Priority Pass guest fee for American Express Platinum cardholders rising to £20

Priority Pass has confirmed that the guest fee for anyone who has a card via American Express Platinum is rising to £20 from 1st October.

This is not a surprise as Priority Pass has already told its own members of a similar rise as we covered here.

This is unlikely to have a major impact for American Express Platinum cardholders.

You can already get FOUR people for free into any of the 1,200 Priority Pass airport lounges worldwide.  The main cardholder is allowed to bring a guest and the Platinum supplementary cardholder, who gets their own Priority Pass, can also bring a free guest. Nothing changes here.

The strategy for a family of four is to give your partner the free Platinum supplementary card, allowing you to each guest in one child if you are all travelling together.

It seems that Priority Pass is not increasing the credit you get when eating at one of its airport restaurant partners, such as The Grain Store in Gatwick South.  This will remain at £15, which means that you should pay cash if taking an extra person rather than charging a guest to your Priority Pass account.  This rather confusing comment (given that the actual answer is ‘No’!) has appeared on the Priority Pass Q&A page:

“With the lounge visit fee increasing, does this mean the equivalent value of credit available at Priority Pass’ airport partners (cafes and restaurants) will increase accordingly?

Where Members pay for their visit or guest visits, these particular offers may not represent best value. We advise Members to visit our app or website to review full conditions of access before visiting.”

There is no word yet about changes to the Lounge Club card issued with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (June 2025)

Here are the six options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

Your best value option (but no points):

The cheapest route to a Priority Pass airport lounge card is via the Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard.

The credit card has a fee of £15 per month, and comes with a Priority Pass which gives unlimited free access for the cardholder. If you add a free supplementary cardholder, they will also receive unlimited free access.

Unlike the version of Priority Pass you receive with American Express, the Lloyds Bank version also lets you access £18 airport restaurant credits.

Even better, the credit card has 0% FX fees and comes with 0.5% cashback. Full details are in my Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard review.

Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard

A Priority Pass, 0% FX fees and up to 1% cashback for £15 per month Read our full review

Lounge access via American Express cards:

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our in-depth review of The Platinum Card from American Express is here.

You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card review here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Lounge access via HSBC Premier credit cards (Premier account holders only):

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider The American Express Business Platinum Card which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.