Priority Pass benefit rapidly deteriorating
Nov 12, 2017, 7:42 am
#166
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: ATL
Posts: 802
"A lot South Americans have a Priority Pass card and we get a ton of business from them"
As someone who has experience in the food business including a partnership with one of the largest fast food chains in the world, I can tell you that if it is a $4 cost, that is cheap advertising. I would rather do that than to physically hand out or mail coupons which is WAY more expensive and usually get far less results.
Although I have been out of the business for 15 years, a general rule of thumb was the food cost should be no more than 1/3rd of the retail price of the item.
Nov 12, 2017, 11:34 am
#167
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,750
+1,,, I was in the Miami airport Prioroty Pass restuarant last night and specifically asked about the PP business. The person I talked to said they were beyond thrilled and were averaging $7,000 per DAY^ in PP sales. That is way north of 2 million $ per year in extra sales. She said the wait staff was happy since Mia gets a lot of internation travelers and thay may not understand the tipping system and were guarantted 18% underthe PP system. She said,,,,
"A lot South Americans have a Priority Pass card and we get a ton of business from them"
As someone who has experience in the food business including a partnership with one of the largest fast food chains in the world, I can tell you that if it is a $4 cost, that is cheap advertising. I would rather do that than to physically hand out or mail coupons which is WAY more expensive and usually get far less results.
Although I have been out of the business for 15 years, a general rule of thumb was the food cost should be no more than 1/3rd of the retail price of the item.
"A lot South Americans have a Priority Pass card and we get a ton of business from them"
As someone who has experience in the food business including a partnership with one of the largest fast food chains in the world, I can tell you that if it is a $4 cost, that is cheap advertising. I would rather do that than to physically hand out or mail coupons which is WAY more expensive and usually get far less results.
Although I have been out of the business for 15 years, a general rule of thumb was the food cost should be no more than 1/3rd of the retail price of the item.
The receipt said you can adjust the amount but the POS does not allow any adjustment - either in full or nothing at all. On top of that the POS does not take off the PP credit (or that is due to waiter error). We only used it twice in an October trip - both times the PP credit was not shown on the initial receipt, we had to get the waiter to fix it. The service was exceedingly POOR (beyond acceptable basic standard) on our outbound but we did not have time to go thru the tip adjustment process. On our inbound the service was still subpar but slightly better than the first visit. We asked to adjust the tip amount then the waitress found out it is either full or nothing. She adjusted it to 0 and we tipped with cash that was lower than the 18% because of the service (or no service) provided.
Foods were just acceptable, for the entree. The sandwiches and burgers are to be avoided because the quality was poor - both from the ingredients and the preparation. (Cold for the meat inside, soggy bacon for a club sandwich. Icy cold Turkey cold cut.)
For MIA location I would rather go to the Avianca lounge but unfortunately due to MIA airport's set up, it would not be possible if you are not flying out of Avianca's concourse so we used the restaurant at AA's Concourse but wish we could use Avianca's.
Now the good news is, Plaza Premium at the Transborder concourse at YYZ T3 is in business so now from YYZ to US on AA, one can use the Plaza Premium lounge as PP benefit. Plaza Premium in other parts of the world generally have good offerings so hopefully it would be the same at YYZ T3.
Nov 13, 2017, 12:18 am
#168
formerly atomicfront
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 171
It's a great airport, even w/o PP. Easy to navigate, and they have two top notch coffee vendors - Stumptown and Portland Roasting Coffee. I love seeing an airport where the Starbucks is relegated to a mid-concourse kiosk while a proper (roast their own) shop like Stumptown is front and center upon clearing Concourse C security 
What a ... poor excuse for a woman. In equal parts for guesting 18 people, and for making a "clickbait" Facebook post about it as screenshot in the link you provided.
What a ... poor excuse for a woman. In equal parts for guesting 18 people, and for making a "clickbait" Facebook post about it as screenshot in the link you provided.
Nov 13, 2017, 9:06 am
#169
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Toronto, Canada
Programs: Delta DM, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, National EE, AS MVP Gold 75K, AC 75K
Posts: 1,000
Does anyone know if the Corona House in MIA have a take out option I can us with my PP? Hoping to eat on the plane instead.
Nov 13, 2017, 7:34 pm
#170
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,750
You can however, sit down at the restaurant and order the items to go. They will still charge you 18% gratuity on the bill. Just cross it out and pay a couple bucks cash for the "To Go" work.
Keep in mind the service is very slow so make time for that.
Nov 16, 2017, 2:41 am
#171
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 143
Profit for who? The restaurant is giving $28 worth of food and beverage and getting reimbursed only $24. Presumably, they hope to make up the difference other ways. (like, higher volume).
Priority pass is incurring $24 cost for every restaurant visit. If restaurants become sufficiently popular when going through airports, PP might reconsider their contracts with CC companies.
Priority pass is incurring $24 cost for every restaurant visit. If restaurants become sufficiently popular when going through airports, PP might reconsider their contracts with CC companies.
yes, $28 worth of food/drinks doesn't cost them $28.
but I think using the profit metric might not be the entire story: because then we should see a lot more restaurant signups (hey, I'm making money even when getting paid $24!). Or to push even further: if restaurants are so eager to sign up, why was this never an option beforehand, and only lounge crowdings forced PP to invent new ways to make its product useful?
but I think using the profit metric might not be the entire story: because then we should see a lot more restaurant signups (hey, I'm making money even when getting paid $24!). Or to push even further: if restaurants are so eager to sign up, why was this never an option beforehand, and only lounge crowdings forced PP to invent new ways to make its product useful?
Nov 16, 2017, 8:32 am
#172
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Toronto, Canada
Programs: Delta DM, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, National EE, AS MVP Gold 75K, AC 75K
Posts: 1,000
No. They have a take out counter at the side of the restaurant, separated from the restaurant dining area by a half-down shutter. I asked the lady manning the take out area for PP usage, she directed me to the restaurant side.
You can however, sit down at the restaurant and order the items to go. They will still charge you 18% gratuity on the bill. Just cross it out and pay a couple bucks cash for the "To Go" work.
Keep in mind the service is very slow so make time for that.
You can however, sit down at the restaurant and order the items to go. They will still charge you 18% gratuity on the bill. Just cross it out and pay a couple bucks cash for the "To Go" work.
Keep in mind the service is very slow so make time for that.
Nov 16, 2017, 2:15 pm
#173
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 378
You answered your own question, and I was referring to the restaurant if the English wasn't clear. As you state, the profit incentive isn't high enough (but there is obviously profit) as otherwise every restaurant would sign up. Possible places where PP customers help a restaurant is 1) to move food stock, 2) create additional profit if the bill exceeds the PP spend limit, 3) increase public interest (people are more likely to visit a bustling restaurant than a completely empty one), 4) online advertising through the PP website and external reviews, and possibly other factors I'm not aware of for the price of $4. So factors that may negatively affect a restaurant from deciding on including PP could be 1) delayed reimbursement from PP which could affect cash flow, 2) the profit from PP is lower than the current profit per patron, among other things I'm not aware of.
Nov 17, 2017, 10:03 pm
#174
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 12,079
Jan 13, 2018, 12:37 am
#175
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Hilton, Hyatt House, Del Taco
Posts: 5,378
Has anyone experienced issues accessing Plaza Premium lounges (particularly YVR, TPE, HKG) with Priority Pass? Or no such problems yet at Plaza Premium such as being denied due to overcrowding, etc?
Jan 13, 2018, 5:58 pm
#177
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt Ist-iest, Stariott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 12,787
Not sure about the prior comments but I had no issue getting a meal from the grab and go side of the restaurant. No servers, I got a salad, drink, and beer from the to go side and used my PP card with no issue, though the cashier did have to go find a PP card terminal from the main restaurant. This was at the end of December.
Jan 14, 2018, 3:17 am
#178
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,311
No. They have a take out counter at the side of the restaurant, separated from the restaurant dining area by a half-down shutter. I asked the lady manning the take out area for PP usage, she directed me to the restaurant side.
You can however, sit down at the restaurant and order the items to go. They will still charge you 18% gratuity on the bill. Just cross it out and pay a couple bucks cash for the "To Go" work.
Keep in mind the service is very slow so make time for that.
You can however, sit down at the restaurant and order the items to go. They will still charge you 18% gratuity on the bill. Just cross it out and pay a couple bucks cash for the "To Go" work.
Keep in mind the service is very slow so make time for that.
Jan 14, 2018, 8:24 am
#179
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA Plat, UA 1K>Plat>moving to Silver
Posts: 2,088
I have PP through Amex, a UA Club CC and an AA Club CC. Whether one is useful is entirely dependent on the airport. And lots of lounges are crowded all the time. Some airports, PP may be best - BOS and BRU non-schengen come to mind. Other places merely second tier, though usually still better than a domestic US UA or AA club. But a mediocre club is still better than waiting at the gate in my book, and just a drink, a snack and a paper saves you 20USD anyway.
Jan 16, 2018, 9:49 pm
#180
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3
1) You need the actual membership card (not credit card) to access international lounges or star alliance lounges. It comes separately from the credit card and can take up to 6 weeks to arrive.
2) The partner lounge can refuse you entry based on their own capacity or rules. For example, if you go to Frankfurt or Munich and try to get into the Lufthansa lounge you still need to have premier gold status despite having a United club membership and Lufthansa being a star alliance partner.
3) You can get into United club lounges without the membership card if you have the United app since the app will update your mileage plus status once it's process.
This fine print was not discussed in other forums but if it's true then point 2 really waters down the club membership. It's like a United version of PP: membership but not guaranteed access.