Travelers paying for an all-access pass to airport lounges around the world are furious after being turned away at the door, calling it a 'waste of money'
- Priority Pass is a program that allows members to access a worldwide network of independently-operated airport lounges.
- But some members have taken to Twitter to complain that the service is unreliable.
- People have described getting blocked from lounges due to occupancy issues and arbitrary access times.
Priority Pass certainly isn't getting a pass from some of its members.
Travelers have taken to Twitter to complain about capacity issues, arbitrary hours, and poor service at some of the company's membership-only airport lounges.
Priority Pass provides its members with access to a global network of independently-operated airport lounges. Depending on their membership tier, members can access certain perks within the lounges, like free food and drinks.
According to their website, a standard Priority Pass membership costs an annual fee of $99; a standard plus has an annual free of $249; and a prestige membership goes for $399 annually.
Credit card companies also use Priority Pass membership as a perk to entice customers to purchase certain credit cards, like The Platinum Card from American Express ($550 a year) and Chase's Sapphire Reserve Card ($450 a year).
But a number of members have recently tweeted about getting blocked from lounges altogether at certain airports, due to occupancy issues.
A Priority Pass spokesperson responded to one such tweet with an assurance that the company was "working hard to add as many new lounges/lounge alternatives as possible to help with this issue."
Other members tweeted at Priority Pass to report inconvenient or seemingly arbitrary access times at various lounges.
In response to a tweet about a specific lounge's operating hours, a Priority Pass spokesperson explained that lounge access times were determined by the network's independent lounge operators.
The spokesperson added that, "We're aware that some operators have limited operating hours and I'd like to assure you... we continue to work closely with all our lounge partners to look at ways to increase access for our members."
Still other Priority Pass members have described getting booted or barred from lounges:
In a tweet, a Priority Pass spokesperson noted that lounges will "deny access sometimes due to incoming pre-booked flights they have agreements with, but they will usually place you on a wait-list or tell you when access will be available."
Other members posted complaints about poor service within the lounges:
Not everyone shared negative feedback, however. A number of Twitter users praised the program and spoke of positive experiences with Priority Pass.
Priority Pass did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
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