Chase Priority Pass?

[stephenson]

Hi All,

I've had United and American club access on and off over the years, but my travel patterns changed and I stopped paying for them.

We're getting ready to head to Europe for a couple of weeks and my wife noticed Chase offered access to some lounges so she called and set up access using their app.

I did a quick look and noted there is a lounge in Atlanta (we depart from), Chicago (switch to international side) and Rome - this is our main itinerary ...

Some of the lounges sounded generic (Atlanta) and others were Swiss or AirFrance ...

Has anyone used this "perk" - did it cost anything? It isn't always clear ...am I being too suspicious ?

 

[NgineER]

I’ve used a number of the lounges, some are better than others. Priority pass has been free to me with chase sapphire reserve.
I was unable to use the lounge in MSP when flying Iceland air-wrong departure terminal. Same with Canada->US in Toronto, Boston and San Francisco. Lounge was only accessible through international departures terminals.

Normal departures through MSP gets lounge access and $15/traveler to buy food for either in lounge or other restaurants. Works out well for us with family traveling.
Have never been denied or asked to pay for companions.

 

[RunningBum]

Go with pretty low expectations, but sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised.

In some airports they have agreements with other airline clubs, but some of those are only open certain hours or only if they aren't too crowded. I've been shut out of those before. Some are a nice enough quiet place to relax, with some snack food and drink, and sometimes bar access. Nothing special but more relaxing than a gate or airport bar. Most don't serve enough to replace a meal.

Denver had a nice restaurant you get credit towards. I was taking a van shuttle from Summit County during ski season so I added a lot of buffer in case of weather. It turned out to be a perfect day so the drive was quick and this was a nice way to pass time. Likewise if I'm driving up to Dulles to fly out, I'll leave plenty of buffer for traffic and find one of the clubs to wait in if my commute is fine.

I wouldn't pay much for it, especially since I don't fly much, but it was a nice perk with the Sapphire card. Mine is good to the end of the year so I might get one more chance to use it over Christmas travel.

By all means use it if it's available to you.

 

[stephenson]

We've had Sapphire Reserve for some time and I never thought to sign up for the lounge access ...

So, there is no charge at any of the locations - things don't just pop up on your Chase card?

 

[RunningBum]

Nope. I only used my Chase card enough to get the signup bonus and travel bonus, so I would've noticed a new charge show up with none others for months.

 

[Red Badger]

I like Chase Sapphire Reserve, but when we were at JFK last month, the lounge had a sign outside disallowing a laundry list of cards including PP. But JFK is JFK -interpret what you will.

You might do well in ATL. Haven't been there. But it's opposite the Delta T5 lounge upstairs.

 

[SecondCor521]

We've had Sapphire Reserve for some time and I never thought to sign up for the lounge access ...

So, there is no charge at any of the locations - things don't just pop up on your Chase card?

I've used my Chase Priority Pass (associated with my Chase Sapphire Reserve) a number of times in a number of locations around the world and have never been charged a penny for me or for my traveling companion.

I believe there *may* be some lounges, usually the airline-branded ones like the Delta Sky Club, that may charge you something like $29pp if you bring in more than one guest, but that may be the Priority Pass lounges associated with my AMEX Schwab Platinum card (I have both).

The reason I think there is no fee is that this perk usually comes with cards with hefty annual fees - the CSR annual fee is $450 and the AMEX Schwab Platinum annual fee is $550.

You do have to jump through a few hoops. You have to activate the Priority Pass through your credit card. You then have to wait for and receive a Priority Pass card (plastic card the size of a credit card). You have to show that card (or your PP number in the app) plus your boarding pass; I think you may also have to show the credit card also when you go in the lounge. The boarding pass thing is to just make sure you're actually using it as intended, and not just driving out to your local airport and getting some free beer, snacks, and wifi.

Sometimes lounges temporarily refuse to accept new guests because they are at capacity. The lounges vary in quality, but they're all pretty decent and better than waiting at a gate - if I have more than an hour layover I'll head to the lounge.

I have heard that if you cancel or downgrade the credit card that you have the PP through, the credit card company will cancel your PP membership and you won't be able to use it even though the PP card may have a later expiration date. Seems reasonable, but rules out a loophole I would've used.

 

[FUEGO]

We did this with our family of 5 all over Europe and it was awesome. At the time the Sapphire Reserve allowed unlimited guests into lounges with the cardholder. Now it's maximum 2 guests most places (so we'll need 2 cards with Priority Pass access to get all 5 of us in).

Quality of lounges were mixed, with the median lounge being "good enough" to get a drink, usually beer and wine, sometimes liquor, a bite to eat (assuming sandwiches, a pre-packaged salad, maybe deli tray and fruit). Some lounges were really incredible (Turkish Airways lounge in IAD in Washington DC for example - great hot buffet and full bar). Others were unexpectedly closed - Business Center in Lisbon. Or they didn't offer much more than pastries and coffee at breakfast time (plus alcohol if you're a morning drinker lol) - thinking of a different lounge in Lisbon.

We found a lounge in Milan that had a nice selection of top shelf liquor and very attentive staff that offered to serve us but we were okay pouring our own scotch, whiskey, etc We had a really hard time getting to our Airbnb after that lounge though...

We're gearing up for a 2 month trip through Southeast Asia and plan on getting the Priority Pass again since most of the airports we're traveling through have decent Priority Pass lounges (IAD, HKG, several across SE Asia). Money-wise it'll save us a small bundle on meals vs paying inflated airport prices and the kids enjoy the all you can eat/drink self serve aspect (though some places want to serve you the alcohol as one nice lounge staffer mentioned to me after I reached into the cabinet to grab a bottle of wine and serve myself).

I'd recommend using the PP if you have access, and if you're planning extensive travel overseas (where most lounges are) then it might even be worth signing up for a card that offers Priority Pass access. Most come with big annual fees like $350-550/yr but there are some that have lesser fees. Amex has a Hilton card that's only $95/year I think and offers 10 free visits to a lounge each year (or 5 visits if it's you plus a guest).

 

[RunningBum]

I'm pretty sure I've used the one in ATL. IIRC it was pretty average on food and drink selection. I think that's the place where someone would wander in behind the bar for a few minutes every 15-20 minutes. A little out of the way for most domestic layovers but with the train it's not bad.

ATL also has "minute suites" which were all in use with a wait when I tried. You get 30 free minutes with PP. As I understand it's a quiet, small (~7x8') room with a couch, TV/computer screen, USB ports for recharging. No free food or drink. Looks like a nice quiet oasis away from the airport bustle, maybe close your eyes for a quick nap--just set an alarm so you don't overstay the 30 minutes and get charged, or worse, miss your flight! They have a clock and/or alexa, and you can use your own phone alarm.

thepointsguy.com has good reviews on most of these clubs.

 

[tulak]

I’ve used PP all over the world and it’s a nice option instead of waiting at the gate. The food is iffy at times, but you can at least get a beverage and relax in relative comfort.

This is one of the reasons I still have my Chase Sapphire Reserve CC. I travel enough where this is a nice option to have and I figure the money I save by hanging out at the lounges helps offset the CC’s annual fee.

As others have mentioned though, the quality of the lounges can vary quite a bit. One of our favorites was Taipei. We really enjoyed the massage chairs and when we were there, it wasn’t at all busy.

 

[erkevin]

They have recently changed the guest limit to two (from unlimited). I have also noticed that PP members are first out when the lounge gets full. Twice recently, at LAX, lounges had "not accepting Priority Pass at this time due to capacity".

 

[stephenson]

Thanks, All!

Great comments and I learned a lot.

We have a couple of longer layovers this trip, so perhaps we'll get a chance to experiment with PP.

 

[athena53]

Note that you can also buy PriorityPass directly. For quite awhile, I had the $99 membership; currently that gives you 10 free visits with additional visits at $32 and guests (any visit, including the first 10) for $32. It's also a broader selection of clubs than PriorityPass "Select", which is what you get with many credit cards. The PriorityPass site lets you search for available lounges. I've seen some discussions on FlyerTalk, though, about how more lounges are becoming overcrowded due to the proliferation of Chase Sapphire Reserve customers.

My long-hauls are in Business Class so I get lounge access that way; I occasionally buy a Day Pass if I have a long layover when flying Coach. That way I'm not limited to what PriorityPass provides if the lounge is in the wrong terminal or isn't accepting PP.

 

[Goawayrain]

I've had Priority Pass through Chase Sapphire Reserve for a little less than a year now. Have used it for 3 or 4 trips. Generally, as a 'free' benefit with the card it definitely has value but, as others have said, results have been mixed for us.

In our home airport, Portland OR, there are a couple restaurants and a distillery that provide valuable credits. We never eat before we go to the airport because we can have pretty good meals/alcohol there for free.

Lounge quality has varied quite a bit. Some pretty good, others kind of lame. As has also been pointed out, some airlines will close their lounges for PP members during busy times...in our experience, this is pretty much a given for Alaska Airlines lounges in Seattle and Portland.

It is my understanding that some airports now have shopping benefits at some of their stores for PP members (viewable on their app), but I haven't taken advantage of that yet.

Overall, if you don't pay extra for the benefit it most likely has some valuable and will give you more flexibility