Airport Lounge Annual Pass

[tommyboy]

I fly weekly from Stansted early on a Monday morning and Glasgow on a Friday afternoon. I usually have an 90 minute wait at Stansted (train dictates this time) and 2 hours at Glasgow (easyJet delays dictate this time!).
I usually end up buying a coffee and eating some food which I have brought with me. Another 2 hour delay at Glasgow yesterday had me googling airport lounges. There seem to be 2 main annual passes in operation DragonPass Prestige at £268 and Priority Pass Prestige at £305, does anyone have any experience of either?
I checked out the lounge at Glasgow and it was clean, quiet and well stocked. I will check Stansted on Monday.
The advantage for me is for the price of little more than a twice weekly Starbucks I can get a coffee, comfy seat, power point, WiFi, some food and relative peace and quiet. This is probably more important at Stansted which is awful on Monday morning in departures, crowded, noisy and just unpleasant.
Thanks for reading,
Tom

[spareparts]

Priority Pass is worth it imho if you are a frequent traveller to places where either a OneWorld or StarAlliance premium membership does not get you access to local facilities. I use my PP regularly. However, they recently changed their membership policy to be multi-tiered, and unless you are their top membership, you still have to occasionally pay to use a lounge. There are several ways to get discounted membership through points or credit card schemes, so it is worth checking those options out too.

[Mr Curta]

I wouldn't be without a PP which I think is more commonly accepted in lounges across the globe, but if the DragonPass gets you into the ones you need then it might be better VFM.

[farquare]

We have lounge key membership as a credit card perk.

It's a game changer if you travel frequently for all the reasons you mention.

We've used it everywhere and had no issues or complaints.

Would I pay for it - probably.

Currently in dbx taking on a few refreshments.

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[Motman]

I got two free passes with an Amex card and then it was £15 a go after that. Stansted was ok I suppose but you can have as much booze as you like which is fine if you don’t have to drive at the other end! The best one I went in though was Malta.

[GOAT]

We bought via groupon, a card/ membership that allowed us to pay a reduced fee each visit (£15 iirc) that gave free unlimited food/breakfast/drinks inc champagne etc
Nice start for a holiday- I think we used it 8-10 times in a year
I’d definitly be signing up if I had to fly every week...

[Tony]

I travel a lot and wouldn't be without a lounge pass. I transforms the experience of travel. If you drink it's especially good value.

I've had Priority Passes for years but have just upgraded my credit card to include unlimited Lounge Key entries.

Whether they're good value for you depends how much you use it and how much value you put on it. (I'll make about 30 lounge visits this year.)

[GraniteQuarry]

PP here as part of credit card (Mrs gets too as second cardholder).

The value of being away from the airport rabble is worth it alone, plus no paying airport prices for food and drink.

[MB2]

If you travel enough to spend 305 on priority pass then consider Amex Platinum at 450. It gives you pp plus travel insurance and hotel status at Hilton, Radisson Blu and a few others also you can add a secondary card holder free of charge and they get PP too.

[farquare]

If you travel enough to spend 305 on priority pass then consider Amex Platinum at 450. It gives you pp plus travel insurance and hotel status at Hilton, Radisson Blu and a few others also you can add a secondary card holder free of charge and they get PP too.

Maybe hire car indemnity too?

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[blackal]

If you travel enough to spend 305 on priority pass then consider Amex Platinum at 450. It gives you pp plus travel insurance and hotel status at Hilton, Radisson Blu and a few others also you can add a secondary card holder free of charge and they get PP too.

If it is a good, comprehensive travel insurance, then that could seriously-reduce the ‘lounge-pass element’. Could be good value, especially for a couple.

[davestrong]

We have a joint premier account with the Coop. One perk, from a range of choices, is 4 Dragon passes a year.

We use them at Stansted on regular trips to visit family. Now think it is the only way to travel! “Free” cooked breakfast, drink as much as you like, comfy seating, time and space to relax in an otherwise frenetic departure lounge: a real treat.

[DragonJade]

I have Priority Pass with a credit card. The annal fees for the card cost around £70, which is way less than if I went and paid for PP myself. Until recently, I flew quite a bit - anywhere between 2-5 times a year internationally and considered it well worth the money. Some lounges are better than others. I've found the ones with PP access in Qatar, Turkey and Japan a bit poor, while HK to be great. I would rank Birmingham lounges as better quality than Tokyo, although Birmingham doesn't have an automatic beer dispenser.

[Omegamanic]

Which credit cards provide PP at the best prices?

[tommyboy]

Which credit cards provide PP at the best prices?

Thanks for all the contributions. I would also be interested in answers to the above question.
Tom

[Stringer]

I used (well, abused would be more apt, especially on football away trips) Priority Pass quite a bit.

On a Groupon deal it was a good buy, especially for trips where I had a long wait between connections.

As stated, some lounges are excellent, and some less so. Usually works out much more economic though if you have a long wait. Some lounges have quiet rooms, massage rooms, showers etc.

The one issue with Priority Pass is that even as a cardholder, you’re not guaranteed entry at busy times - on a few occasions I’ve found myself on a waiting list for ‘one in, one out’.

[draftsmann]

The one issue with Priority Pass is that even as a cardholder, you’re not guaranteed entry at busy times - on a few occasions I’ve found myself on a waiting list for ‘one in, one out’.

That’s also my only complaint with PP, which I’ve encountered particularly at Speke and Stansted. I know it’s a 21st century problem but it does irritate me that Frank and Mavis en route to their annual week in Benidorm can pre-book a lounge slot while frequent travellers (without whom I doubt the lounges would be financially viable) can’t do likewise using their PP membership.

[optix]

The one issue with Priority Pass is that even as a cardholder, you’re not guaranteed entry at busy times - on a few occasions I’ve found myself on a waiting list for ‘one in, one out’.

This is one of the main reason airline/alliance lounges are so much better then the paid lounges, even in the event that you're travelling from an airport your alliance doesn't have a lounge you'll be guaranteed access to the contracted ones



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[100thmonkey]

I have Priority Pass, always useful at airports but do find it makes me indulge in food and drink I probably never would have, the massages are always nice though

[justin44]

Thanks for all the contributions. I would also be interested in answers to the above question.
Tom

I think the cards that give PP free only give a set number of visits each year.

[justin44]

That’s also my only complaint with PP, which I’ve encountered particularly at Speke and Stansted. I know it’s a 21st century problem but it does irritate me that Frank and Mavis en route to their annual week in Benidorm can pre-book a lounge slot while frequent travellers (without whom I doubt the lounges would be financially viable) can’t do likewise using their PP membership.

I used the lounge at Stansted at least once a week for 3 years, I found that when they were silly busy you could normally get a seat by just saying that you'd sit anywhere and if a person was happy to share a table so were you. Sometimes they would sit you at a table that was booked in half an hour then move you.

For me it was always breakfast and at Stansted it was sausage, bacon the works all in a bap, good coffee, wifi, a seat, a little peace and quiet and they could tell you your gate 3 hours before (but sometimes it changed).

Gatwick was the worst, it was always full and the staff were really snotty.

They don't make their money on the frequent flyers they make their money on Frank and Mavis who pay full price direct to them. after a year with PP that cost me £270 i had a report that showed I had used the lounge over 100 times I a 12 month period.

[MB2]

I think the cards that give PP free only give a set number of visits each year.

Amex Platinum Charge Card provides unlimited PP visits and doesn't charge for guest visits either - if you then issue a 2nd card (free) that is 2 cardholders and 2 guests (un-named) who have access so useful if 2 frequent travelers.

Agree they make their money out of the paying visitors and having been to a fair few lounges whilst they are a welcome refuge I do wince when I see people paying 25 for a visit especially at some of the less comfortable ones !

[33JS]

RBS Black gives free DragonPass, Green Flag, travel insurance, emergency boiler care, concierge services. Worth the money if you use them frequently!