Using Priority Pass When Traveling on AA and no AC
 

I'm considering joining the Priority Pass "Standard" plan (10 free visits, $32 per visit thereafter) for those airports without an AC. I want to keep my AC membership for travel disruptions. My current travel is solely North America. For those that have both an AC and Priority Pass Membership a few questions:
1. Are there any airports where flying AA you wouldn't not be able to access PP?
2. How are the crowds? I've heard evidence that at some airports they're out of control
3. How is the food compared to the AC. Is it at least on par? (I'm by no means a fancy/picky eater)
4. What are typical hours of operation?
5. Are there limits on how long you can stay on a visit?

Thanks for any feedback.

Priority pass is not a brand of lounge, they contract with various existing lounges. So, the quality varies significantly. There is really nothing "typical". Any lounge (and some things that are not really lounges) can partner with PP.

And there are definitely airports without PP lounges. I actually find PP lounges to be most useful when traveling outside the US. I find the PP restaurant benefit to be the valuable part in the US.

Same. Except for the lounge in CHS, I can't recall ever using PP domestically, although I might be forgetting if I had.

Do you have any specific places that you typically travel? I do not carry an AC membership as I don't see the value. I have PP through the Amex Platinum and my Chase Sapphire Reserve. Tried to answer your questions to the best of my ability

1. Are there any airports where flying AA you wouldn't not be able to access PP?
No in the sense that PP lounges largely don't care what flight you are on (there are some like the LH Business lounge in IAD that require LH, LX, OS).
2. How are the crowds? I've heard evidence that at some airports they're out of control
Depends on the spot. I have never had an issue getting in if they take PP at all hours. Due to crowds, some of the lounges aren't accepting PP during certain hours.
3. How is the food compared to the AC. Is it at least on par? (I'm by no means a fancy/picky eater)
Usually better with the exception of AF Lounges which are a joke. Booze is also typically free.
4. What are typical hours of operation?
Ranges depending on the airline that operates the lounge. No set pattern but if you fly in the usual hours, they're typically open.
5. Are there limits on how long you can stay on a visit?
Theoretically. No one has ever kicked me out and I have never witnessed anyone being kicked out.

I'd recommend looking at the Amex Plat or CSR as an option as it's included and comes with a slew of other benefits.

tl;dr: Expect a lot of "it depends" in these answers

1. Some airports will have nothing at all for PP (e.g. PHX), some will have non-lounge options (e.g. PHL only has a Minute Suites that provides a mini private room w desk and daybed for up to 1 hour), some have restaurants (e.g. JFK T8 has Bobby Van's Steakhouse) where you get a ~$30 credit, others will have lounges that are not easily accessible to the terminal you're in (e.g. ORD is only at T5), and some have true lounges available.
2. Crowds vary quite a bit based on the airport and time/day you are there. For example, ATL's gets really busy during the evening
3. Food is about on par overall when you are in a lounge, but nothing fancy at any US-based lounge that I can recall.
4. Hours vary. Some are open from first to last departure, others more limited, and some are only for PP holders during specific hours (e.g. when the lounge knows it isn't busy)
5. Varies by lounge. Some will let you in as long as you have a same-day boarding pass, others may limit to 3 or 4 hours prior to departure.

Note that the typical weak point for Priority Pass is the US in terms of quality and quantity. If you are looking for the 10 passes, might I recommend the Hilton Surpass Amex if you can get it? $95 annual fee comes with the same 10-pack of PP passes (albeit not valid at any restaurants that accept PP) thing plus Hilton Gold status if you don't have that.

Finally, look at airports you'll likely fly through to see if it will add value. I can't think of any AA hub airport where you'll get a better value out of PP than the AC. Most lounges are equivalent at best, and if you get the $300ish 10-pack, you aren't getting much extra if you use the restaurant credit. For outstations, it CAN add value, but only in specific airports without an AC. CHS has a really nice lounge considering it's PP, and some other airports have a PP lounge without an AC like BWI, BUF, JAX, etc., but unless you find yourself regularly in that situation, it is likely not worth it for the $300 price, especially most PP lounges will let you in for $35-$50.

If I understand your question/plan correctly, you plan on keeping AC access either through membership or credit card, and are asking about how to best supplement it with Priority Pass. Guess that really depends on where you are looking.

From my personal experience, airports like LAS and CVG do not have an Admirals Club, but do have "The Club" locations, accessible with Priority Pass. While hardly an exhaustive list, I have found Priority Pass/The Club locations in JAX, MSY, CLE, BUF, none of which have AC locations. Have also used it at (don't laugh) CLT while the main AC is undergoing refurbishment.

The standard plus plan you mention (10 free visits then $32) costs $299. If you are able, one of the credit card plans (Chase Sapphire Reserve or even AmEx Plat, there are many others) {eta - lowfare has excellent suggestions as well, looks like our posts overlapped by a few minutes} would include Priority Pass Select, and is a much better value assuming you can use some of the other benefits. Understand this venue is not open to everyone as a reasonable credit score and a US mailing address is typically required.

Hope this helps!

The limits are generally enforced by not letting you in until a certain amount of time (usually 3 hr) before your flight departs. But once you are in you can stay (say, if your flight gets delayed)

Most of the times I've ever been denied entry to a PP lounge it was in Europe. There was a lounge at EDI that wouldn't let me in because I hadn't pre-booked a space (the lounge, most of which was visible to us from the door, was largely empty) and at BIO it was supposedly at capacity. In the US, the only time I wasn't allowed in was when the AS lounge at LAX T6 was part of PP, but AS F flyers were prioritized so there was often a waitlist for PP visitors. Nowadays I tend to find there isn't a PP option on most of the domestic US routes I'm flying but that tends to be because I'm flying between hub airports and if you have AC membership you should be fine. My main recommendation is just to check out availability at the airports you're likely to be traveling from/to that don't have an AC to make sure you're likely to get value from the cost of the PP membership.

If you are based in the US and are able to open credit cards, I find that the Amex Plat is good for Centurion, Escape, and various contracted lines that aren't part of PP. It also includes a PP membership but it does not include restaurants. The Chase CSR's PP membership does include restaurants. If you travel a lot I think it's worthwhile to carry both cards. It seems like a lot in annual fees but I find that the benefits more than make up for it.

Many of the answers vary from lounge to lounge. You may want to go to the Priority Pass site and look at some of the airports you expect to travel to if you want to get a sense of what the answers are to 1 and 4. I would say that, especially domestically, I would not go to a Priority Pass lounge expecting meaningful food options.

As for question 5, I've seen several lounges that advertise a three-hour maximum visit. I have never actually seen a lounge enforce this rule, but YMMV.

PP came in handy for International Y travel with family when I couldn't use the OW lounges due to elite+1 restrictions. The PP lounges in SIN, HKG, and LHR come to mind.

I have personally seen PP entry restrictions at both Club at MCO lounges and at the Turkish lounge at IAD, in both cases because they were ensuring space for 1st/Business class passengers of airlines with whom they have a contract. PP customers provide additional revenue to lounges during their less busy times.

+1

It is rare that Priority Pass is useful for me when travelling in the US. Priority Pass seems to have a much better network of lounges outside the US (where airline-operated lounges are more focused on premium cabin and elite travellers than on paid members). For example, all of the major Canadian airports I frequent (YVR, YYC, YYZ, YUL) have good lounges I can access with Priority Pass in the domestic, US departure, and international departure areas for the flights I've taken. Priority Pass-accessible lounges are rarely the nicest lounge on the planet, but they tend to be just fine. Definitely widely varied in quality. The Canadian ones are all (I think) better than most Admiral Clubs, with perfectly decent buffet-style food options as well as perfectly drinkable wine, but nothing special.

(Caveat: I've only flown once since COVID started, so this may be a bit out of date.)

At YYZ and YUL I see no PP lounges accessible in the US Departure areas. If there were, I would be happy to use them.

If you have a PP restaurant in your home airport it's extremely valuable (assuming you have restaurant access). Note that you can use it on arrival as well as departure. I got great value at SFO when I lived there.

Except for a few very good lounges, even average restaurant food is going to be better than lounge food.