Priority Pass Increased Fees 2018
Priority Pass has grown both in size and in importance to my overall well being while traveling over the past few years. Once they tapped out their ability to grow with lounges, they have increasingly added restaurants and other venues which are popular with guests. I personally have a Priority Pass from a few different credit cards and use it often when on the road.
Depending on the version of membership you have:
- You may have to pay for yourself and your guests
- You may be complimentary, but your guests may cost an additional fee
- You may be complimentary and be allowed a certain number of guests for free and then pay an additional fee for more guests
That per visit charge for yourself and/or your guests will be increasing as of October 1. Here is how Priority Pass describes the change to members:
On the 1st October 2018 we will be increasing the fee for chargeable lounge visits to US$32 per visit per person. Any complimentary visits included as a part of your membership will not be affected by this fee increase.
It has been over 10 years since we have increased our visit fees and during this time we have done all we can to absorb the rising costs of providing airport lounge access to our Members. We have unfortunately reached the point where we need to make an adjustment to our prices to maintain the quality offering of Priority Pass.
During these past 10 years, we have been committed to growing our network and bringing our Members the best global airport lounge access program. We are proud that our Members can now access over 1200 lounges worldwide, as well as the recently introduced dining, spa and relaxation experiences which are supported by a 24×7 multilingual Membership Services team. Our latest Priority Pass app was developed to respond to the evolving needs of travelers around the world, using leading edge technology to enhance our Members’ travel experiences.
Raising our fees ensures we can maintain the quality offering of Priority Pass and continue to invest in both the growth of offerings available to Members (we’ve some exciting announcements to make soon!) and the quality experience offered. Should you have any queries, you can find answers to most questions in our online FAQ section.
Credit Card Memberships?
A wide variety of credit cards come with Priority Pass membership. According to View from the Wing, this new $32 fee will go into effect for memberships Priority Pass manages which includes American Express memberships. Apparently Chase is on a separate system and will be sticking with the $27 fee for now.
Conclusion
I know many of you have numerous memberships and often avoid paying for guests. Truthfully I don’t see this increase in cost as being outrageous given the fact that it has been the same for 10 years. The only question this brings up for me is whether they will also be charging credit card companies more for the memberships given their increased costs. Only time will tell I suppose.
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The PP membership that comes with my Ritz branded Chase Visa allows unlimited guests so I never pay, ever.
So we get to pay even more to read a sign on the lounge door that says it isn’t admitting PP members?