How valuable is a Priority Pass lounge membership?

Priority Pass provides members with access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide. As a member, you can sometimes access airline-operated lounges that typically only business and first-class passengers — or that airline’s status-holding passengers — are granted access to.

For example, the Turkish Airlines Lounge at Dulles International Airport (IAD) is open to both Turkish Airlines premium and status passengers as well as Priority Pass members. As you would expect, the airline-operated lounges are usually of a high standard.

However, many Priority Pass lounges are operated by third parties. These companies don’t operate flights but provide lounge access for anyone willing to pay. Therefore, the quality of these lounges can differ enormously as they may not be as motivated to keep customers loyal to their brand. So, is it worth it?

Related: The 7 do’s and don’ts in an airport lounge

How to access Priority Pass lounges

There are multiple credit cards that come with a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership.

These include not only premium travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and The Platinum Card® from American Express (enrollment required) but also hotel credit cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (enrollment required) and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card that even include two guests.

Related: 10 credit cards that offer Priority Pass airport lounge access

You can purchase Priority Pass memberships directly from the site, with annual fees starting at $99. Here’s a breakdown of the membership options:

• Standard membership: $99 per year; includes visits for $35 each for the member and any guests
• Standard Plus membership: $329 per year; includes 10 free visits, with subsequent visits for $35 each (the same price as all guest visits)
• Prestige membership: $469 per year; includes all visits for the member, though guests are charged $35 per visit

Is a Priority Pass membership worth it?

Whether you are paying outright for your membership or factoring it into the cost of an annual credit card fee where the membership is part of the card offer, how much is it worth?

In a typical year, I use my Priority Pass membership regularly and have seen some truly amazing Priority Pass lounges — and some truly dire ones.

The value you will get from your membership depends on how many lounge visits you will likely make each year.

Most of these lounges will sell entry to anyone without access/a Priority Pass membership; costs are usually around the $30 to $50 mark. The lounges vary largely in quality, but I’d put the value of each visit I’ve had on average at around $15 to $25 per visit.

So, let’s look at the value of a paid membership based on a few different personal circumstances.

• Five visits per year: You would pay $175 ($35 per visit) for the five visits and then $99 for your Standard membership yearly fee of $274. I don’t consider the membership worth anywhere near $275 for five visits. You could spend that money instead on food and drinks at the airport on each visit.
• Ten visits per year: You would pay $329 for the Standard Plus membership with your 10 visits free. At about $33 per visit, it likely wouldn’t make sense to invest in a Standard Plus membership, as it’s outside the range of where I would value each lounge visit.
• Twenty visits per year: A Prestige membership would give you all 20 visits for $469. Each visit would cost around $20, which is about where I value the visits.
• More than 30 visits per year: This is where a Prestige membership becomes worth it. Each of your 30 visits would cost you less than $16, as all visits would be included in the yearly fee. I can easily get $16 worth from each visit. If you have the same guest traveling with you each time, it would make sense for them to have their Prestige membership rather than paying $35 as your guest each time.

If you receive access through your credit card, factor this into the annual fee. If you visit a lounge 10 times per year and allocate $20 per visit, then you could consider that you obtain $200 of value from the credit card perk each year.

There are some other factors to consider when estimating the value of Priority Pass lounge visits.

Firstly, you are not guaranteed access to a lounge. Nowadays, many travelers have lounge access, and the lounges sometimes reach capacity. In fact, some lounges are only available to Priority Pass members during select hours. Be sure to check the Priority Pass website before your next trip for available locations and their hours — and don’t be shocked if some lounges are temporarily at capacity during peak times.

If you are worried about a lounge being at capacity, some will allow you to pre-book a space online for a small fee of less than $10 per person. If offered, this would be through the lounge’s own website, not the general Priority Pass website.

Also, consider how much time you will likely spend in each lounge. If you’re booking 6 a.m. flights, you’re unlikely to want to wake up early to get a free coffee and croissant. Similarly, if you’re rushing from work to make a 6:30 p.m. flight and won’t have time to enjoy a lounge, you will likely not be getting your $20 value from each visit.

You will generally obtain the value when you can spend at least an hour in the lounge (perhaps because of a long connection) and can consume a decent amount of complimentary food and drinks.

Bottom line

Unless you travel extremely regularly, you will not likely obtain $469 worth of lounge access from a Priority Pass Prestige membership. If this comes as one of the many perks of a premium credit card, you won’t need to travel as regularly to get your money’s worth.

Set your expectations accordingly. Most Priority Pass lounges aren’t as glamorous as you might expect, and you may have trouble gaining access or finding a seat, given how many people are traveling right now.

Try and estimate how many visits you will make each year and how long you will spend there to decide if paying for a membership or applying for a premium credit card is worth it.

Say you’re considering the value of a Priority Pass membership as part of paying the annual fee for a credit card that includes this benefit or thinking of purchasing a membership outright. You should try to estimate how many times you will likely visit each year and how long you will spend in each lounge in order to calculate the value of the lounge.

You can join the Priority Pass program here.