krazykanuck

Providing 4 instances of not being allowed into the lounge or kicked out over 3 continents? More specifics would be helpful. How many successful Priority Pass lounge visits have you had in the same timeframe?

KDCAflyer

The AS lounges are the usual suspects. I did recently try to access The Club at DFW, and was denied (I thought PP owned The Club brand). Not that I intended to stay. Just wanted to check it out.

Hopefully it'll be less of a problem when a bunch of people fail to renew their CSR cards when that hefty AF comes up. That stupid thing ruined the MSP Escape lounge, and has indeed harmed PP lounges across the system.

ginmqi

This will be interesting to experience as the AF comes up in the next 1-3 months for majority who signed up during the initial CSR frenzy.

One thing is that PP is a privilege and the mass influx of PP via credit cards seem like a fairly new phenomenon. And the PP will lose its "premium" status with the huge amount of people coming in...and that probably isn't good business for the frequent traveler who use PP and such lounges on a regular basis.

And unfortuantely while $450/year is relatively high in the credit card annual fee world....for many fliers (especially on this board and most DEFINITELY for many who are used to visiting lounges at the airport....) that $450/year is not that much at all in terms of price and certainly is not exclusive enough to keep the masses away.

But again should be interesting as the 1st year anniversary of the CSR comes up soon...

seat38a

Well I was considering both the Amex Plat and CSR but I'm guessing now that I'm better off keeping my MP Explorer and just purchase a United Club membership.

jamesinclair

It certainly doesnt help that Prestige cardholders can no longer access the AA lounges

bj27

I haven't used my PP in a little while. I originally had one through AMEX Plat, and then Citi Prestige and then the CSR.

Traveling frequently for work (and being a very infrequent drinker, and non-drinker when flying for work), I used PP lounges to grab a bite here and there or have space to work. I really noticed overcrowding and lounges turning away people when the CSR hit the market. The bloggers are a double-edged sword: great for learning information from, but sometimes that's a curse in disguise.

It turned many average consumers into free-alcohol hungry, celery-stick mongering fiends (at least IME). I quickly stopped going to PP lounges and instead went to DL lounges.

Funny that I used to use PP to escape DL SCs and now it's the other way around. I, too, am interested to see what happens when the first round of AFs hit, though I predict there won't be too many dropoffs since any lounge access for most of the market is better than none (regardless of how dirty and understaffed they are). There is an emotional feeling connected with accessing an "exclusive" space, no matter how non-exclusive it is.

mdosu

Then the word "Priority" probably shouldn't be in the product name don't you think?

eigenvector

PP is just a network of lounges operated by many different individual 3rd parties and airlines. Thus, the quality of lounge varies drastically from airport to airport. In some developing countries or small airports, the lounges are really awful. Can you blame PP for this? Would you rather they just don't provide access at all to these mediocre lounges?

I've had around 20-25 lounge visits with PP per year for the last 3 years and I haven't noticed any significant differences. There are big weaknesses in the network, yes, such as poor coverage in the USA. And the quality of lounges varies from luxurious to worse-than-the-terminal. But I don't see much changing.

pcoll

Same thought here, with many going for the initial point bonus and double travel credit, not sure how many will renew membership this fall. With PP being limited or declined at many lounges, many no longer see the value in the CSR product.

Martina70

I think it's being felt more in LAX where access to the Maple Leaf Lounge was lost, as well as the Virgin Clubhouse (as it no longer there) . I've read comments that the Alaskan Boardroom has either denied guests or not allowed PP holders to guest because of over crowding.

I hope that if they don't open their own club lounge that perhaps they can contract with a restaurant like they did in LGW.

rooney

I agree with OP; it's listed as a benefit and if you can't use it then it's no longer a benefit and shouldn't be sold as such. I was at PDX yesterday and saw the sign about no access for PP members. I don't fault Alaska for implementing this at their lounge necessarily, but PP is failing its members if they aren't actually granted access as they would expect. And yes, this is a symptom of churning hysteria. I actually got into the Alaska lounge at LAX and it was pretty packed and kind of unpleasant, so I see both sides of the argument. However, something needs to be done to make it fair for all parties.

vh_bu98

As a CSR PP member, I have been disappointed with the quality of the PP lounges but it's free so I don't complain too much. I haven't been denied yet and so far I have been to 7 lounges in Vancouver, Dallas, Hong Kong, Chengdu, and Seoul.

The PP lounge at DFW was so small and crowded, that I shouldn't have bothered leaving the AA lounge. The one in Hong Kong was also disappointing so I just stayed at the Cathay Pacific Business lounge. The one in Chengdu was better. I had access to 3 lounges at ICN and those were better since they belong to Asiana, Delta, and Korean Air and those weren't too crowded.

And I hate to say it, but the class of people at the PP lounges seem not on par to the business/first class lounges.

garykung

No impact at all. CSR is the latest to join the game. The problem occurs way before that.

Unless the total outstanding of all 3 cards decrease, it will only get worse. The best is level.

There is a reason why UA left PP.

kb9522

Get rid of free guests and you start making progress toward a better lounge experience.

mia

This isn't a binary yes/no situation. Priority Pass offers 1,000+ lounges. Some of them are crowded, some of them are unappealing, but that doesn't zero out the value of the benefit for everyone. The realistic alternative is to carry the AA, DL or US co-branded card which bundles a lounge membership for your primary carrier. If your primary carrier is DL you have two choices, but with the others it is simple.