Priority Pass started added things other than lounges to appeal to cardmembers, because they get paid every time a card is swiped. Banks balked at this because their costs rise every time a card is swiped. They want their cardmembers happy, but not too happy.

Bobby Van’s Steakhouse is no more at New York JFK’s terminal 8, and most credit card-issued Priority Pass cards no longer honor $28 credits at participating restaurants as a way to cut down on cost.

But back in the day you could get some really decent food there, all for free at $28 per person. And they didn’t check boarding passes. I used to stop in on arrival after a flight, for a meal before heading into the city. And I used to tell American Airlines crew friends based in New York that all they needed was to be airside with a card for a good meal before they flew.

Capers Market in Portland was another place you could spend the credit, and that was a great grab ‘n go. Also a crew hot spot!

So it really didn’t surprise me to see that TSA employees have learned this trick, “invading” the Aspire Lounge at the Ontario Airport in California run by Swissport. They don’t ask for boarding passes either. After all, that means more card swipes – and they get paid per swipe.

I’m in the T2 Aspire Lounge at ONT and a whole parade of TSA screeners just marched in and started eating from the buffet.

When I complained to the staff, they replied the screeners have Priority Pass and use that to enter the lounge – which it appears they do daily as a group for lunch and dinner.

Priority Pass itself says a same-day boarding pass is required, so this TSA and airline crew opportunity could close any time of course.

Admittance to a Lounge or Merchant is strictly conditional upon Customers possessing (i) a valid Means of Access, (ii) a valid boarding pass and (iii) any additional identification that the Lounge or Merchant may require from Customer and guests, which may include passport, national identity card or driving license.

The no annual fee U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature actually offers Priority Pass Select with 4 free visits, and allows use at participating restaurants. But if you’re TSA or a crewmember you like free but don’t want just four visits!

Bank of American’s $550 annual fee Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card is chock full of perks and comes with up to four unlimited-use Priority Pass memberships and includes restaurants. And, of course, unlimited standard lounge visits.

Then again, the Ritz-Carlton card (only available at this point via product change from a Chase Marriott card) still honors unlimited guests. Treat your whole crew to a meal! This card is the pilot’s friend. Back when Sapphire Reserve offered unlimited guests we saw one cardmember bring in 19 guests and a reader of this blog may have set a world record with 35 people entering an airport lounge on a single Priority Pass card.

[W]e were a group of ~35 people on a wedding trip flying [Bujumbura, Burundi to Kigali, Rwanda to Dar Es Salaam to Saadani National Park in Tanzania] and had to wait around 6 hours in Kigali (nice airport by the way).

We all went in on a single chase [Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass] subscription. The lounge wasn’t that full but we did fill a around half of it. Lounge is great also, good food etc. So yeah, there you go, 35 people haha

The trick to TSA and airline crew leveraging these opportunities is that many lounges do require showing a same-day (or within 3 hours of travel) boarding pass and that’s not ideal for airport employees or crew, though of course some will buy tickets (not on the airline they work for!) and cancel those, retaining credits to do it all over again. At some point, eventually, one might get banned for doing so. I wonder whether Southwest’s tech would ever catch it.

Several years ago the story went viral about a man who ate free for a year buying a refundable ticket, accessing the China Eastern lounge in Xi’an, China, and the refunding his ticket. Every. Day.

Around the same time Lufthansa sued a passenger and won 200 euros after the man booked and cancelled 36 tickets in a year for the purpose of obtaining business class lounge access.

Another man was arrested after living in 9 different Priority Pass lounges at the Singapore airport over the course of 3 weeks.

And still another lived temporarily in an airport because he couldn’t afford the change fee on his ticket.