EXCLUSIVE: Four British Airways lounges in the USA have joined Priority Pass

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• Luke says:

  21 Jun21 June 15:24

  Priority Pass was one of my least clever buys in the past.

  It might be a good financial model for the business but as a customer it sucks!

• Hbommie says:

  21 Jun21 June 15:39

  ‘You won’t let me in? But I have this piece of plastic!” was my first refusal at NCL Aspire a few years ago.

  Last weeks refusal at Aspire MAN was met with a shrug and a thankyou. The Escape lounge was dire but the let me in. Didn’t stay long.

• kevind says:

  21 Jun21 June 16:24

  I think BHD had a BA lounge or am I imagining it? Maybe was also a victim on the pandemic. Only lounge in Belfast City is an Aspire now.

  • Niall says:

    21 Jun21 June 16:58

    Yep. Definitely Belfast is a ‘victim of the pandemic’. It was given over to Aspire who are now destroying it. In Belfast the Belfast International Airport lounge used to be the worst is ever been to anywhere and Belfast city one of my favourites. The lounge at the international airport has improved now and the BA lounge has become much much worse. You have to be mad to pay for / give any value to the airport/ground service at Belfast now.

• Ingking says:

  21 Jun21 June 18:33

  I have had mixed experiences with PP. I have found it useful for long layovers. But I find that in UK airports I almost always get turned away.
  Last weeks experience at MAN was a bit shocking. (Although nothing about that airport should shock me anymore!) Arrived at 11:45 only to be turned away. “We close at 1 so we can’t accept any new customers so close to closing time”. The next couple who showed up and were paying to enter received no such refusal.

  • Lady London says:

    22 Jun22 June 00:12

    That’s why being refused lounge entry on a Priority Pass is so stinky. There aee constant reports of this across the UK.

    Remember that the cash price for the top edition of Priority Pass is nearly £400 a year now. That money is paid to Collinson. Collinson must be trousering most of it and not giving much of it to the lounges. Because it’s not just one type of lounge that’s refusing entry to Priority Pass holders as a matter of course in the UK, refusals are widespread and continual.

    • Rob says:

      22 Jun22 June 06:38

      PP gives peanuts to lounges – that’s why Plaza and No1 (before it went bust) walked but is sticking with DragonPass.

      Why bother when Qatar Airways will pay you for 100 seats per day at a higher rate and then only 30 turn up?

      • Lady London says:

        22 Jun22 June 13:41

        Quite. And yet…. to try to get away with a 15% increase in annual fee on the Amex Gold Card
        Amex has added a further two useless Priority Pass lounge entries to UK cardholders.

        When the 2 passes they already had before the 15% increase were close to unuseable at airports in the UK.

• C says:

  21 Jun21 June 19:39

  OT : for Amex platinum/gold cardholders; is it still possible to apply for the companion card and receive bonus MR points?

  https://www.headforpoints.com/2013/03/10/3000-membership-rewards-points-for-amex-plat-holders-if-they-take-the-platinum-credit-card-as-well/

  • Rob says:

    21 Jun21 June 19:57

    No, that went a long time ago.

    • Mark says:

      21 Jun21 June 20:44

      The link and the question relate to two different things. The points for the first companion card are still available (my wife had 3000 within the past couple of weeks for getting me one on her Amex Gold). However you do sometimes have to chase. I’m not sure the credit cards referenced in the link still exist – similar was offered for Gold charge card holders at one point, though the Gold charge cards themselves have long been replaced by credit cards.

      • Mark says:

        21 Jun21 June 20:47

        …though I may have misunderstood the question since what I’m talking about is really a supplementary card.

• qrfan says:

  21 Jun21 June 19:47

  San Fran and Seattle lounges are a dump anyway so good luck to any PP holders who think this is of benefit. The Seattle lounge a few weeks ago had nothing more substantial than sandwiches and crisps to eat. The San Fran first room didn’t have an empty seat when we visited a few years ago.

  • Joel says:

    21 Jun21 June 22:01

    SF has been remodeled since then and is much nicer

  • Tim Rogers says:

    21 Jun21 June 22:44

    I came here to say the same. I used the lounge at SEA last week and it is really dire in terms of the fit-out and refreshments. At least it’s near the gate!

  • Will in SJC says:

    22 Jun22 June 00:32

    Never call it San Fran. Calls you out as being an outsider 😀. It’s SF or, if in Bay Area, the city or if talking about the airport SFO.

    It has been remodeled but isn’t that great though the bar staff are great- actively wandering the lounge to provide fizz top ups!

    Back on topic, SFO joining PP is going to be of limited use given it will only be of use of flying on the limited terminal A morning departures. Good though if you are on one of the handful of AS domestic flights that depart Terminal A.

    • Sammy Zle says:

      22 Jun22 June 06:09

      I love San Fran and have lived here for over 30 years

    • John says:

      22 Jun22 June 06:11

      Quite hard for non-Americans to not be “outsiders” regardless

  • Justin says:

    22 Jun22 June 06:29

    Was really quite impressed with the BA lounge at SFO recently. It’s had a full makeover and split into two sections. Food was good, a really decent burger on the deliver to seat menu, and plenty of snacks. Very strange open bar layout that confused PAX though – should they help themselves or be served.

    I wasn’t actually planning on going to the BA lounge, was aiming for the JAL Sakura but took over an hour to get through security in the priority lane. Boarding from the lounge straight into the air bridge was good too.

    There’s isn’t much choice in A Gates side for shopping, eating or lounges, this feels like a smart move from BA, though while there is a BA flight in it will be busy, especially now the A380 is back on the route.

    • Tom says:

      22 Jun22 June 06:38

      Justin, When it reopens the Cathay Pacific lounge is easily the best lounge in the A gates at SFO, and you can use it if you have OW status and are flying a OW airline in any class. Amongst other things, they have showers.

      The JAL lounge I don’t rate at all, would rather use the BA lounge, plus you get direct boarding from there as well.

      • Justin says:

        22 Jun22 June 08:53

        CX Lounges generally are the best – still my number one lounge in T3, even with the nice cocktail bar in Qantas.

        Still rather impressed with the remodelled BA lounge, so much better than it used to be.

      • Lady London says:

        22 Jun22 June 13:45

        The problem with the CX and JL lounges in SFO is the very limited opening hours though. I’d always swerve a BA Lounge for those but never been flying with BA when the CX lounge was open. Found JL open only once, reasonable whisky is all I would say about it.

• inizii says:

  21 Jun21 June 23:58

  I have PP free to me as part of a corporate card deal. Glad I don’t pay for it – it’s total rubbish – have tried many times in many different locations – sub 30% hit rate to get in anywhere.

• James says:

  22 Jun22 June 06:54

  It’s alright, no one with an Amex Plat PP can get into a lounge anyway !!

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