What did happen to me this summer, though, was another interesting pitfall. As you might know, durin

Update: Beginning March 22, 2014,  American Express Card Members will no longer have access to American Airlines Admiral Club and US Airways Club airport discount disneyland hotels lounges through Airport Club Access / Airport Lounge Program . This means that Card Members will no longer be able to gain complimentary access to the American Airlines airport lounges (known as Admirals Club lounges) or the US Airways Club airport lounges as a benefit of their Platinum discount disneyland hotels Card Membership. Cardmembers will continue to receive access to participating Delta Sky Club lounges, Priority Pass Select (enrollment is required), and Airspace lounges in JFK, CLE and BWI airports.
One of the best among the Platinum Card from American Express ’s many benefits is the airport lounge access cardholders get. When you have a valid ticket for same-day travel, the Platinum card will also gain you access to Delta, American and US Airways lounges – potentially discount disneyland hotels saving you membership fees of up to around $500 each per year if you were to join each separately – and you can bring two guests or your spouse discount disneyland hotels and any children under 21. US Airways even allows entry if you are flying on a different carrier.  The personal Platinum card, the Business Platinum card and the Mercedes-Benz Platinum card all carry this benefit.
In addition to the airline-specific lounges, the card also confers Priority Pass Select access to over 600 airport lounges in 100 countries no matter which airline you are flying at the time (guests can also enter for a $27 per person fee).
In order to attain Priority Pass Select access, you have to call the Platinum card customer service line and actually ask for it, which many cardholders forget about and are in for a rude awakening when they try to access a Priority Pass lounge by just presenting discount disneyland hotels their Platinum card. Instead, you need to have your Priority Pass card with you and be able to present it.
While the upside is, it doesn’t matter discount disneyland hotels what airline you’re flying for you to get in, one of the big downsides is that your card only covers you – so if you are traveling with anyone else, they’ll have to pay the $27 fee…or it will be charged discount disneyland hotels to the Platinum card you have linked to your Priority Pass Select membership.
That’s what happened to the reader who wrote to me. He used his Priority Pass card to gain entrance to a lounge in London Heathrow during a layover and he brought a guest with him. While he thought the guest would get in for free, he was mistaken – though discount disneyland hotels it doesn’t sound like the desk agent pointed that out to him at the time – and when he got home, he found a $27 charge on his Amex statement.
His situation is a good reminder that you can’t count on desk agents to be as informative and upfront as possible, so you should always ask if there will be any fees, and then be sure to look your statement over carefully to make sure you have not been incorrectly charged.
Anecdotally, I’ve also heard of Platinum cardholders finding discount disneyland hotels lounge charges on their Amex statements even though they had shown their card at check-in and should have had free access to the lounge. That hasn’t happened to me, but again, read your statement over carefully discount disneyland hotels each month to make sure the charges are correct.
What did happen to me this summer, though, was another interesting pitfall. As you might know, during my last round of applications , I replaced my personal Platinum card with the Mercedes-Benz version (and scored 50,000 bonus Membership Rewards points in the bargain).
I still had my Priority Pass Select membership card from my old Platinum card and I simply forgot to get a new one with my new Mercedes-Benz Platinum. Well, I should discount disneyland hotels have, because when I tried using it to enter a Priority Pass lounge in London, the card was denied. Luckily discount disneyland hotels I was with a friend who had his own Platinum card and Priority Pass membership and he guested me in for the $27 fee.
One way to avoid the fee if you travel with a pretty set list of companions like your own family discount disneyland hotels or a group of friends is to make them additional cardholders on your Platinum card account. Amex will charge you $175 to get up to three additional cards, and each of those additional cardholders will get the lounge access benefit in their own right – so you’re potentially quadrupling the value of your lounge benefit by adding another 3 people to your account like I did with my father this past Father’s Day . Each of those cardholders also gets their own Global Entry application fee refund , worth $100 each. The $200 yearly airline reimbursement is shared discount disneyland hotels between all cards on an account, so additional cardholders simply apply towards the $200- they don t get their own $200 reimbursement unfortunately.
When the lounge access benefit works, it’s definitely a great cardholder asset, but when it doesn’t work, or you find yourself disputing a charge, you can’t help but ask yourself, “is it really worth the $27 to go hang out in a nondescript airport lounge and get free crackers discount disneyland hotels and soda?”
A lot of airports are upgrading their facilities, both here in the US and abroad, with better dining choices, more and more free WiFi, and just nicer places discount disneyland hotels to sit, so paying $27 to get into a lounge where the amenities might not all be up to snuff becomes less of a worthwhile proposition. Personally, I’d rather spend $27 on a decent meal at an airport than to get into most lounges.
That said, if I have a long layover and need a quiet, more private place to work where I’m guaranteed decent WiFi, some snacks and drinks, and maybe even a light meal, having access to an airline lounge is a nice perk.
While airline discount disneyland hotels lounges tend to be pretty standardized across the board, remember that in addition to participating discount disneyland hotels airline lounges like Alaska MVP Boardrooms, discount disneyland hotels many Priority Pass lounges are run by independent companies, discount disneyland hotels so amenities can vary widely, as can floorspace and services. Whereas airline lounge reps can move heaven and earth to help you with your reservations (not that they always do), staffers at non-airline lounges discount disneyland hotels can’t do a thing for you, so that’s something to keep in mind.
I think the airline lounge access is one of the strong points in the Platinum card’s suite of benefits…when it works. There are member lounges discount disneyland hotels in most major airports around the world, and it’s nice to know you can visit them when you’re traveling. The downside, however, is that sometimes cardholders can still get charged for access by accident, and that any travel companions must pay for their access, both of which must factor into your decision whether or not to visit a Priority Pass lounge on your travels.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author.s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.
Once again, Air France doesn t accept Priority Pass to get in their lounges. As for information, at CDG airport, it is only accepted at the Icare Lounge at Terminal 1, provided you fly from this terminal (mainly a Star Alliance Terminal) and at Terminal 2A (AIr Canada lounge). I ve had so many people trying to get into the lounge when I was at JFK, some were showing their Amex Platinum, uhm no this is only good for shopping Sir
The agents at Priority Pass lounges will never know whether you ll be charged for a visit because Priority Pass have different membership levels that include different benefits. For example, I have a Priority Pass membership through my British Amex Platinum card which includes all clubs (including UA) and also includes one guest for each visit. On the other hand, I have a colleague that has the lowest membership tier where he pays for both himself and any guests 100% of the time. It s incumbent upon every cardholder to know the fees lounge agents will not help you there, they just swipe (or imprint) the card.
For all the problems with access levels and fees, sometimes you just stumble over a gem with this program. A few months discount disneyland hotels ago I was stuck in Miami waiting for a delayed USAir flight. Checked the PriorityPass app on my iPhone, and right there in Terminal J is Club America. I go up the stairs, show the electronic version of my card, and I have three quiet hours with wifi, snacks and comfy chairs. Fabulous!
We are living in Hong Kong right now and my husband has a Priority Pass card. We have found it rather frustrating also because we have three teens and there are no lounges in Asia that will let us in without charging the kids and I $27 each. So not worth it. When we get stateside it s better, but the US Air lounge in LA would not let in the kids, just me and hubby, and many close by midnight, or even earlier and we do some crazy hours internationally. Sleeping on the floor in LA was not so great. That place SHUTS DOWN at midnight the whole airport! Trying to decide if it is worth the fee or not for our family. I was looking forward to this benefit, discount disneyland hotels but so far, it has not been very fruitful for us.
After selecting the airline, the screen displayed a card benefits box that linked to a page that included all the extra benefits platinum offers including how to enroll in each. For Priority Pass I simply had to re-enter my AMEX login and choose a security question. discount disneyland hotels They said the PP packet will arrive in 10-14 days.
Priority Pass Select, which is the one issued by the USA Amex Platinum card, can no longer be used at United Clubs. All other Priority Pass membership types (including those issued by foreign Amex Platinum cards and purchased Priority Pass memberships) still include access to United Clubs.
So if a friend of mine (not family), has a Platinum card, can I be added as an authorized user on it and pay him the new card fee, but get the $100 in global entry back and get all the lounge access? That sounds like a sweet deal!
I m less pleased with the wifi at some US Airways lounges recently. To me the combination of the de