I am now a part of the Priority Pass program via my credit card from Bank of America. I see that the SFO Terminal 1 Lounge is part of the program and I had some questions as this will be my first of many times at a CO lounge.

If I am not mistaken CO lounges offer complimentary alcohol, non-alocholic drinks and snacks. I was wondering what options are available during Breakfast and in the afternoon? Does one go to the bar or is it self-serve? What types of snacks does the SFO lounge stock?

I know there are showers here and I am familiar with other lounges but not the CO one so if I want to take a shower I just ask the attendant?

Also it says for PP members to just show the card and ID for access so I guess I do not need a boarding pass since I will not be going through security?

And lastly can one give me directions from the UA Terminal 3 to the lounge in the most direct way avoiding Airtrain. I am not sure where it is in relation to the CO ticket counters.

Thanks in advance for your help. Any reviews of this lounge and your personal experience using the lounge would be most appreciative. I would also like your experience with Priority Pass.

Correct.


Breakfast items are toast, bagles, muffins and danish. In the afternoon they usually have chips and other snacks, usually fresh fruits, such as apples and bananas.

The bar is not self service, it is staffed.

YES

No showers at the SFO PC.

From terminal 3 you have to get to terminal 1 and walk past the CO check-in counter, and voila! There it is! If you do not want to take the Airtrain, just walk (terminal 2 is closed, but you can still walk through it...), it should be a 10/15 min walk...

The PC at SFO is landside, so you do not have to go through security to get there (sounds like a good thing for you, but a pain for most). If you are facing the CO ticket counter/kiosks, it is just to the right. It is a very small PC - there is no shower, only one bathroom for each sex, and, the bathrooms are 1 person at a time (i.e., you go in by yourself and no one else can go in until you leave). The staff at the front desk are extremely friendly and helpful, but the bar staff is sometimes hard to find to get service.

Yes, when I was checking them out, they said they were very good at predicting how long security would take, and sending people on their way in a timely fashion. (Very friendly staff.)

This happened to be the one time I was forced to check something, a jar of Thai shrimp paste that TSA decided to classify as "liquid or gel". I claimed "paste" was a poor translation from the Thai. She named a country in the region she was from, and said she wasn't fooled, she knew what shrimp paste was. I wanted to express empathy, "Yes, the shrimp paste from ... is pretty runny!" but I thought better of this, and went to check a parcel.

The point being, with a landside location, one never knows. CO Prez members could (still can?) use the Alaska club inside the terminal, a very simple club, but free wireless. This doesn't help the OP.

If one is familiar with SFO, a whole lot of time can be saved by cutting through short term parking. But you can also get turned around in there.

Only if traveling on a same-day Alaska/Horizon operated flight - unless the lounge attendant forgets this policy and lets you in.

Was just there yesterday; the above is accurate, including the friendly staff, the advice about when to go through security (NB there is no "Elite Access" line for CO flyers at SFO, but there is that messy "Clear" line), etc. Drinks available in the morning but I believe not on Sundays due to some Blue Laws.

Were it not for my having signed up for CLEAR thanks to a Hyatt promotion, I would've missed my flight because of the line at security. I was able to sail right through thanks to them.

So, fair warning about the estimates on how long security will take.

There is an elite line, far right, next to the CLEAR station. It feeds (like EWR) into the general line though after that.

hughw is right -there is definitely an elite line (and it can save a ton time vs. the regular line if it is busy - I dont think I've ever had more than 5-6 people in front of me, but I've seen the regular line snake back all the way into the ticketing area). When it is busy, I have seen them give the elite line it's own line through xray. However, time will be saved even though they feed into the same TSA line to go thru xray since your line to get to xray will be shorter much of the time.

Also note that the elite line is very poorly marked (and sometimes not marked at all), but it is there for elites of all airlines in Term 1. As hughw notes, it is just to the left of the CLEAR station - you will see TSA agents standing at a kiosk right next to CLEAR.

I have never had a problem getting into the Alaska lounge with my PC membership and I am always on a Co flight to IAH. The original poster with PP might have a problem as they dont have the same access rights from the begin.

Also of note, there is a Delta lounge that is bigger and has about the same offerings. I did try to go there to get a Mojito but of course the bartender there didnt have knowledge on how to make one.

It's a policy that is so often overlooked that I suspect that it is not actually policy at SFO. I regularly use the AS club when flying CO. The attendant keeps a long list of people who do this behind the counter.

Actually, the policy (according to CO web site) IS to allow PC holders into the AS Boardroom:

https://www.continental.com/web/en-U...5655093D3094BE

I have not been questioned before at SFO and have used it many times (love the Alaskan Amber).