At the last company I worked for I did a lot of international travel on different airlines to different airports- and corporate policy was always to travel economy class. At some point I was introduced to Priority Pass and I have been using it for the last three years.

For those of you unfamiliar with Priority Pass , it is a service which gives you lounge access at over 500 airports worldwide, so if you are in an airport pretty much anywhere, there is a good chance that you can access one of the lounges using your card.

Priority Pass isn’t cheap. For occasional travelers you can have a basic membership for which you pay $99 +$24 each time you access a lounge. If you have more than 6 lounge visits per year you should use a standard plus membership for which you pay $249 but you have 10 free visits- and subsequent ones are $24 each. At the top end is the prestige membership which costs $399 but you do not have to pay anything more for any visits. Prestige works out best if you have more than 16 visits per year.

What are the downsides to Priority Pass ?

• The staff at airport lounges are not always familiar with it- although this has been improving. On one occasion (at the lounge in Luanda, Angola) I was refused entry even though I knew for sure that I should have lounge access.
• The program changes all the time. On another trip I was denied entry (at Air Canada lounge in Montreal) because that particular lounge was no longer part of the program.
• Many times there are no signs which show you can use Priority Pass, so you have to go and ask.
• If you bring a visitor you always pay $24 for them

These kinds of incidents range from embarrassing to downright infuriating as I pay $400 a year for my pass out of my own pocket. Case in point, I was just at the Delta lounge in Laguardia. I was traveling on an A ticket- first class- which sometimes give you lounge access. At first when I tried to access the lounge the staff said that I needed a Delta Club card- the lady at the counter smiled at me and offered to sell me this for $400 per year. When I then asked if I told her that I already pay $400 for my Priority Pass they said that I could use it. I would have shown the Priority Pass sooner, but there were no signs for Priority Pass at all.

The really nice thing about this card, though, is the wide availibility of access. I don’t know how they do it but it is rare than I cannot use it at all and generally it works well. Check it out if you are unfamiliar with it.