Tag Archives for priority pass.
Last week I ate the worst lobster roll I’ve ever had in my life. This shouldn’t surprise anyone – least of which me – because I ate it in an airport.
Let’s back up a bit. I flew to Boston, and it took around 14 hours because American Airlines….
American Express confirmed that Priority Pass cards they provide to customers will no longer provide a dining credit at airport restaurants effective August 1.
That naturally leads to a great deal of speculation about whether other card issuers will do the same thing. Here’s what I’ve uncovered.
American Express has confirmed to me that U.S.-based cards offering Priority Pass will no longer provide credit in participating airport restaurants going forward.
Effective August 1 “the Priority Pass Membership benefit offered on American Express Platinum and Centurion Cards and Hilton Ascend, Hilton Aspire, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ Cards will no longer include complimentary access to non-lounge airport experiences.”
We’re seeing what may be the beginning of the next big restriction on bank-provided Priority Pass cards: American Express has notified Hong Kong cardmembers that effective August 1 Priority Pass cards that come with their Centurion, Platinum, Peninsula Platinum, and Cathay Pacific Elite credit cards will no longer offer “non-lounge airport experiences” such as restaurants, cafes, and bars “where food/beverage credit is offered instead of entrance into a traditional airport lounge.”
This would cut American Express’ costs to issue these cards significantly, and be a huge cut in cardmember benefits. The worry here is that it could spread (1) to other American Express markets, and (2) to other issuers. I have asked American Express what their plans are for this restriction and will share anything that I learn.
My wallet has a bunch of credit cards sitting behind credit cards. It has my drivers license, office security access card, and Priority Pass cards. That doesn’t even begin to cover it though because I’ve got my insurance cards, AAA card, and some business cards too.
Overstuffing – and simply using – a wallet wears it out faster. I don’t like investing a ton of money in a wallet because it’s simply not going to last the way I use it.
Some people have made truly gluttonous use of Priority Pass lounge access like bringing 19 guests into a lounge in Quito, Ecuador and bringing 35 guests into a single lounge with just one Priority Pass card in Kigali, Rwanda.
Now that you can use Priority Pass cards to get $28 credits at a variety of airport restaurants around the world you can do a lot of eating for free.
Priority Pass is a great way for lounges to monetize their downtime, since the space is leased all the time and airport leases are expensive. However Priority Pass guests are getting access to excess capacity only. Think of Priority Pass lounge access, then, as the last minute saver award that may or may not open up.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Mehran Karimi Nasseri is the man behind the Tom Hanks film The Terminal. He spent 18 years living in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport’s terminal 1. He reported being kicked out of Iran for protesting the Shah, and eventually granted refugee status in Belgium. He moved to the UK, but lost his papers when he says his briefcase was stolen.
Recently a Taiwanese man spent more than a week living in the Perth, Australia airport but not because he lacked documents. He ran out of money and was waiting to fly home in several weeks. He couldn’t afford to change his ticket on Singapore Airlines low cost carrier Scoot.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
