One of the things that no one ever wants to tell you about travel is how boring the actual travel part of travel is. Somehow we have curated this idea in our minds that travel is all adventures, tropical beaches, jungle and cocktails in destinations. What we fail to think of is the long bus rides, boring and bland airport food and general the downtime that you can’t avoid. I hate waiting on those uncomfortable airport chairs and have had a numb butt far too many times than I’d ever care to admit to. Now I’m travelling more often than before it’s time I got my travel priorities right. Let me introduce you to Priority Pass.
Sadly I fly with the most affordable airline at the time of booking. Which means that I rarely have enough status points to get me access to a fancy pants lounge. Actually, in all honesty, I rarely fly with an airline that even has a fancy pants lounge to access. And nor do I have the spare $$$ to buy access to one of the airline clubs. Long gone are my corporate days when I was the plus one on a senior executives account and enjoyed free champagne and coffee. I’m also aware that buying into a certain airline program can leave me with restrictions on what lounge I can access. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
So what is Priority Pass?
It’s a super simple app and membership program that gives you access to over 1200 lounges, in 500 cities around the world. Being based in Australia I was a little dubious on how this would work. Australian businesses aren’t exactly great at embracing new programs and new technology. Just to be sure that this was a legit thing before presenting it to y’all I’ve tested the program out in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. Just to be extra sure ya know. And really it was a breeze to use.
The app itself is basic and simple. Type in an airport that you’re going to, pick the terminal and watch the lounge list populate. Choose your lounge and you can see what’s on offer. Including some great instructions on where the lounge is located.
How Easy is it to Redeem Your Pass?
Ah super easy! Your app has a digital membership card. So when you go to order advise the staff that you’ll be using your fancy as pants Priority Pass before ordering. That’s a big one people! You need to tell the staff prior to ordering, as the card needs to be scanned before being processed. It’s seriously so simple to do. Staff scans, you sign, and boop we’re all ready to order. If you’re in Australia each single lounge visit in the pass gives you $36AU to spend. Now even by airport standards that is enough for a main meal and a drink. Or if you’re like me you grab yourself a coffee, cake, champagne and a bottle of water with some money to spare. Sadly you can’t redeem the outstanding amount for cash.
So what’s the cost?
Priority Pass is a membership-based product. The basic package starts at $99 US. If you’re a semi-regular traveller like me than try out the Standard Plus package – $249 US with 10 free visits. If you’re a business traveller and find yourself on the tarmac more often than not then the Prestige if the level of love that you need. With unlimited visits for you, it makes travelling that little bit more pleasant.
Want 25% off? Here is my super special & fantastic friends’ link.
Where to get me?
The easiest way to get Priority Pass in your life is to sign up online. It’s really easy to sign up and use. Make sure you download the app and use the digital card. It makes life really easy.
Where can I use my Priority Pass?
Just like magic you can whip it out in a huge range of airports. When you’re a Priority Pass member you’ll have access to over 1200 lounges in over 500 cities and 130 countries worldwide. It’s an ever-changing list of places available as Priority Pass continues to work with more partners.
Priority Pass gives you the change to enjoy a relaxing moment in the airport before your next take-off.
Jeanette
Founder, Principal Blogger & Coffee Drinker
Coffee Lover | Travel Blogger | Horse Rider | Adventure Racer | Donut Dame. Generally nice lady-enjoys wine, indie movies & random dance parties in my tent.
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Disclaimer:This article was supported by Priority Pass. Access to the program and entry to lounges was gifted to us. Also this article contains affiliate links. If you do decide to purchase any items from the links above we receive a meager sacrifice from the accounting gods. This is at no additional cost to you.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
I love my Priority Pass. Love getting access to the Alaska Airline lounges in Seattle. Love the free drinks.
I recently got a Priority Pass and used it for the first time recently when I had an overnight layover that was short enough to not make getting a hotel worth it. I wasn’t really impressed with the food in the lounge, but it was nice to have drinks available and a place to curl up and nap for a few hours. The only downside is they only give you two hours access to the lounges, so if you get someone nice they’ll let you re-checkin every two hours. If not, you have to leave for a bit and then come back. So I’m undecided that I’ll renew the priority pass.
Oh that’s annoying. It really does depend on each individual lounge.
What a wonderful idea this app is! And I can’t agree more with you. When I think of it, the good part of travel lasts a few mins to a few hours. Much more time is spent on merely commuting a place, or simply waiting for something!
I can see that the Priority Pass would certainly come in useful on the long haul flights that I do. I am sure that it will make my life much easier. I will investigate further before my trip. Thanks so much!
The more I travel Jean the more I see the benefits of this Pass. Gotta get on board already. 2 weeks ago we flew from Auckland to NYC. 23 hours of travel in total, and I am still working through jet lag. Having a bit of comfort during the epic journey would have definitely helped some. Maybe I’d not be as lagged either.
I’m like you, I always book the cheapest flights, although I tend to fly within Europe so budget airlines never have lounge access! I don’t know if I fly enough at the moment to make the pass worthwhile, but next year I’ll be moving around a lot more so this sounds like a great investment!
I really need to get priority pass! I mean I travel enough so I am really missing out! You have given me that push to get it, thank you!!
This sounds like something I would love once I have more money to spend. For now, definitely still cool with just passing out on airport floors.
This is very smart, thanks for the tip!
This is the second time in as many days as I’ve read about this. I think the other was actually an advertisement. I think being in a lounge would be much better than sitting in one of those horrible chairs for hours on end. I think I will check into this further before my next long trip. I will save this so I can use your link.
I see the benefits of having a priority pass the more I travel Jean. Such a simple and quite easy way to be more comfortable on the road. I just flew 19 hours from Auckland to NYC, with a short layover in Hawaii. I did enjoy the experience but could have used a quick lounge stopover during the breaks on the ground.
I have never heard of this app. I enjoy the “get away” from all the hustle and noise in the airport, especially on long lay overs. Going to look into it for our next trip!
It sounds like an interesting concept, but I don´t think I travel often enough for this to be worthwhile for me at the moemnt. Maybe someday, when I can realise my dream of full time travel I will take advantage of this program. Thank you for sharing.
Travel is foremost about the long plane rides…sigh…so, agree. And I shudder to think what a long layover would be without access to a lounge. Priority Pass definirely seems like a worthwhile option to buy for the frequent traveller.
I have priority pass and I love it. It’s absolutely changed the way that I travel. Seriously it’s so cheap why wouldn;t you get it?