Robbie0129

I'v been flying over a year with standby tickets now

What i learn is flying business or first standby tickets don't give you lounge pass access, however if i have status i can still enter lounges.

So this year i lost my status and i can only use priority pass that was provided by my credit card to enter lounges. I went in a few times now and everything was ok, until i saw this regulation on Priority Pass official website.

"Airline, airport and other travel industry employees traveling on reduced-rate tickets may not be eligible for access."

Now i am confused, i don't understand what "may not be eligible for access means". PP lounges let me enter all the time with standby tickets, "may not" means i have a chance to get stop or i don't have the right to enter?

If I don't have the right to enter why do they let me in all the time. I would want to get my status back by doing some MR, however im also concern that airline lounges have similar rules.

Any standby tickets user out there mind sharing your lounge experience?

Thanks

emma69

Could it mean the occasions where a PP lounge is contracted to provide service to an airline (e.g. Cathay uses PP lounge at YYZ rather than have its own lounge). Meaning someone flying on a staff business class ticket may not be admitted, rather than someone with PP membership being denied entry.

aaron1262

i havent had any issues. im an airline employee and have priority pass access through my citi prestige card. I havent been denied access to any of the lounges so far in the year since i've had the card while traveling on Standby tickets. This includes domestic US lounges and international.

MSPeconomist

Officially PP lounges require a same day boarding pass on any carrier. If your space has cleared and you have a boarding pass, the PP lounges should be no problem, but otherwise you should not be admitted.

OTOH you can purchase lounge memberships in some airlines that would not require the boarding pass, just your card and (usually) photo ID. It's more expensive but might work for you if there are lounges of such an airline in most of your airports.

Robbie0129

Alot of my collegues access PP and even Airline lounges with status while using ID tickets, however PP clearly stats that reduced-rate tickets may not be eligible for access. I just want to know if airline lounges have similar rules as i don't want to get in trouble with work

paperwastage

if you don't want to get in trouble with work, then follow your work rules. if standby policy at work says you cannot access ANY lounge, then don't access any lounge

how do I know what is your work policy?

if it's just PP policy, then it's up to you to ask PP/the lounge...
many PP lounges don't care - they get paid when they swipe your PP card, why would they reject you (unless overcrowding)

dlflyer2

I would read it to mean that you "may" not be eligible for entry, meaning that certain lounges may deny you as per their local rules. As others have said, there is no issue for id travelers for many of the lounges.

MSPeconomist

As I suggested in my post immediately above yours, this would depend on the rules about lounges for the particular airline.

However, if your employer has a rule saying that you can't/shouldn't use an airport lounge when flying nonrev, that would supersede the rules of any lounge, providing that you care at all about your job and about maintaining future nonrev travel benefits.

kcha5326

drvannostren

Not trying to revive a dead topic, but didn't wanna start a new one. In the past when I had pass travel, I didn't have status or PP. Then when I lost pass travel, I got into the FF game and have status and PP. Now I have both. So I'm really trying to figure out what to do here.

I'm under the impression my Star Gold will be useless when flying standby. I don't know many people in my situation (Star pass travel benefits and Star Gold access) so I don't really have anyone else to ask. A friend of mine is a pilot and when he flies standby he uses his PP access and hasn't had any issues.

But my current PP access is limited to 6 "free" per year. So I'm kinda stuck with either A) will my Star Gold work for me, thus just keep that? B) Star Gold won't work, so PP required, and should invest the like $499 a year on the right Amex to get the unlimited PP access?

I like the idea of maintaining my status, it's nice to have and not THAT hard to get, it also lasts 2 years from OZ. But if I can't use it for lounge while flying standby, then at that point I should probably just abandon status "chasing" and move to PP unlimited. Sure I like priority check-in, but for me the status is mostly for lounge usage since sometimes I opt for long layovers. Anyone have any concrete answers/experience, or update to the "may not" be granted access thing?

paperwastage

seeing that amex USA/Canada/?int'l? doesnt have the "good" PP access (doesnt work in PP restaurants), you should look at other products to "invest" in for PP, can be cheaper too

you really should double check your airline policy regarding non-rev ticket plus *G lounge access.

I wouldn't rock the boat - remember that theres some reimbursement behind the scenes (your host *G program pays for lounge entry), in exchange for you accrualing miles (metal airline you fly on reimburses host *G program since you earn miles on host *G program), all of this at some top secret proprietary rate/currency.

since you wont be earning miles on a nonrev ticket, your host *G program wont get any benefit when you fly - why should they sponsor your lounge access?

HkCaGu

Source: https://www.staralliance.com/en/lounge-access-policy

For example: United Club policy rules out access for non-rev tickets.