Priority Pass is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to access airport lounges when you otherwise wouldn’t have access. That said, depending on where you live, getting a membership can be costly. While I am lucky to be able to get one for less than 100 dollars a year using a credit card available only in Japan, in many countries buying a membership directly for over 400 dollars a year is the only option.
Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives to Priority Pass – some better than others – if you think getting a Priority Pass membership is not worth it for you. Continue reading to see what they are and figure out which one is the best for you.
#1: Credit Cards with Direct Lounge Access
While there are many credit cards that provide Priority Pass membership as a perk, there are even more credit cards that offer airport lounge access directly.
The one disadvantage of these cards (unless they also come with a Priority Pass membership) is that the network of lounges they provide access to tends to be very limited. That said, if there are certain airports you use frequently and there is a credit card offering access to a lounge at some or all of those airports, then this is a viable alternative.
For example, in addition to providing me with a Priority Pass membership, my Rakuten Premium card gives me access to “card lounges” that can be found at most airports in Japan and generally cannot be accessed with Priority Pass. Similarly, my sister has a Slovak credit card that offers lounge access at Bratislava Airport and Vienna Airport.
On a more global scale, American Express has a network of Centurion Lounges and Chase has a network of Chase Sapphire Lounges that holders of some of their more premium credit cards can access when flying.
#2: DragonPass and Other Non-Airline Membership Programs
As one would expect, there are other services that are similar to Priority Pass – i.e. companies that sign partnerships with lounges around the world and then offer access to those lounges to their members. Two notable ones in this category include DragonPass and TAV Passport.
While both of these programs have decent lounge networks that overlap with Priority Pass to a large extent, they also have some lounges unique to them and vice versa. On top of that, their pricing is not too different from Priority Pass. That said, what matters more than scale is the overlap between lounges that are in the network and the airports you frequent.
Because of this, make sure to check the airports you use the most often on each of the program’s sites to figure out whether there are any lounges at those airports unique to a specific program. If the selection at your most frequented airports overlaps, I would go with the cheaper DragonPass.
Before making your final decision, though, make sure to read my detailed comparison of Priority Pass and DragonPass. Additionally, you might also want to consider LoungeKey which is run by the same company as Priority Pass. I compared it with Priority Pass here and with DragonPass here.
#3: Paying for a Lounge Visit (Lounge Pass, LoungeBuddy & More)
If you only travel occasionally – let’s say less than ten times a year – and want to access airport lounges before economy class flights, then paying for lounge access on a visit-by-visit basis might be the best option for you. Most airports will have a lounge that you can either pre-book or pay directly at the reception to access.
Traditionally, lounges that offered paid access were third-party contract lounges. More recently, though, airlines started offering paid lounge access to their otherwise ineligible passengers (e.g. those flying in economy class without a status) too.
As such, you might first want to check with your airline if they offer the option of buying lounge access. If not – or if it is too expensive – you might also want to search for other paid lounges at your departure airport. The easiest way to do so is using a service like Lounge Pass or LoungeBuddy.
Typically, a three-hour lounge visit will cost between 30 and 50 dollars. Because of this, it makes the most sense to buy lounge access if you have a relatively long transfer, plan to eat and/or drink a lot, and/or need to take a shower.
#4: Airline Club Memberships
This alternative to Priority Pass can be found particularly in the United States and is a viable alternative if you are often traveling domestically on the same airline. Airlines like United, American, and Delta offer club memberships where you can access their lounges before flying with the respective airline, regardless of the class you are flying in.
These club memberships generally cost several hundred dollars and – in most cases – are more expensive than buying a Priority Pass membership. However, there are also co-branded airline credit cards that offer such memberships as a perk. As such, this can not only be a good alternative to Priority Pass depending on your travel patterns but also a great thing to have in addition to Priority Pass.
#5: Business Class, First Class, and Frequent Flyer Status
While not a direct alternative, I decided to list flying in business and first class or holding a frequent flyer status as an alternative to Priority Pass here.
That’s because if you tend to fly in business or first class, you will generally have access to airport lounges included in your tickets. Sometimes they will be the same lounges you would be able to access with Priority Pass but more often than not they will be better lounges. In some extremely rare cases, there might be situations where Priority Pass would provide a better lounge than what your airline will offer you.
The situation is similar if you hold a frequent flyer status that provides you with lounge access on flights with the alliance you hold your status with. In this case, though, Priority Pass can still be helpful for the times that you will fly with an airline outside your preferred alliance. If frequent flyer programs are new to you, you can learn more about them in my eBook.
#6: Waiting in the Terminal’s Public Areas
Lastly, while this might not sound like an alternative to Priority Pass, I’d argue it is the best alternative in many cases. This is especially a viable option if you tend to mostly frequent airports where Priority Pass lounges are mediocre at best.
Not being able to access a lounge might, in some cases, mean waiting in crowded gate areas. In most cases, though, it will not be anything terrible. You could spend your time before boarding wandering through the airport’s duty-free shops (make sure you don’t spend more than you would have on a Priority Pass membership!), grabbing a coffee, or just sitting in the gate area.
In some cases, you will even be able to have some fun. Singapore Airport, for example, offers excellent facilities ranging from game rooms all the way to a movie theater for passengers to enjoy for free.
Summary: What Is the Best Alternative to Priority Pass?
Whether or not you should be getting a Priority Pass membership or considering one of the alternatives above largely depends on your travel patterns.
If you only travel occasionally, then you will most likely be just fine without lounge access or paying for lounges on a per-visit basis when necessary. Similarly, if you fly in business/first class or have a frequent flyer status, you will most likely have lounge access without Priority Pass or similar in either case.
On the other hand, if you travel a lot in economy class then getting a credit card with lounge access, an airline club membership, or something like DragonPass might be a great option. Whether these are a better alternative for you than Priority Pass will depend on the airports you frequent the most.
