Nowadays there are many premium credit cards that offer Priority Pass memberships, giving cardmembers access to airport lounges around the world. However, not all Priority Pass memberships are created equal, in terms of guesting privileges and experiences you have access to. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has several Priority Pass memberships, given how many credit cards I have.
In this post I wanted to discuss the basics of telling Priority Pass cards apart, and why it matters.
In this post:
Which credit cards offer Priority Pass?
Below are some of the most popular premium credit cards in the United States that offer a Priority Pass membership, along with their guesting privileges (I just realized I have all five of these cards, goodness!).
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
If you’re looking for Priority Pass lounge access, it’s hard to beat the value of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review):
- With a $395 annual fee, the card has the lowest annual fee of any of the above cards
- Most of that annual fee can easily be recouped by the card’s $300 annual travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles
- The card not only offers a Priority Pass membership for the primary cardmember, but you can also add up to four authorized users at no extra cost, and they receive a Priority Pass membership as well
Beyond the guesting privileges, one important point of differentiation between these cards is whether or not they get you credits at Priority Pass restaurants. Priority Pass has partnered with select airport restaurants to offer members a credit that can be redeemed towards food & drinks.
The catch is that Priority Pass memberships issued through American Express credit cards don’t get you access to these locations, while Priority Pass memberships issued through Capital One, Chase, and Citi, do get you access to these locations.
How can you tell Priority Pass cards apart?
Once you physically have your Priority Pass membership card, how can you tell which card issuer it came from? There are some clues based on the card number and expiration date:
- Priority Pass cards issued through American Express typically have 11 digit membership numbers, the card number typically starts with 100, 102, 104 or 142, and the cards are typically valid for four years
- Priority Pass cards issued through Capital One typically have 11 digit membership numbers, the card number typically starts with 104 or 105, and the cards are typically valid for one year
- Priority Pass cards issued through Chase typically have 16 digit membership numbers, the card number typically starts with 735, and the cards are typically valid for three years
- Priority Pass cards issued through Citi cards typically have 11 digit membership numbers, the card number typically starts with 142, and the cards are typically valid for three years
Hopefully between those three identifiers, most people can figure out through which credit card their Priority Pass membership was issued. If anyone has data points that contradict the above, please let me know. This is what I’ve been able to piece together based on looking at my cards, though it’s possible that I’m missing something.
There’s another way to easily pull up your Priority Pass membership number issued through Amex, which is the most important anyway, given the Priority Pass restaurant restriction. Just log into your Amex account and go to the “Benefits” tab for the Amex card that has a Priority Pass membership.
Scroll down to where it says “The American Express Global Lounge Collection,” and then if you’re enrolled you should see a green checkmark, and then next to that you’ll see your full Priority Pass card number.
If you’re still confused about which Priority Pass card is which, you can phone up Priority Pass on the number on the back of your card, and an agent can help you figure out which card issuer the membership is through (however, that requires going through a verification process, which typically includes an agent asking how you got your card, so that’s a whole different adventure).
Tip: mark your Priority Pass cards
Priority Pass membership cards have a signature panel on the back. While I’m not sure this is the intended purpose, personally I use the signature panel to simply write the card issuer through which the card was issued in permanent marker, so I know whether the card was issued by Amex, Capital One, Chase, or Citi.
That makes it easy for me to always remember how I got a card membership, which is useful if you’re trying to figure out if the card gives you credits at Priority Pass restaurants.
Bottom line
Nowadays many premium credit cards offer a Priority Pass membership. These memberships can have different restrictions (like Priority Pass restaurant credits), so it’s always worth remembering which Priority Pass card is tied to which credit card. If you’re like me and have multiple Priority Pass memberships, it can be tough to tell them apart.
Hopefully the above is a useful guide that can help you differentiate which card comes from which issuer. I always recommend just writing the card issuer on the back of your Priority Pass card, so you can easily remember and don’t have to go through this exercise.
If anyone has any data points that contradict the above guidelines, please let me know so I can get the post updated.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).
My Priority Pass starts with 106. And I have no idea which card it belongs to. Any thoughts?
Is is still required to present your same day boarding pass along with a priority pass? Any other docs required?
I just found out that my Chase Sapphire Reserve also lists my PP number on Chase.com. i just went to More, then benefits
Thanks for the post, it has been very helpful in getting my PP cards organized after the fact (should have labeled them right away).
Thank you for the tips and advice.
I thought I was using the one I have through chase but my account is 14 digits starting with 150 which doesn’t match anything.
Does the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card still gets the annual 10 priority passes?
Marriott Bonvoy AMEX. PP number is 10 digits but starts with 101.
The scene in India is different, the priority pass number is 18 digits long, I got it from three different Indian banks and its 18 digits across.
When you receive the card in the mail now the letter will indicate which card it is from so you can make an indication on the back. Your comments about the cheapest high end card to get this benefit is not really the point. It is worth paying more for an annual fee if the benefits outweigh the cost.
@ iamhere -- Indeed it's not just about having the lowest annual fee, but in the case of the Venture X, I think the value is there. My point was that the Venture X is the most approachable card to the average consumer for getting a Priority Pass membership.
If I've already activated one through Citi, what are the advantages of activating another one through a different card?
@ cs22 -- No, there's not really a benefit to that, unless you want a second card as a backup in case you lose or misplace your first.
This will be the first, and only, time I am able to one-up you, Ben. The old Ritz-Carlton Rewards card through Chase/JP Morgan has an UNLIMITED number of guests for access. I used it a participating restaurant a few years ago for six of us!
@ SAR -- Hah, that's a fantastic perk indeed!
Unlimited guest ? Does this also apply
to the JPM Reserve ?
Yes, I keep this card for this reason alone.
Doesnt the citi prestige allow 1 +2 guests for 3 total?
@ Frank -- That's correct. The guest numbers I refer to are in addition to the actual member accessing the lounge, so you could bring a total of three people.
My chase sapphire priority pass is valid for 3 years, not 1 year as u say. Victor
@ Victor R -- Updated the post to reflect that, thanks!
why do most bloggers forget about the USBank PP card that comes with the altitude reserve? It allows 4 free visits (and 4 guest visits) per year including restaurants. It is a nice companion to have next to my AMEX platinum PP card when I want to eat food and there is no lounge available (I am looking at you PDX).
@ LauraPDX -- That card can be great, but the point of this post was to talk about actual Priority Pass memberships with unlimited visits, rather than cards that offer a certain number of visits. It's the same reason I left off the Hilton Surpass Card, even though it offers some number of free visits. But you're right, it's a great supplement to a membership, given the guesting privileges.
I also write on the back the issuer and number of guests allowed. Also, keep in mind that there are a couple of PP restaurants that don't allow the Amex card. The one at JFK comes to mind.
@ Sue -- Indeed, Priority Pass memberships issued through Amex don't offer credits at restaurants.
What happens if you use a priority pass card and you have either canceled or product changed the card it was attached to? Do you just get charged for the visit?
SIMPLY because there is still Lounges that DON'T accept the digital version yet! e.g. Egypt Sharm El Sheikh Airport SSH.
That's the only one i can think of so far, that did NOT accept the digital card. Mayber there is more, THAT'S why it's clever to still have it for the imprint the attendants need to bill for the visit.
In Phnom Penh they did not have good wifi so they could not run my digitial card. Unfortunately I did not have my physical card on me.
Amex Hilton Honors Biz card (Annual Fee $95) gives 10 complimentary lounge visits each Priority Pass Membership year. Can be used by the member or guests.
Why would anyone use or carry a physical card rather than a digital version? It's not like a credit card where some retailers don't have apple pay or whatever.
SIMPLY because there is still Lounges that DON'T accept the digital version yet! e.g. Egypt Sharm El Sheikh Airport SSH.
That's the only one i can think of so far, that did NOT accept the digital card. Mayber there is more, THAT'S why it's clever to still have it for the imprint the attendants need to bill for the visit.
I made sure to register my Chase PP card as my digital card on the PP app, so I always have that one.
My Priority Pass account associated to my AX Personal Platinum starts with 100
My PP card through CSR is 16-digits that begins with 735, so you are correct there, but mine expires every 3 years, not annually. I just got the new PP card in October, so it should be up-to-date as far as validity, and it's definitely just 1 year.
Just and FYI, Amex Hilton Surpass also offer PP, but is restricted to 10 free visits per year. Anything over, you pay a fee.
Good info! Do you receive a Priority Pass card or is a statement credit?
you receive a card
You use the PP card, but that PP card/account is linked to the CC, so when you use the PP card, it charges the CC, then Amex gives a statement credit for each visit, up to 10 per year.
Thanks for the confirmation!
I just write on the back of them when i get them which one it is and put down the number of guests it has, not hard.
Amex Plat. Starts with 102 11 digits. Expires Aug 23
New C1 starts with 105 (not 104) and good for one year.
Is it normal that your digital membership card number is different from your physical card? I think my digital card is tied to my CSR, but I am not sure. It does have the same expiration date as the account showing on Chase's website.
@ Bogan -- I think it should be the same. What are the first three digits of your digital card number, out of curiosity?
150
and 14 digits long
Mine is the same way, including the 150 at the beginning and 14 digits long, and I also believe it is tied to my CSR card. The membership number on the chase website is different and 16 digits long.
My physical and digital card thru CSR have different numbers, and go figure, different expiration dates. Has to be that card because I only have one credit card that offers Priority Pass.
Just checked, my CSR PP# has 14 digits. So your identification/classification might need some refining.
How long does it take for PP cards to arrive in mail? I signed up PP thru CapOne's site more than 2 weeks ago.
@ Grogu -- For me it took just over two weeks for the card to arrive, so hopefully you get it soon.
I have PP through Citi (Prestige), and my card number is 10 digits, starts with 142, and good for 3 years.
@ Derek -- Thanks! Are you sure it's not 11 digits, including the "1" at the end?
Same for my Citi prestige pp card - starts with 142 and is 11 digits (including the 1)
i got mine via amex platinum, and my first numbers are 104, expires 09/2025
On the Amex website, if you pull up an Amex card that has a PP card issued from it, go to the benefits tab, then Travel, then find the American Express Global Lounge Collection tile. There will be a little green checkmark indicating that you're enrolled in PP and it will list your PP card number associated with that account.
@ Bgriff -- That's awesome tip, thank you! Will update the post to reflect that.
PP membership through Amex Bonvoy Brilliant. 11 digits, starts with 104, valid 4 years.
@ HS-TGA -- Thanks, totally got my numbers mixed up in post, should be fixed now. If anyone sees anything that doesn't match now, please let me know. Sorry about that!
My Amex Platinum Resy starts with 105. It's brand new, just got it in December 2021.