Priority Pass Lounge Costs Increase By 20%

So Priority Pass Lounge Costs Increase By 20%! Priority Pass is a programme that allows members to access to airport lounges throughout the world ( even if flying Economy). With over 1300+ locations, it is the worlds largest of it’s kind.

Today, Priority Pass has announced that the price of lounge visits will increase affective from 1st October 2023. It goes onto explain the rational behind this with this brief statement:

Due to pressure from rising costs globally, we have had to adjust our prices. This means that for lounge visits which you pay for, the fee will increase from £20 to £24 per person, per visit.

Lounge entry prices are different for different countries/regions.

So for UK/EU/US the new prices will be £24/€30/US$35, per visit per person respectively.

The last hike was in 2018.

Will Priority Pass Lounge Costs Increase Affect You?

That all depends on what kind of membership level you have. If you received your membership via way of the Platinum Card, you are unaffected for now *. This includes taking in guests with you as before.

If you however, have a Priority Pass membership that you either paid for directly or through other credit cards they will come a tiered number of free visits

i.e. 4/10 visit allowances per year, you will again only pay the difference for additional visits beyond that. If you acquired your membership card via the Amex Gold Card, this is most likely to be the case here.

Beware Knock On Impact On Card Fees

It goes without saying that for those you already have unlimited access either through the more elite tier of membership you bought on your own your through one of the more premium cards, that when it comes to renewal, you may very well see increased fees then.

So sooner or later it will filter down.

What About Other Lounge Schemes?

One other scheme that many UK travellers may have membership of is Dragon Pass+. As of now, there is no changes there.

With prices still at £18.50. They also allow you to book in advance ( for £5 extra ) to be sure of a spot, as many lounges can reach capacity, in which case you will be kept waiting with no guarantee of entry!

If you are not aware, if you have the Barclays Avios Plus card, you would have automatic membership with 4 complimentary visits a year. For those who have both, it might be wiser to use your DragonPass instead, since many lounges are part of both schemes!

Is It Worth Paying To Use a Lounge?

This is a very good question! As many lounges on these lounge networks are never the most exciting or premium lounge offerings out there. Compared to most airlines flagship lounges, they are vastly inferior.

If you are just looking for a quick bite to eat, you may want to weigh up doing so in another outlet in the airport itself. Some lounges of these independent network lounges can be busier than the main airport terminal and are simply not worth paying for.

Thoughts On This Update

Priority Pass Lounge Costs Increase By 20% is a fairly significant hike in price, but given what is happening globally it is somewhat understandable it has happened.

To put this into context, food inflation in the UK has been running north of 20% for most of the last year and is still over 10%. On top of this, service staff wages have risen significantly in the last couple of years, in particular due to shortage of workers.

Nevertheless if you like to visit lounges with friends or a partner, this price hike could be significant to you unless you enjoy lounge access by way of airline status also.