Priority Pass Increases Guest & Membership Fees…

Priority Pass has announced that due to rising costs it will be increasing its guest and membership fees from the 1st of December 2022. At a time when it’s nearly impossible to get in a lounge with your Priority Pass it’s likely this will be the final nail in the coffin if you pay for membership…

What is the Priority Pass Guest Fee Increasing to?

The Priority Pass Guest Fee is jumping a whopping 20% from £20 to £24. This change has currently only been announced to those who have purchased a Priority Pass membership but we have seen in the past that this increase is passed onto holders of ‘free’ Priority Pass memberships shortly after.

That means if you have the Amex Gold (with 4 free visits) or Platinum card (unlimited access for cardholder plus one guest) you will soon be paying £24 a visit after your 4 free visits on the Amex Gold or £24 for any guests outside your +1 on the Platinum Card.

Card providers (i.e. HSBC Premier, Santander and Curve among others) that offer LoungeKey access (run by Priority Pass) will also likely see their access fee increase from £20 to £24. If you have free access it is likely you will see your guest fee increase to £24.

What are Priority Pass membership fees increasing to?

The standard membership is staying at £69. This doesn’t get you any ‘free’ access to lounges but instead allows you to visit as many Priority Pass lounges as you want for £24 a visit.

The standard plus membership is increasing from £189 to £229. This gives you 10 ‘free’ visits to lounges (no guests.) After this (and for any guests) you will pay £24 a visit.

The prestige membership is increasing from £339 to £419. This gives you unlimited ‘free’ visits to lounges (no guests.) For any guests, you will pay £24 a visit.

If you join before the 1st of December you will pay the lower membership fee but from the 1st of December will be charged £24 for further visits/any guests as applicable.

Conclusion

Will the increase in fees see an increase in the accessibility and quality of lounges? Probably not but like most businesses Priority Pass is feeling the squeeze in the current climate. At £24 a visit (if you have to pay) it’s getting harder to see what value there is in having access/membership. Particularly if you need to pay £6 to guarantee access (£30 total) when you can purchase guaranteed access to lounges cheaper than this with providers such as Holiday Extras & Lounge Buddy.

You can read about the price rises on the Priority Pass website here – https://www.prioritypass.com/en/visitfeeincrease