If you've ever spent a prolonged amount of time near a departure gate, you're probably familiar with just how chaotic an airport terminal can be. From flustered travelers running around to crying babies to limited seating, it can make for a very unpleasant experience.
That's where airport lounges like those in the Priority Pass network come in. You can get free Priority Pass access from a few different credit cards and use it to escape the madness in favor of a quiet space, free food, and drinks. The Priority Pass program also includes select restaurants and cafes at airports, and members can get up to $30 per person in free food and drink.
Below is a breakdown of the Priority Pass program and how you can get access through select credit cards.
Read more: Why I won't travel without my credit card's Priority Pass perk
What is Priority Pass?
Priority Pass is a network of more than 1,200 airport lounges, restaurants, and cafes worldwide. You'll find that Priority Pass has more lounges internationally than it does in the US, so having a Priority Pass membership can come in especially handy when you travel abroad.
Priority Pass lounges
The airport lounges in the Priority Pass program offer a comfortable place to relax before a flight, but the specific amenities will vary from location to location, and the lounges outside of US airports are generally much nicer (and plentiful) than the ones you'll find stateside.
Keep in mind that Priority Pass reserves the right to deny access to its lounges if they are overcrowded. Again, this is usually more of an issue in the US, where there are more limited Priority Pass lounge locations, than it is abroad.
Priority Pass restaurants and cafes
In addition to more than 1,200 airport lounges worldwide, the Priority Pass program includes restaurants and cafes at airports such as Los Angeles (LAX) and St. Louis (STL). Priority Pass members can get $28 to $30 of free food and drink at participating restaurants.
Business Insider's Sarah Silbert took advantage of this perk in Portland (PDX) and got a full breakfast and coffee, plus some snacks for the plane. It's a great way to avoid paying the high mark-up for a meal at the airport. Travel website The Points Guy has a list of all the Priority Pass airport lounge locations in the US.
Priority Pass membership options
There are three Priority Pass membership tiers:
- Standard membership - costs $99 per year and enables you to buy lounge passes for $32 per visit
- Standard Plus - costs $299 per year and gets you 10 free visits
- Prestige membership - costs $429 per year and includes unlimited free visits to Priority Pass lounges
All of these membership tiers allow you to purchase guest passes for $32 per person.
Alternatively, you can get Priority Pass membership through several rewards credit cards. A Priority Pass membership that you can from a credit card is called Priority Pass Select - it's a different type of membership than what you get by purchasing it directly from Priority Pass. The benefit is that it's completely free, and with some credit cards you even get free guest access, making it a much better deal the publicly available membership plans.
Which credit cards offer Priority Pass membership?
The Platinum Card from American Express and the Business Platinum Card from American Express
The Platinum Card and Business Platinum Card from American Express both offer extensive lounge access, including the Priority Pass network. Cardholders and authorized users get Priority Pass Select membership with complimentary admission for up to two guests per visit. Additional guests beyond the two can be admitted for $32 per person.
The big caveat here is that American Express cardholders no longer get access to the restaurants and cafes that are part of the Priority Pass Lounge network. This is unfortunate because the program has some pretty nice restaurants that are now off-limits. But Platinum cardholders can take solace in their exclusive access to Centurion Lounges, The International American Express lounge network, and more.
Read more: Amex Platinum vs. Amex Business Platinum - which card is best?
Chase Sapphire Reserve
If American Express' exclusion of restaurants and cafes bothers you, you might want to opt for this card instead. Not only does the Sapphire Reserve card offer lots of great travel perks, but the Priority Pass Select membership doesn't exclude access to restaurants and cafes.
For just $75, you can add an authorized user to your Sapphire Reserve card, and this qualifies for the same membership perks. That includes bringing up to two guests into the lounge per visit. Any guests beyond this number can enter at a discounted rate of $27 per person.
Read more: Chase Sapphire Reserve review
Citi Prestige® Card
The Citi Prestige Card's Priority Pass Select membership is unique in that it extends access to immediate family or up to two guests. Family is defined as a spouse, domestic partner and/or children under 18. If you want to bring in additional guests beyond this allowance, you can do so for $27 per person.
Read more: The Citi Prestige just got a heavier metal design
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
With premium benefits to boot, the Hilton Aspire is one of the best hotel credit cards out there. Cardholders get free top-tier Diamond status with Hilton, up to $250 Hilton in resort credits each year, up to $250 in airline fee credits each year, up to a $100 Hilton property credit on two-night stays, an annual free weekend night and more.
But perks don't extend to just hotel stays. Hilton Aspire cardholders also receive Priority Pass Select membership and guest privileges (up to two per visit). As this is an American Express Card, access to restaurants and cafes is unfortunately restricted. However, with all the other benefits this card has to offer, I can personally overlook this flaw.
Read more: Hilton Aspire Amex card review
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
If you're looking for great travel perks for a lower ($95) annual fee, the Hilton Honors Surpass Card is a great alternative to the Aspire Card.
Hilton Surpass cardholders receive 10 free Priority Pass lounge visits every year. Not as good as unlimited visits, but no bad considering you're paying a lower annual fee for this card and still getting almost one lounge visit per month out of it.
More credit card coverage
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.
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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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