Unless you regularly travel in business class or hold a frequent flyer status with an alliance that you fly with the most often, a Priority Pass membership is arguably the best way to get into airport lounges. That said, over the last couple of years, DragonPass has grown to become a viable alternative to Priority Pass in many cases.
In this article, I will look at the two programs in detail and help you figure out which one is the better option for you.
Priority Pass and DragonPass Are Two of the World’s Largest Lounge Membership Programs
Both Priority Pass and DragonPass are programs that offer their members access to airport lounges regardless of the class they are traveling in.
Rather than operating the lounges themselves, they sign contracts with existing lounges at airports around the world. While most of these are contract lounges operated by airports or other non-airline companies, they both also have a good number of airline lounges (like the WestJet Elevation Lounge in Calgary) in their networks.
Having been started in the United States in 1992, Priority Pass is considerably older than DragonPass, which was founded in China in 2005. That said, over the years, DragonPass managed to grow its network to catch up with the Priority Pass network in many areas and even surpass it in some. Both of the lounge membership programs also grew to include perks other than airport lounge access.
DragonPass Is Slightly Cheaper Than Priority Pass When Bought Directly
Let’s start by comparing the price of both programs if purchased directly. If you are considering getting either membership as a credit card perk, then you will have to compare the below to the annual fee of the credit card you are considering and account for any additional perks that come with it or compare various credit cards’ annual fees against each other.
Both Priority Pass and DragonPass offer three tiers of memberships that vary based on the number of lounge visits included in the price. Both programs’ top tier is called Prestige and offers unlimited visits to lounges in the respective network. While Priority Pass Prestige membership costs 469 USD a year, DragonPass Prestige membership is slightly cheaper at just 429 USD a year.
The mid-tier Priority Pass membership – Standard Plus – costs 329 USD a year and comes with 10 free visits. The mid-tier DragonPass membership – Preferential – costs 259 USD a year but only includes 10 free visits. Both programs charge 35 USD per additional visit. As such, if you use either membership to visit lounges at least 10 times then the price per lounge visit is exactly the same for either program.
Lastly, both of the lowest-tier memberships – Priority Pass Standard and DragonPass Classic – cost 99 USD a year with individual lounge visits costing 35 USD each. The fact that DragonPass includes one free visit in its Classic membership makes it slightly cheaper compared to the Priority Pass Standard membership which includes no free lounge visits.
Both Priority Pass and DragonPass Are Often Best Enjoyed As Credit Card Perks
Purchasing a Priority Pass or DragonPass membership directly with the respective company can present excellent value, especially if you travel a lot in economy class and do not have a frequent flyer status. That said, in some countries, the best way to get a membership is by signing up for a credit card that offers either Priority Pass or DragonPass membership as a perk.
While typically the credit cards that offer such memberships are on the premium side – i.e. they come with sometimes insignificant annual fees, the fees are often offset by the value of the membership and other perks such cards offer. As such, regardless of which you decide to get, try looking for such a credit card in your country.
I am lucky to be based in Japan where the Rakuten Premium card comes with a free unlimited Priority Pass membership. At an annual fee of less than 100 USD, the free membership itself more than offsets the card’s annual fee. This might, in fact, be the cheapest way in the world to get a Priority Pass (or DragonPass) membership.
Outside of the Americas, DragonPass Is Available at More Airports Than Priority Pass
When I was doing research for this article, the thing that surprised me the most was just how extensive the DragonPass network is. While I thought Priority Pass has a considerably more extensive network of lounges than DragonPass, it turns out that the opposite is true.
Priority Pass has an impressive 730+ airports in its network, but DragonPass has about 100 more than that. That said, outside of Africa where both programs have about the same number of airports in their networks, there is a notable regional discrepancy. While Priority Pass puts DragonPass to shame in the Americas where it has over 200 airports in its network compared to just over 100 of DragonPass, it lags behind DragonPass in Asia-Pacific/Middle East and in Europe.
In terms of the total number of lounges, both programs seem to have around 1,300 or 1,400 in their networks.
The sheer number of airports and lounges matters only partially, though, as what really matters is whether or not the program serves the airports you frequent the most. To check that, make sure to visit the Priority Pass website and the DragonPass website.
When doing so, also make sure to see what lounges are available at these airports. While generally, they will overlap between the two programs, sometimes one might offer more or better options than the other. For example, the ANA Lounges at Narita Airport are part of the Priority Pass network but they cannot be accessed using DragonPass.
Both Priority Pass and DragonPass Offer Perks at Some Restaurants and Other Facilities Too
While both Priority Pass and DragonPass started as programs offering lounge access to those that otherwise wouldn’t be eligible – and while that is still their primary focus – over time their networks expanded to include other facilities at airports around the world too. The most notable of those are restaurants.
At some airport restaurants like Bobby Van’s Steakhouse at New York JFK’s Terminal 8, credit deducted from your final bill is offered. This is typically around 30 USD – 28 USD in the case of the steakhouse mentioned above. At other restaurants, Priority Pass or DragonPass exclusive set meals are offered for free, separate from each restaurant’s regular menu. In either of these two cases, using such perks at restaurants counts as a lounge visit for the purpose of memberships with a limited number of lounge visits included and for guesting purposes.
Separate from the above are discounts that the two programs offer at various airport restaurants. In the case of DragonPass, these discounts vary depending on the participating restaurant and are up to 25%. In the case of Priority Pass, in addition to percentage discounts, there are also “buy x get y free” types of offers.
In addition to restaurants, there are other types of facilities participating in the programs too. Those range from a public bath at Nagoya Centrair through a gym at Philadelphia Airport all the way to capsule hotels and similar rest facilities at various airports including Tokyo Narita.
DragonPass Offers Discounts on Meet & Greet Services and Airport Transfers
Perhaps the single major difference in the perks offered by Priority Pass and DragonPass is that DragonPass offers discounts on meet & greet services, as well as on private airport transfers at airports around the world.
These types of services are not something that I use and as such, personally, I wouldn’t assign any value to these perks. In fact, I believe that most people are in a similar situation as me. That said, if this is something you value then it’s definitely a perk that’s worth taking into account when making your decision between the two programs.
Priority Pass vs. DragonPass: Which One Should You Get, If Either?
Before considering buying either membership directly, I recommend doing some research to see whether there is a credit card in your country that offers either membership as a perk. If there is such a card and if its annual fee is lower (accounting for other perks the card might offer) than buying either membership directly – and if the membership it offers has lounges at the airports you frequent – then go with that option.
If you cannot find such a credit card then look at both program’s websites and search for the airports you frequent the most. If some of these airports only appear in one program or the other, then obviously go with that program. Otherwise, I would just go with the cheaper DragonPass.
Lastly, I would only recommend getting unlimited versions of the programs in most cases. I would also value the program much less if I was only traveling with an alliance that I had a status with since that would provide me with lounge access on most flights anyways.
Summary
Both Priority Pass and DragonPass are programs that provide their members with access to airport lounges. They both offer membership tiers with either a limited or unlimited number of lounge visits and over the years they have grown to also include perks at other facilities such as airport restaurants.
While the two program’s networks overlap to a large extent, they do not do so completely. For example, while Priority Pass has a much bigger footprint in the Americas than DragonPass, the opposite is true in Asia-Pacific/Middle East. It’s also important to keep in mind that even if both programs offer facilities at a certain airport, the options might not overlap completely.
Because of this, whether you should go with Priority Pass or DragonPass will depend on the airports you plan to frequent the most often. It will also depend on whether or not you might be able to get either cheaply as a credit card perk.
Lastly, in some cases – like if you are not flying too often, considering one of the alternatives to Priority Pass and DragonPass might be the best option.
