Article: Priority Pass Lounge Guide

[AFF Editor]

Priority Pass Lounge Guide is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

Priority Pass Lounge Guide: Save up to 20% on Membership

Even if you're not a frequent flyer, you can enjoy access to airport lounges around the world with a Priority Pass membership.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[sudoer]

Visited Pope Joan at MEL T1 today. Unsure if any relation to the Pope Joan cafe outside Sofitel on Collins that went into liquidation last year.

A few Google reviews were scathing of the service - but the young bloke who served us was on the ball and the food was very good by airport standards. Two mains and a juice for $0.60 after Priority Pass.



Also visited Luke's Bistro on arrival in Sydney and picked up some takeaway salads - good to have it as an option now!

 

[coralda]

 

[aikman]

Also visited Luke's Bistro on arrival in Sydney and picked up some takeaway salads - good to have it as an option now!

Is usage on arrival normally allowed or is at the restaurant's discretion?

 

[IrishPete]

I joined Priority Pass last year, basic membership, and have now used it on two trips to Europe, one via Abu Dhabi and one via Kong Kong.

We were able to use my American Express lounge access before departure - trip 1 in Melbourne, trip 2 in Sydney, so only used PP in our transit airport

Abh Dhabi outwards was good. We had a beer and a shower. The shower did not cost extra and had a short wait. The shower and cold beer justified the entry charge, which is significant at about Au$55 per person on top of the PP annual membership.

On the return leg, there was a massive slow moving queue for entry, and we figured we wouldn't have enough time to get any benefit from the lounge, so washed and changed clothes in airport toilets.

Fast forward to July this year. We accessed a PP lounge in Hong Kong. On top of the entry charge, there was another US$35 charge to have a shower. There was a significant wait for the shower and we were told the only way we would both have time would be if they didn't clean it between our use. They would not allow us to shower together. The food and drink on offer in the lounge was dismal, and the lounge was small, busy and dingy.

On the way home to Australia we ended up with a very long transit in Hong Kong, and decided to try the public showers instead of using the PP lounge. We had a big towel with us, so didn't need to buy one. The showers were free and okay, and there was no queue. My shower's drain was quite blocked with hair, but still useable. There were others I could have jumped into if it had been unusable.

Au$110 to have a shower and some coughpy finger food and a very limited selection of beers is not good value.

I don't think I will renew my PP membership.

 

[kpc]

Is usage on arrival normally allowed or is at the restaurant's discretion?

I do this a lot..ie use on arrival

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I don't think I will renew my PP membership.

There are some ‘not so flash’ PP lounges. The one in coughet comes to mind. But we get our membership for ‘free’ through AMEX so no real loss, and better than nothing.

 

[IrishPete]

There are some ‘not so flash’ PP lounges. The one in coughet comes to mind. But we get our membership for ‘free’ through AMEX so no real loss, and better than nothing.

Which AmEx card? And do you get free showers, or are they extra?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Which AmEx card? And do you get free showers, or are they extra?

You gotta pick your lounge! I see some lounges charge for showers, so you have to find ones that are free! (if you can). BKK for example i think has a liu be that charges for showers, but the Turkish lounge has them for free.

AMEX platinum. In lounges that charge, we also have to pay the extra. But ive avoided those. Not actually sure I’d pay that much even if i needed one!

 

[kpc]

This PP lounge at Jnb is very nice...too bad we only had time for a 30 min bfast in the lounge.

 

[clifford]

I recently purchased a Priority Pass at 25% discount, using the following:
Airport Lounge programme | Priority Pass

This may well still be available...

 

[N860CR]

Any decent promos for the prestige membership? It’s the only one that really makes sense if you’re flying business regularly and get lounge access (but prefer the airport restaurants!). Most of the promo codes don’t seem to work

 

[Flyerwin]

In case people don’t know PP also gives you access to the Rex lounge.

 

[sudoer]

A few good PP restaurant experiences lately:

MEL T3: Biggie Smalls - does good lamb/chicken kebabs, salads, etc. Has a few beers on tap. The guy behind the counter was all over Priority Pass, double checked I wasn't using PP through an Amex, and actively suggested snacks and drinks to help me use up the whole $36pp

MEL T3: Stomping Ground - decent beer, but always quite busy. Does takeaway 4 packs for a Priority Pass provided souvenir!

CBR: Capital Brewing - arguably the best beer you'll find through Priority Pass in Australia. Can squeeze two pints and a bag of crisps into the $36 allowance. Tables are in the open terminal so you can BYO food (see below)

CBR: City Hill Coffee - right across from Capital Brewing, you can pick up your food here to enjoy with your beer. Decent paninis, salads, that sort of thing.

CBR: Noodles XO is about 50m from Capital Brewing & City Hill. The made-to-order wok type dishes can be hit and miss, but are generally pretty good. Think pad thai, singapore noodles, that sort of thing.

SYD T3: Luke's Bistro is excellent although the $36 doesn't go as far as other venues. SYD is my home base so I'll usually stop on arrival to pick up two takeaway salads to eat later.

Unfortunately SYD T2 is sorely lacking good restaurant options....

 

[RealtimeY]

Luke’s Bistro is a welcome replacement for the generic Italian place that used to be there. Glad to see that the group that runs basically all these places is pumping out higher quality outlets now.

 

[Mattg]

SYD T3: Luke's Bistro is excellent although the $36 doesn't go as far as other venues. SYD is my home base so I'll usually stop on arrival to pick up two takeaway salads to eat later.

Can you use Priority Pass lounges (and the food & beverage credits) both prior to departure and on arrival, with the same boarding pass?

 

[SuePa]

I recently purchased a Priority Pass at 25% discount, using the following:
Airport Lounge programme | Priority Pass

This may well still be available...

Offer ends 31st December.

 

[sudoer]

Can you use Priority Pass lounges (and the food & beverage credits) both prior to departure and on arrival, with the same boarding pass?

Yep, never had an issue doing it.

 

[Verbal]

Here's a link to purchase PP using a (long-running?) Visa cardholder offer - 50% discount off Standard and 25% off Standard Plus:

Priority Pass & Visa AP | Priority Pass

www.prioritypass.com

To save people clicking the link, prices are:

Standard - USD $49 for first year
Standard Plus - USD $223
Prestige - USD $429

AFAIK, there's no expiry date on this Visa cardholder offer. Unclear as to whether you actually need to pay with a Visa card.

 

[Verbal]

If the Prestige tier offers unlimited lounge visits, how does PP prevent abuse and limit daily usage?

If I departed from Airport X (say 2 lounges and 3 restaurant offers) and landed at Airport Y (say 3 lounges and 4 restaurants), is there a system in place that prevents me from visiting all 5 lounges and collecting 7 take-away meals all on the same day using the same boarding pass?