry fee.
Which membership to choose
This widely depends on your travel pattern. We will simply bring this down to numbers to show you at how many visits it makes sense to upgrade your plan.
If you chose the STANDARD membership and visit 6 lounges, you will pay a total of 257€ (89€ + 6 x 28€). As the STANDARD PLUS membership, which includes 10 visits, is only 2€ more, we suggest to choose the STANDARD PLUS membership already when you plan to visit at least 6 lounges during your membership year.
If you plan to visit at least 15 lounges during your membership year, you are already better of subscribing for the PRESTIGE membership, as the STANDARD PLUS subscription and 15 visits will already cost you 399€ (259€ + 5 x 28€), the same price as the PRESTIGE membership costs.
Promotions
From time to time, there a some discounted deals available to apply for a Priority Pass membership, often trough a Groupon website. We suggest you wait until a promotion arises if you are not in need of a subscription immediately.
Is it worth getting a priority pass membership
Priority Pass is definitely worth considering if you are planning a lot of economy flights and you still want to visit some lounges to be able to relax a little bit before your flight, especially if you have long layovers. The STANDARD membership is certainly not a very good deal, so we suggest you might consider a membership only if you plan to visit at least 6 lounges per year and opt in for the Priority Pass STANDARD PLUS membership.
Conclusion
Priority Pass gives you the opportunity to visit lounges even if you are not flying premium classes or you do not have a status. The lounges are not always optimal, and sometimes crowded, but if you are planning some economy flights during the year it is worth considering to get a Priority Pass membership.
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