Using Priority Pass

A few months ago I upgraded my Chase Saphire Prefered card to the Chase Saphire Reserve card, in order to take advantage of the included Priority Pass as well as higher points earning.

Since I returned to Australia I have had the chance to test it out at a few Lounges.

The first opportunity was while travelling from Dallas to LAX. It was a Minute Suite, which is really just a number of small private rooms, with a couch/bed thingy, TV and computer. I did not realize this until we arrived, but I was glad I had a chance to check it out. There were no complimentary refreshments, and I was unable to get the wifi or computer to work. There is also a charge if you go over the 1 hour allowed for Priority Pass members. Since we had limited time we were probably only in the Suite for about five minutes. I wonder what the guy staffing it thought?

The first real lounge we used was at LAX. We were in the International terminal so without leaving it our only option was the KAL lounge. We had to take an elevator to get to it, but it was near all the other airport lounges. Checking in was just a matter of showing my card and our Tickets. After entering we were greated by gentle music and plenty of empty comfy chairs. There was also a selection of complimentary food and drinks. While it wasn't a huge buffet, the staff did a good of keeping up with the demand. I was pretty happy with the food, and who can complain about free cold beer and fresh coffee? I was also able to take a shower, in order to keep fresh on our long haul flight to Korea.

While on our short Layover in Korea, we could have made our way to a lounge, but as we were already full from our breakfast on the Singapore Airlines flight and didn't want to be too rushed, we decided to just take a walk around the airport. It is good to know that most International airports did have a lounge in the terminal we were in and that Priority Pass is continuing to add them. Dallas was the exception, which required a five minute ride each way on the rail to the Minute Suites in Terminal A. We should have gone to Terminal D to get our free refreshments at The Club at DFW instead. Live and learn. There is definitely room for improvement in PP's list of Dallas lounges.

The next stop was Singapore. We had payed to stay in an airport lounge on our trip to the USA. The $30 each or so we paid was worth the five hours of extra sleep it afforded us. It also included hot drinks and a shower. I do not remember which lounge it was, but am pretty sure it is not on Priority Passes list of Lounges. This time we went to the SATS Premiere Lounge in Terminal 2. It was pretty busy, but as usual there was food and drink free of charge. The two massage chairs were constantly being hogged. The food while not bad reminded me of a fairly limited breakfast buffet at one of the Hotels we stay at in Bali. I enjoyed the fresh coffee and cold beer, and the oasis of calmness from the chaos of the terminal. If we had wanted to sleep, we would have been better off finding a different lounge, or maybe going to the free movie theater.

I noticed Priority Pass has also added TGM which is a restaurant in Terminal 2. I have read that you and your guests are allowed something like $35 USD worth of food and drink, and that the restaurants often encourage you to spend all of the allowance.

The last of our Lounge experiences was on our way from Bali to Darwin. Our only option in the International lounge at the time was the Premiere Lounge although I now see the T/G lounge is also listed. While food was pretty sparce, we were able to find comfortable seating. It was pretty busy, but at least they were not running out of drinks. I think this was the least impressive of experiences due to the crowdedness and meager food, but as I ran into a buddy from the Darwin Sub Aqua Club, it was memorable. You don't run into people you know in a foreign country every day, although it happens more often than you'd think. As it turned out we were on the same flight after a few months of escaping the worst of the Darwin heat and humidity. The flight was with Jetstar which is one of those budget airlines that charges extra for checked baggage, meals, etc. My friend said his original ticket to Bali had been canelled due to the Volcano activity, but that Jestar would not offer him a refund. Unfortunately I see articles complaining of similar scenarios with the company. In my personal experience I have had better luck. I accidently booked two tickets under my name instead of my spouses and my names. I talked to a representative online and after quoting a policy to him I had found on the internet, he changed my ticket.

Back to Lounges. Darwin has a Lounge in the International Terminal, but unfortunately domestic flyers can not acces the International Terminal.

So after my experiences using PP, is the effective $150 annual fee for the Reserve card worth the benefit of Priority Pass? For those who fly airlines frequently I would say yes. especially if you find yourself with long layovers with a guest. With a family it would be even more worthwhile as you are allowed multiple guests in most lounges/restaurants on the Priority Pass Lounge list. There is also the $100 credit towards Global Entry every five years, which includes TSA precheck. If you pay the $99 anual fee for the Saphire Preferred card anyways, you might as well pay an extra $51 and get 3% cash back on travel and dining instead of 2%.

So far I have only used Priority Pass at 4 lounges, making 8 free entrys, since I had my wife along as a guest. That averages out the annual cost to about $20 per entry if I don't use it anymore this year. That is well below the cost of most pay per entry Lounges and about the same you would pay for a decent meal in most airports. I feel airport lounges make airtravel much more enjoyable and this is by far the least expensive way to into them.