poptarts

I brought my 4 children into the Alaska Airlines lounge last month at SFO. I asked if there were any charges for my kids and the receptionist said no. However, my AmEx Platinum credit card has been billed for $108 by Priority Pass. I called and spoke with a rep at Priority Pass and they will not reserve the charges.

At other lounges I have been allowed to bring in my children for free so I always ask check first because I am aware that there are charges for guests ($27 per guest).

The lounge access was one of the reasons I keep the Platinum AmEx. I wish I was given the correct information.

Nicksta

Complain in writing to AMEX and they should remove that charge. I had something similar happen a while back and they didn't blink to get it removed.

mia

This illustrates that the lounge attendant does not know the billing details of your Priority Pass account. There are many variations and the details are between you, your card issuer and Priority Pass. The attendant merely reports how many people entered the lounge.

OverThereTooMuch

When I've gone into an AS lounge with my PP, I've been asked 2 things:

1) Can you please sign this?
2) Would you like a receipt?

Seems like you should've known before going there that there would be a charge. But even if you didn't, I would've expected the receipt to immediately alert you to a charge. If it did not then I think it would be reasonable to dispute the charge. Not sure how Amex deals with disputes with partners. I'd worry that a possible outcome here is that you lose the priority pass entirely.

As far as expecting to bring 4 additional people into the lounge for free, that doesn't really seem reasonable.

MSPeconomist

If you go to the Priority Pass website, you see that some lounges waive guest fees for children under a certain (specified for the individual lounge) age. Above this age, children are charged the same as any other guests, according to the rules of your Priority Pass membership. If you brought four children into the lounge, being charged 4 X $27 is perfectly fair.

redtop43

I don't like to pick a fight, but I totally disagree. The OP was told by the lounge attendent there was no charge. It's reasonable to expect employees to know their own rules.

dw

I think this is a good heads up for everyone to scrutinize the receipt they give you to sign upon entry, as it always indicates the number of guests you are bringing in (and thus will be charged for). I actually always save copies of the receipts until I see the charges post, in case there is a discrepancy.

If the Boardroom presented the OP with a receipt that indicated +4 for guests, and it was signed, I think he/she is unfortunately stuck with the charges, regardless of what was verbally communicated, unless AMEX decides to remove the charge as a goodwill gesture.

TommyC80

These are not employees of Priority Pass, they are employees of the lounge. There are so many variations in the PP program, not to mention other lounge access programs (which are constantly changing)...it's not reasonable to assume that third-party employees know the idiosyncrasies of all programs.

At the end of the day, it is incumbant on the user of the lounge program to understand the terms and conditions of what they signed up for. Otherwise, don't cry when you get hit with "surprises"

goAsia

I don't think he's stuck with the charges. I think he stands a very good chance of getting his money back. Plus when you dispute a charge doesn't Amex actually take money back from the merchant? If so then it wouldn't be a goodwill gesture so much as them making a merchant stand by their word.

pokeable

Which lounges are you bringing 4 kids in for free using PP Select?

You obv. know the rules for PP and have been able to avoid getting tagged with the $27 charge...and now you got hit. I would say just be thankful that you've avoided the charges in the past.

poptarts

When I brought 4 kids in a lounge last year, it was through US Airways club membership, not PP.

On another occasion, I brought 1 child in the lounge using AmEx Platinum and there was no charge. I always ask because some lounges/programs do charge, and others just waive the fee for children.

poptarts

Thanks for bringing up the receipts comment as I did not get a receipt. I do not recall the attendant offering me one but I would have declined it not realizing how important it was. I will get receipts from now on.

mcgahat

There is not always a receipt in my experience. There has been two ways I have seen it done. They have a swipe system where they run your card and a receipt is printed and then there is the old school method where they write down your info and card number and number of guests. If the lounge agent put down four guests then that is what you will be charged. The correct answer from the lounge agent should have been, talk to PP. If she did say there will be no charge then she spoke out of turn IMO.

I would talk to Amex as you will get no place with PP so Amex is your only hope. I had a charge on an old cancelled PP account that absolutely was not me at an airport that I had not been in for about 3 years. They were extremely difficult to deal with and a really poorly run organization. Credit card is the way to go. I will reserve my comments on expecting to take four kids into the lounge for free.

wesheltonj

You are getting the programs mixed up. With the Amex Plat Card itself, the children would be no charge, with PP they would be $27 unless the PP material says children under __ no charge.

johnathome

OP, how old are your kids, I'm assuming under 21.

USAir, AA and DL allow Amex Plat card members to bring in their family (kids under 21) or 2 guests.

However, Amex's contract with Priority Pass doesn't allow guests as I understand it. One of the reasons I haven't used PP.