Bretmd

I think that some need to revise their expectations of the priority pass benefit. It does not guarantee lounge access.

Personally, I value the priority pass benefit at $0 and do not factor the benefit into consideration to justifying the annual fee on any credit card.

pallhedge

I don't think anyone is apologizing for Amex. Membership Rewards is a program run by Amex. FHR is a program run by Amex. Priority Pass is a membership club run by the Collinson Group who's policies are clear as I quoted upthread.

Amex provides that PP membership free of charge as well as covering entry fees for the member and up to 2 guests per visit--nothing more, nothing less. In my mind, they deliver on that. It's clear you feel like they've promised you more, I get that, but I just don't see it.

Eastbay1K

I place it at a lot higher than $0. Many here do. If the Priority Pass website were not so welcoming and instead say things like "If you transit EZE, you'll be effed out of access for peak USA departure times" or "Good Luck with that SFO visit" then maybe there's some argument. Instead, the homepage has

A lounge for wherever your travel takes you
With a true global spread of lounges, we really do help you make the most of your membership. With 1000+ lounges in over 500 cities and more lounges being added every month, we look forward to helping you get even more out of your membership.

and


Tranquility. Service. Space. Comfort.
Sit down, stretch out, enjoy a pre-flight bite and a drink from the selection available, including free alcohol at most lounges.

and

Welcome to Lounge Class
Traveling with family and friends or for work, Priority Pass promises you space to relax and refresh before a flight. Priority Pass provides access to lounges however you fly. For short haul economy flights or when you can't fly your preferred airline, our Members can rely on Lounge Class.

GNALUZU

PP through Amex Cent has unlimited guests.

http://prntscr.com/g13ya0

While my screen shot doesn't say unlimited guests, I have compared it to a friend's screen who has the PP through Amex Plat and his has a limit on the screen. Also, I was in Puerto Vallarta in May and had no problem bringing in 7 guests to the lounge.

sdix

I’ve had PP forever and use it globally. AS lounge at LAX is the only lounge I feel is overcrowded on a regular basis. So much so I will avoid it. I’ve never been refused entry anywhere.

eigenvector

And United Airlines' website says:

"We Fly Right

On the ground and in the air, we hold ourselves to the highest standards in safety and reliability. We earn trust by doing things the right way and delivering on our commitments every day."

But try telling that a grumpy agent who won't give you a hotel voucher for your delay because it's weather and the tariffs say that's not covered.

That's marketing copy and unfortunately we live in a world where marketing is not reality. PP clearly lists restrictions on the individual pages of lounges that have them. You can't honestly expect them to splash a huge banner on the main page with all the worst things about their program. They don't hide them and that's all I expect.

Points Scrounger

AS lounges were sharply restricting entry until recently, when they apparently made entry pretty much available to member-only, no guests even if card plan includes waived guest fees.

Agreed that The Club @ ATL can be a bit . . . downmarket; LAS is better with SEA somewhere between.

Martina70

I would think that most people who have a PP, at least one that has unlimited visits and guesting privileges would come from CC holders, since Prestige Priority pass membership is $399 per year. It would make more sense to have a fee based card, as it would come with extra perks beyond PP membership.

My membership comes thought the Citi Prestige Card, my hubby and MIL who are authorized card users on my account, also got their own PP membership.

sdsearch

LAX did a giant terminal shuffle a couple months ago (in mid-May). The Maple Leaf Lounge that was in T2 is poof as such, because Delta took over T2 (plus T3) and Air Canada moved to TBIT. TBIT tends to have unified lounges for the alliances I think (it definitely does for OW), so whatever was the lounge situation at LAX pre-mid-May, it's likely completely different after mid-May.

azepine00

just this week PDX BR had a sign out of no PP allowed (a couple months ago it was no guests allowed and half year ago there were no restrictions)), KE LAX lounge restricted access to certain times (again change added fairly recently)
AS LAX BR was available but only since it was late hour apparently - there are numerous reports of denials...

there is another long thread on this topic in another forum

Happy

The Star Alliance lounge at TBIT is very nice, better than the OW lounge. Only the QF first lounge is better.

I assume Maple Leave would not have a lounge at TBIT and AC customers would have access to the Star Alliance lounge.

dw

Actually, AC moved to T6 and already opened a new Maple Leaf Lounge, but it is much smaller than the old one and does not participate in PP. So LAX lost the AC and VX lounges, and the AS lounge no longer allows any guests.

Diplomatico

This is an excellent and succinct description of the apparent disconnect between what AMEX (and CSR, Citi, etc.) is offering and the resultant expectations. Membership to PP does not equal unlimited access to PP lounges. PP makes that pretty clear and I think the credit card companies don't specify anything in excess of that.

mia

We are coming at this from different perspectives. I try to understand the market conditions which cause a problem, and I do not see American Express as the villain in this drama:

1. Demand for lounge access in the USA exceeds capacity. Such imbalances are always temporary. More capacity will be built, and demand will decline as card/membership fees increase.

2. American Express offers the best lounge access of any USA card issuer. No other issuer is even close:

American Express Platinum = Priority Pass + Skyclub access when flying Delta + Centurion lounges (USA) + Amex lounges (Int'l) + Escape lounges + Airspace lounges.
JPM Reserve = Priority Pass + United Club membership (which includes Star Alliance and reciprocal access to some partner lounges).
Chase Sapphire = Priority Pass.
Citi Prestige = Priority Pass.

Could American Express do better? Yes, but where is the competitive pressure? Mass market companies seldom react to complaints. If you want to get their attention, close your account, but where will you find better lounge access?

The deteriorating value of Priority Pass is primarily Collinson's problem. Card issuers can press them, but they have no place else to go. There was a competitor (Airport Angel), but they are gone, and they generally provided access to the same lounges. Collinson seems to recognize the issues, they are offering alternates to traditional lounges in some airports.

GUWonder

I thought that the JPM Sapphire's United Club membership also provides access to a lot of Star Alliance lounges beyond just those that are UA lounges?