This seems like a win-win for the lounge operator and customers, though I can’t imagine that Priority Pass has given its blessing…
In this post:
Priority Pass lounge finds creative way to generate revenue
Priority Pass lounge crowding has become a huge problem in recent years, probably coinciding with the popularity of premium credit cards, which is how many people in the United States get such a membership. Nowadays, many people are happy if they can simply get into a lounge, regardless of the quality, since being turned away due to capacity controls has become common.
Along those lines, one Priority Pass lounge in the United States seems to be getting creative, as shared by a reader. I won’t name the lounge, because I don’t necessarily want them to get in trouble, and I personally like the idea.
The concept is that the lounge turns away guests due to capacity controls over certain hours, but it’ll offer Priority Pass members a bag with goodies (in exchange for registering you as having visited). This includes a bottle of water, a can of soda, a couple of whole fruit, a bag of chips, a small package of cheese and crackers, and cookies.
It’s certainly nothing to get excited about, but if you’re not paying anything incrementally for accessing Priority Pass lounges, then I think just about anyone would take something over nothing. Besides, with the cost of drinks at airports, you’ll save at least several dollars.
I can’t imagine Priority Pass would be happy about this
I’ve gotta say, this lounge is running a smart side hustle. If it can’t accommodate Priority Pass guests, it simply gives them a bag with a few dollars worth of stuff, and gets a Priority Pass swipe out of it, which probably gets the lounge operator somewhere around $25 in revenue.
Since those with unlimited Priority Pass visits aren’t paying per lounge visit, consumers are probably also happy about this, since they’re getting something rather than nothing.
That being said, I have to imagine that this isn’t a Priority Pass approved concept, or else we’d see a lot more of this. The economics of Priority Pass are a bit complicated, given that the company sells lounge memberships directly, and also works with credit card companies on lounge memberships.
For those who get a membership through credit cards, we’ve mostly seen them cut credits at Priority Pass restaurants. You’d think that it wouldn’t matter to a credit card company whether the cost of a visit goes toward a lounge or a restaurant, but presumably it’s about limiting incremental costs. That’s why I imagine that Priority Pass wouldn’t approve of this concept, because it’s just too easy.
If this were allowed, I have a great new lounge concept. I’m going to set up a global OMAAT Flagship Polaris One Lounge network, consisting of kiosks at high traffic airports where I’ll give out a few bucks worth of packaged food in exchange for some swipes. 😉
Bottom line
One Priority Pass lounge in the United States has found a sneaky way to generate some extra revenue when the lounge is at capacity. Rather than just outright turning away guests, the lounge is offering to swipe guests for entry, and then instead give them a grab & go selection of food and drinks, which they can take with them.
Assuming guests don’t pay per incremental visit, it’s a win-win for guests and the lounge, as they’re getting a few dollars worth of stuff for nothing, while the lounge is generating quite a bit of revenue. However, I can’t imagine Priority Pass would be down for this, if it knew.
What do you make of this sneaky Priority Pass scheme?
While those of us dropping tens of thousands a year on flights, subsequently earning status, are crowded out by people with credit cards dragging in their kids and letting them run amok.
I would not waste a swipe for a bag of stuff I am not likely to eat. The whole point of a lounge is to sit, and maybe nibble and a safe place for my carryon while using the facilities
Huh, Los Angeles, really, Andrea? Really, Priority Pass?
What lounge are you talking about?
There is only ONE Priority Pass lounge at LAX, and it's at Tom Bradley - Virgin Atlantic Club House which costs $35 of "Upgrade Fee".
"Members can be assured that any experience they receive in our lounges—whether in New York, Los Angeles, London, or Hong Kong—is carefully designed to meet the high expectations they associate with our brand."...
Huh, Los Angeles, really, Andrea? Really, Priority Pass?
What lounge are you talking about?
There is only ONE Priority Pass lounge at LAX, and it's at Tom Bradley - Virgin Atlantic Club House which costs $35 of "Upgrade Fee".
"Members can be assured that any experience they receive in our lounges—whether in New York, Los Angeles, London, or Hong Kong—is carefully designed to meet the high expectations they associate with our brand." you say.
We have come to expect however, nothing of Priority Pass be because it has gotten so bad especially in the US.
Priority Pass as it stands is farthest from consistency.
There wasn't any lounge drama when the only credit cards in the US with Priority Pass and Lounge access were Amex Platinum and Diners Club. As soon as Chase came along about 10 years ago with Chase Sapphire Reserve, the "mass invasion" of the lounges began.
The lounge is defrauding Priority Pass by charging for full access but giving PP members trinkets. At a minimum the lounge should include a sandwich. Disappointed this website promotes criminality.
What is the Law being broken?
Contract law between PP and the lounge operator for not providing the minimum level of service (lounge access) when charging a customer for a LOUNGE visit. There is no reduced value swipe for a grab and go visit.
I wonder how the other vendors at the airport feel about this.
It constitutes a sale (swipe of card resulting in a financial charge somewhere down the line). However, the PAX is not receiving service "inside" the lounge nor "staying in the lounge" to receive the benefits as originally agreed. Also, the compensation offered for the swipe (bag of food & drink) is in direct competition with the other airport vendors products. Therefore, the...
I wonder how the other vendors at the airport feel about this.
It constitutes a sale (swipe of card resulting in a financial charge somewhere down the line). However, the PAX is not receiving service "inside" the lounge nor "staying in the lounge" to receive the benefits as originally agreed. Also, the compensation offered for the swipe (bag of food & drink) is in direct competition with the other airport vendors products. Therefore, the lounge is violating its lease agreement. IIRC, United is offering Grab & Go food at several lounges, but you must an exiting membership which bypasses the swipe of the card resulting in a financial charge.
I realize most vendor stalls at airports are political plumbs awarded by the city (based on campaign contributions or somewhat similar). I doubt the vendors would file a lawsuit, but I bet a the phones are ringing at each city councilmen's office to complain.
Very often I get turned away at priority pass lounges. Often it’s something like “oh it’s too crowded right now, come back at 3:30p” (and my flight leaves at 3pm). So a grab-and-go sounds like a good idea - it’s at least better than being turned away and getting nothing.
As others commented already, Capital One already does this and I think this is a wonderful idea. Sometimes we only have a short connection and don’t have time to enjoy a sit down visit. This ‘grab and go’ concept delivers on that need precisely and why I visit CP lounges more often than all the others when possible (plus their food offering is most times better too).
It is by design that they dont provide services. Since most connections are in a two to three hour window, the use of a 1 hour delay makes the lounge not reachable to many.
The tactic of paid reservation, to help jump the line, seems only to serve their bottom line.
Remember when you could spend $15,000 on a first class seat overseas but they still wouldn't put you into a priority lounge?
I've given up on getting anything from anybody because you just number
Having attempted to use Priority Pass three times and having been turned away (unswiped and empty handed) all three times, this does not seem unreasonable. So far Priority Pass has been a zero benefit from my credit card which is up for renewal next week.
You can do similar already. Pp allows for expenditure at some cafes and restaurants. I'll often select a range of takeaway food and drinks, especially if I'm getting a budget airline that doesn't provide free food.
I love this comment, "Priority Pass is built on delivering consistent, high-quality experiences to our members...". What a joke. There is so much variation in PP lounges across the world. The real problem is that people aren't the customer, it's the credit card companies.
Scaming people and PP
This is clearly a Priority Pass fraud, the fraudulent ‘lounge’ should be named, investigated, and fined/excluded from the PP program. This is a typical US bad-customer-service low-level attitude even toward elite customers who pay banks a lot of their hard-earned money for overpriced credit cards with PP, hoping to get comfort for their families in an airport, and getting this instead… Anywhere else in the world this would never happen, as there is more corporate...
This is clearly a Priority Pass fraud, the fraudulent ‘lounge’ should be named, investigated, and fined/excluded from the PP program. This is a typical US bad-customer-service low-level attitude even toward elite customers who pay banks a lot of their hard-earned money for overpriced credit cards with PP, hoping to get comfort for their families in an airport, and getting this instead… Anywhere else in the world this would never happen, as there is more corporate quality CONTROL and AIDITS! Here in the US, where all the corporate headquarters are located - no one cares yo check!… Priority Pass owes us a written apology, and they need to replace the vendor in that rogue PP lounge!
This lounge should be named and shut down.
What happens when other lounges see they can get away with this, then suddenly everyone with a priority pass gets only given the take away bag? After all, its always going to be cheaper for the lounge to do that than let them in where they will consume alcohol and more food.
Allowing this to stand is a good way to get lounge access enhanced away.
Flagship Polaris One. Brilliant.
The gaming lounge at DFW was doing this years ago with Priority Pass. They had snacks and drinks at the front desk you could take on check-in if you didn't want to sit and play.
You need to name and shame.
This is an unacceptable dilution of benefits and sets the wrong incentives: welcome to the future of closet-sized lounges which are constantly full and which exist only to take advantage of this money printing opportunity.
It's also unethical corporate stealing, and you are now complicit.
There seems to be some confusion about the Grab-and-Go concept. Many (non-Priority Pass) lounges actually offer this option and they have been doing so for some time. Some lounges actually encourage it (such as Capital One Lounges), proactively offering to-go bags and having dedicated sections for those who need to grab and run.
The issue with Priority Pass is that Credit Card companies are trying to limit the expenses associated with lounge access. This...
There seems to be some confusion about the Grab-and-Go concept. Many (non-Priority Pass) lounges actually offer this option and they have been doing so for some time. Some lounges actually encourage it (such as Capital One Lounges), proactively offering to-go bags and having dedicated sections for those who need to grab and run.
The issue with Priority Pass is that Credit Card companies are trying to limit the expenses associated with lounge access. This is the reason behind their decision to limit restaurant access, for example. Basically, the CC companies want to say that they offer the lounge perks but at the same time limit it-- and by extension, limit the costs associated with that perk. On the Priority Pass side, it only makes sense for them to impose and keep the limits in place to keep the CC agreements in place, since the vast majority of Priority Pass memberships- and their revenue- are through credit card companies.
It's called theft by deception.
Correct. And Ben is now complicit.
How is Ben complicit? You need to refresh your understanding of how news reporting works
He didn’t fully “report”. The piece was more “op-ed”.
So why wasn't the alleged KLM Lounge in IAH named in this article? This was based on a FB post 2 days ago.
It wasn't them as of September 1, as I was turned away from there without any goodies whatsoever. (I was also turned away at the Air France lounge. The Minute Suite finally took me after a wait.)
I’m don’t see how this is a good thing. I don’t appreciate traversing and waiting to check into a lounge only to be turned away due to “capacity constraints” only to be given a bag of high fructose and other fake additives crap.
Now if u give the bag while I wait, That I can applaud.
Strictly speaking this sounds like fraud.
This is fraud, strictly speaking and otherwise. Registering a guest as having visited the lounge, without having visited the lounge is fraud. PP will be entirely within their rights to sue.
That being said, I agree with Lucky that Lounges, especially in the US have become crowded due to the constant expansion of lounge eligibility. I have been to SYD airport, where for decades the Qantas Lounge has been the only option for OneWorld...
This is fraud, strictly speaking and otherwise. Registering a guest as having visited the lounge, without having visited the lounge is fraud. PP will be entirely within their rights to sue.
That being said, I agree with Lucky that Lounges, especially in the US have become crowded due to the constant expansion of lounge eligibility. I have been to SYD airport, where for decades the Qantas Lounge has been the only option for OneWorld passangers. This is no longer the case - a number of OneWorld airlines (Qatar, Cathay, BA and, as I learned last week, Malaysia Airlines) now use different, probably superior, lounges.
The Trump mind virus definitely has taken over this blog. Now practices which are amoral are declared entrepreneurial. I can‘t take this blog serious any more.
Try some Exlax or metamucil.
Hit the road. You won't be missed.
AF lounge at SFO did this a few years ago when they were under renovation
I hate it, because my expectation of a lounge is, in order of importance: secure place to leave my bag while I pee, quality business-grade WiFi, snack and/or cup of tea. Since I can easily get the snack and the tea for $10 outside the lounge, and I can't get the good ad-free WiFi or the security anywhere outside the lounge at any price, a paper bag with an apple in it doesn't actually deliver...
I hate it, because my expectation of a lounge is, in order of importance: secure place to leave my bag while I pee, quality business-grade WiFi, snack and/or cup of tea. Since I can easily get the snack and the tea for $10 outside the lounge, and I can't get the good ad-free WiFi or the security anywhere outside the lounge at any price, a paper bag with an apple in it doesn't actually deliver value.
Maybe credit card lounges will evolve into tiers, with varying co-pays. Branding will identify the tiers (and therefore the co-pays): JetMiles® Elite Legend® Lounge YQX "A PriorityPass Exalted Titanium Lounge" will charge $30pp, whereas the DenB® BasiComfort lounge NCE "A PriorityPass CommonSense Value® Lounge" will charge no co-pay, unless you want to sit on a chair, or lock the restroom door while inside.
Can't wait.
Honestly, this trend of treating lounges like restaurants/bars is really annoying me. I appreciate good foods and drinks of course, but they are first and foremost meant to be comfortable places to wait for the flight and that purpose is slowly fading away. If only every airport had one lounge that would be a real lounge with just some water, tea and maybe soda...
And it's a vicious circle, because when lounges only make sense...
Honestly, this trend of treating lounges like restaurants/bars is really annoying me. I appreciate good foods and drinks of course, but they are first and foremost meant to be comfortable places to wait for the flight and that purpose is slowly fading away. If only every airport had one lounge that would be a real lounge with just some water, tea and maybe soda...
And it's a vicious circle, because when lounges only make sense for food, you eventually start to primarily get customers who come for that. Which are people who create a lot of cost in F&B and usually also come early (you need few hours to get drunk enough to justify the cost!) causing more crowding. Lounges raise entry fees, people who don't come for F&B stop coming and get replaced by even more people who came to eat the entire buffet and so on...
Exactly! It's the buffet mentality.
We’ve noticed the recent buzz about a lounge in the United States offering grab-and-go bags to members when capacity is reached. We want to clarify the company’s position on this type of practice. Priority Pass is built on delivering consistent, high-quality experiences to our members around the world. Each lounge in our network is carefully selected and contracted to provide a standard of service that our members have come to expect. That standard includes access...
We’ve noticed the recent buzz about a lounge in the United States offering grab-and-go bags to members when capacity is reached. We want to clarify the company’s position on this type of practice. Priority Pass is built on delivering consistent, high-quality experiences to our members around the world. Each lounge in our network is carefully selected and contracted to provide a standard of service that our members have come to expect. That standard includes access to comfortable seating, refreshments, and amenities that define the Priority Pass experience.
While we understand the entrepreneurial spirit behind the idea of providing packaged food in lieu of full lounge access, this is not an approved or sanctioned practice within our network. Allowing ad hoc solutions like this would create inconsistencies, compromise the member experience, and conflict with agreements we maintain with credit card partners. These agreements are carefully structured to balance member access with predictable costs, and creative workarounds undermine that balance.
That said, the report highlights a real and growing challenge: lounge crowding. We are actively exploring multiple strategies to manage high-demand periods. These include enhancing our reservation systems, partnering with lounges to expand capacity, and testing new models for high-traffic airports that preserve the quality of the experience while ensuring that members are never left empty-handed. Any solutions we implement will be fully aligned with our brand standards, our financial agreements, and our commitment to global consistency.
We appreciate the ingenuity of lounge operators who want to serve members creatively, but we must ensure that all initiatives fit within the Priority Pass framework. Members can be assured that any experience they receive in our lounges—whether in New York, Los Angeles, London, or Hong Kong—is carefully designed to meet the high expectations they associate with our brand.
At Priority Pass, innovation is always welcome, but consistency, quality, and member trust are never negotiable.
What kind of AI slop engagement farming is this
@WHS At this point AI slop is pretty indistinguishable from corporate jargon-filled word salads. For what it’s worth, the name checks out on LinkedIn like @jallan pointed out.
The comment makes sense. Is it possible that it was worded by AI? Absolutely. However, once you understand how AI is trained, you'd realise that it could just as easily been worded by someone from the marketing communication department, with a list a business jargon words.
As I said - I think the comment itself is appropriate.
In case anyone is wondering, according to LinkedIn Andrea Giraido is a marketing manager for Priority Pass.
Anyone can enter any name on this site, there is no verification
Ben can check the email. If the comment is legit, I am sure he will update the post with it included.
Then tell the KLM Lounge at IAH to stop this. They already block PP until after 3pm, so apparently this is their pre-3pm offering.
Interesting that you mention Los Angeles considering there isn’t any Priority Pass lounge at LAX
"These include enhancing our reservation systems" = $9 booking fee during non peak as is the case in SJC and SFO (currently available from opening to 5pm, no pre-booking option afterwards). I guess this will soon mean a $15 to $30 peak hour pre-booking option will come soon for evening bookings when demand is higher.
A couple years from now, expect this or the “grab and go” concept to be the norm for many people with “priority pass” or similar credit card benefit status. I wouldn’t put it past banks and lounge networks to make “grab and go” a defined lower tier of “membership” for less-lucrative credit card holders, and then reserve the actual “sit in a lounge” experience for the higher revenue customers and cardholders. It was never going...
A couple years from now, expect this or the “grab and go” concept to be the norm for many people with “priority pass” or similar credit card benefit status. I wouldn’t put it past banks and lounge networks to make “grab and go” a defined lower tier of “membership” for less-lucrative credit card holders, and then reserve the actual “sit in a lounge” experience for the higher revenue customers and cardholders. It was never going to be sustainable to offer tens of millions of people lounge access, and this would be a form of enshittification that is to be expected.
Gift bag needs a couple of gin minis or gtfo!
The ones that will likely be truly unhappy about this are the airport operators. They know that every lounge guest is removed from their retail and F&B options, and so calibrate the rents they make lounges pay on their capacity.
If lounges start "hosting" more and more passengers with a scheme like this, then the airport loses out on more F&B revenue (or their share of it via agreements with concessions) than they had calculated based on lounge capacity.
The airports charge rent for the lounge space so it’s likely they have factored this in already
Unless it’s a standalone membership, Priority Pass doesn’t care as they just pass on the charges to the banks.
The banks will decide whether to exclude this type of lounge just like they did for restaurants.
If you have "experience" (e.g. restaurant) access with Priority Pass, the Gameway Lounges at LAX do this as well. You don't have to sit there looking at other peoples' high scores - they can just give you a snack and water and you go on your way.
I used to have an affinity for Chex Mix and overpriced water that I don't pay for, so I confess I've done this repeatedly in terminals 3 and...
If you have "experience" (e.g. restaurant) access with Priority Pass, the Gameway Lounges at LAX do this as well. You don't have to sit there looking at other peoples' high scores - they can just give you a snack and water and you go on your way.
I used to have an affinity for Chex Mix and overpriced water that I don't pay for, so I confess I've done this repeatedly in terminals 3 and 6.
Sadly, US Bank only limits it for 8/year, so I now save my visits for Mustards in the SFO G gates.
"I can’t imagine Priority Pass would be happy about this"
As long as the card originates with a bank, Priority Pass benefits, the more swipes the more revenue for both Priority Pass and for the lounge.
Priority Pass wants swipes, which is why they added restaurants and spas and other activities (but that drove up costs for banks, which is why many restricted non-lounge visits from eligibility).
At this point, finding a quiet gate in the terminal is preferable to visiting the vast majority of airport lounges.
Yes exactly! Kills me seeing all these dolts lined up to get in lounges.
AF lounge at SFO does this
Haven't been in a while, but a bag of snacks is better than what they used to serve