Got Amex Gold? You will receive a Priority Pass airport lounge card very soon

As we suggested was likely last year, American Express has announced some good news for Preferred Rewards Gold credit and charge card holders.

Effectively immediately, your Lounge Club airport lounge access card is being replaced by a Priority Pass.

If you have an Amex Gold card, you will receive your Priority Pass within the next three weeks.

The terms are unchanged

This is NOT the ‘unlimited access for you and a guest’ Priority Pass that you receive with American Express Platinum.

It will have the same rules as your existing Lounge Club card:

• you will receive two free lounge visits per card year

• additional visits will be automatically charged to your American Express Gold card at the rate of £20

If you have already used one or two of your annual lounge passes, these will be deducted from the opening balance on your Priority Pass.

When does my Lounge Club card stop working?

28th February.

Is Priority Pass better than Lounge Club?

Yes, for two reasons:

Priority Pass has a bigger network than Lounge Club

Despite both being owned by the same company, Collinson, the Lounge Club network is smaller.

The Priority Pass network has over 1,200 lounges in it (albeit quite a few are currently shut, but give it time ……).

This HfP article is a little out of date but it gives you an idea of the differences between Lounge Club and Priority Pass. Back in 2018, additional UK lounges included Heathrow, Southend, Newquay, Norwich, Exeter, Glasgow, Jersey, Doncaster Sheffield and Derry.

Priority Pass has digital membership cards

You no longer need to worry about forgetting your plastic Lounge Club card.

You can download the Priority Pass app to your smartphone and use the digital membership card to enter lounges.

Conclusion

This is a genuine improvement to American Express Preferred Rewards Gold, giving access to a wider range of lounges.

Being able to use a digital membership card stored on your phone will also make your life easier.

If you don’t have Amex Gold, we ran a full Preferred Rewards Gold review last week.

With NO FEE for the first year, two airport lounge visits via Priority Pass and a whopping 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus (converting to 20,000 Avios), it is an impressive package. It is also a great first step for someone starting off with miles and points.

You can apply for the card here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Read our full review • Apply here

Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:

• Get 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
• Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
• Get a 10,000 points bonus if you spend £15,000 in a card year
• Earn double points on all airline and overseas spend
• Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin and other airline schemes

Other information:

• Amex Gold is our recommended ‘first card’ for a miles and points beginner
• You receive two free airport lounge passes when you sign up, and a further two passes each year if you renew
• After your two free passes, you can visit further lounges for a small fee
• Annual fee: Free for the first year, £140 from Year 2

Representative 56.6% APR variable, from Year 2, based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £140 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases and in Year 1 22.2% APR variable (representative example).

Apply here

See if you qualify for the 20,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.

Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible, which is why we recommend this as the best choice for your first miles and points card.  You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.

To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.

For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card even if you do not qualify for the bonus.  You would still benefit from the two free airport lounge passes and the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.

Learn more about the card benefits +

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold comes with two free airport lounge passes.  These allow either you and a friend, or yourself twice, to visit any lounge in the Priority Pass network.  You make additional lounge visits for £20 per person.  You receive an additional two free passes each year.

You earn double Membership Rewards points on all airline spend (made directly on an airline website) and all spend made outside the UK.

If you spend over £15,000 in a card year, you will receive an additional 10,000 Membership Rewards points when you renew.

Other benefits include a 10% discount on Hertz car rentals and special deals at 350 selected hotels worldwide, where Preferred Rewards Gold cardholders receive a $75 in-hotel credit per stay.