Priority Pass - is it any good?

[Blown2CV]

I've taken out the lower level membership of priority pass to get lounge access for a cheaper price.

I'm next flying in November, so went to check and pre-book a lounge at Manchester T2, and it just says no lounges available...

I'm trying to figure out whether I am just unlucky, or if it is just weirdly busy in like mid-november for some reason, or if priority pass is a pile of st?

any experiences?

[QuartzDad]

I have PP through my Amex card, works well and never had an issue tbh.

The PP app shows three lounges in MAN T2; The Escape, 1903 for which an additional unknown fee applies and Aspire, which can be pre-booked for an extra £6 pp. It appears I get 4 free pre-books a year via Amex, have never pre-booked, just hopped between lounges if the first isn't great.

EDIT: tried a dummy pre-book for a random date in Nov and it appeared happy to take my money/token.

[Car bon]

I used to have one when I was commuting weekly on easyJet. mine was the one that included unlimited access. It was fine about 90% of the time, then occasionally on random days, the lounge would be full and I couldn't get in. I never pre-booked though as that cost extra

[AndyAudi]

Ok in some places but not worth it in others,

I stopped going to quite a few lounges cause they just weren’t worth it, i had a priory pass for when I wasn’t getting in an airlines’s lounge & grudged using an entry sometimes because of how poor it was inside.

I’d much rather pay an inflated airport price for a drink or two & food of my choosing. (Which I sometimes did even when I had complimentary airline access)

What are you looking to get out of the lounge?
It’s usually not a luxury experience in the ones open to anybody (& they are open to anybody).

As a frequent traveler I dont usually spend lots of time at the airport so it’s 1 or 2 drinks max, a breakfast can be handy but often it’s a cheap bacon roll & pastries

If it’s occasional use & lounge looks good just pay the £30-£40 to go in

[Jonathan27]

I also have the free one from the Amex Platinum, it allows for unlimited use for you plus a guest, and if you have a secondary card holder (my wife has this) then they can use it with a guest also. So 4 people in for free.
I commute by air weekly so its very useful for me. To answer the question, its very good, however Manchester airport is awful. That applies generally, but also specifically for the lounges, they are subpar, and always full. The staff would rather turn away PP holders, in favor of paying guests, so PP become close to useless especially in T3.

[StevieBee]

I've found Priority Pass to be exceptionally useful.

My biggest win was at Ohrid Airport in Macedonia which is essentially an overcrowded box with seats and a vending machine. They had a roll-up banner stand promoting Priority Pass so asked where the lounge was. A nice man in a suit took me to another building and opened up a sumptuous mini-terminal for dignitaries of which I was the sole occupant. Looked a pillock boarding my Wizzair flight in front of everyone else, from my own gate... but hey, I'll take the win!

I guess it comes down to the frequency you fly, to and from. If you're only doing a couple of flights a year, probably not worth it.

Blown2CV said:

I'm next flying in November, so went to check and pre-book a lounge at Manchester T2, and it just says no lounges available...

I've never had to pre-book a lounge. Just turn-up and show the pass.

[mikef]

I think PP is great. OK, some lounges are a bit rubbish (Barbados springs to mind) but others are brilliant and when you have an economy stopover in Singapore and can get a shower, or your flight is delayed it's worth every penny for the annual subscription

Never had to book and never failed to get into one lounge or another at an airport in nearly 20 years

[toohuge]

My experience isn't in line with others. I'm considering giving up the PP as more often than not, the lounges in busy hubs are at capacity. It used to be a nice feature but the last few years the lounges have gone down hill imo. That said, some of the lounges have showers which is nice and the sleep pods in Dubai were very useful. Amex have their centurion lounges which have been excellent in the past but are getting busier. Busy lounges is a common problem now, Delta revoked access for many users including amex platinum which was a shame as the sky clubs were / are pretty good.

Tldr: I don't think the PP is worth it anymore

[mikef]

toohuge said:

Delta revoked access for many users including amex platinum which was a shame as the sky clubs were / are pretty good.

I used the Delta lounge in Detroit with my Amex Platinum every couple of weeks for a year. It was overcrowded and the food (soup and biscuits) was rubbish. But the showers were brilliant

[GT03ROB]

Really depends where you intend to use it & at what times. I have Dragon pass with my bank account, but its broadly the same as PP.

1st thing in the morning at Heathrow its fine. Mid morning in Amsterdam forget it, lounge rammed you'll never get in.

[Siko]

I used to have it when I was flying 2-3 times a month but to be honest I wasn't going to renew anyway when my flying stopped. There were some notable highlights (Malaga) and being able to get out of a rammed terminal on a regular occasion into a rammed lounge (Aberdeen) was barely worth it. On more than a few occasions at Manchester Escape lounge (my normal haunt) it was full and they prioritised those who had paid for access over priority pass. It chafed a bit having to wait an hour outside to go in for a croissant and coffee and squeezing yourself inbetween packs of chavs getting smashed on prosecco. TBH I found i could get a quiet place in most airports easily enough if you moved away from the main shopping areas. It's probably worth it if you fly a lot, but it really wasn't anything special and has a few limitations to be fair. I could never really drink as I was always driving somewhere but if you like your booze you could probably get your moneys worth out of it.

edit: some lounges were utterly dire (Birmingham) and honestly not worth going into anyway, let alone having paid for it.

[GCH]

Hit or miss. I mean, sometimes they are better than the terminal, other times they are overcrowded or have a waitlist so I simply don't bother.

toohuge said:

Delta revoked access for many users including amex platinum which was a shame as the sky clubs were / are pretty good.

You might want to check that, as it is incorrect!
I access delta skyclub lounges regularly, via my amex platinum, including twice this past weekend and most recently this morning.
Like the centurion lounge access, it is a useful perk, and they are far quieter than the PP lounges which tend to be horrendously busy.

[Griffith4ever]

If PP is free, then its great. If I paid for it, I'd be unhappy. I used it 3 times and each time the lounges were st and full of people trying to drink as many small beers as possible in the time they were there. Rubbish on the floors, hard to find a seat. Pleb lounges.

[Somebody]

PP or Dragonpass? Or much of a muchness?

[StevieBee]

Griffith4ever said:

If PP is free, then its great. If I paid for it, I'd be unhappy. I used it 3 times and each time the lounges were st and full of people trying to drink as many small beers as possible in the time they were there. Rubbish on the floors, hard to find a seat. Pleb lounges.

Not all lounges are alike.

There are certainly some that match your description. But there are many more that are very nice and provide an oasis of calm.

[Griffith4ever]

I have no doubt.my experience was LHR and bkk mostly . Just when I fly BC it's always a huge step up.

[SV_WDC]

toohuge said:

My experience isn't in line with others. I'm considering giving up the PP as more often than not, the lounges in busy hubs are at capacity. It used to be a nice feature but the last few years the lounges have gone down hill imo. That said, some of the lounges have showers which is nice and the sleep pods in Dubai were very useful. Amex have their centurion lounges which have been excellent in the past but are getting busier. Busy lounges is a common problem now, Delta revoked access for many users including amex platinum which was a shame as the sky clubs were / are pretty good.

Tldr: I don't think the PP is worth it anymore

Wall Street Journal have been chipping away at the 'allure' of airport lounges for some years now but according to them the use of them exploded after the pandemic. The general concensus seems to be you need to be flying with a quality airline to get a decent experience.

Unfortunately now it seems most people in the PP lounges are more interesting in using it to get bragging photos for their social media

[rustyuk]

I cancelled mine as the last few times I tried to get access I got turned away as the lounges were too busy.

[AndyAudi]

Appeared in my feed & recognised as relevant to OP

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/great...


Now a quick bit of maths,

Manchester Airport said: "We have served almost half a million guests in our Terminal 2 Escape Lounge in the past 12 months…

It’s big business - circa £20m of revenue by convincing so many folk it’s an essential part of booking.



Access Def no longer an exclusive perk

500,000 in a year & open 13hours a day.
500,000 / 365 / 13 = an average of 100 people arriving per hour (& if we assume many want to max out their time there will be an average of double that.

To be honest if it was me - I’d probably take a look at what airside eating options were & pay to get something to eat that i wanted & a cocktail or two.