Physical Amex cards now get you into Priority Pass lounges

Most TFM readers who have a Priority Pass membership almost certainly have it as a benefit that one or more of their credit cards gives them, but up until now, it hasn’t been possible to use that card to access any Priority Pass lounges. A Priority Pass membership card (physical or digital) has been required.

Not any more.

Priority Pass is sending out emails to travelers whose membership comes courtesy of an American Express card telling them that Priority Pass is now fully digital and that the Priority Pass+ app is now the “main way to access lounges”.

Physical cards are a thing of the past, and once a member’s current card expires, the digital card found within the app will take its place.

That’s not really news as digital Priority Pass membership cards have been around for a while, but what is news is another line from within the update email:

“For added flexibility while you travel, your physical American Express® Card can also be used to access most Priority Pass lounges.”

Apparently no one has told Amex about this because the terms and conditions of the membership I hold through the Platinum Card® from American Express still say this:

“To receive access to Priority Pass™ lounges, Card Members must present their Priority Pass™ Physical or Digital Membership Card and same–day boarding pass.”

On the face of things, this isn’t really a big deal. Most travelers have smartphones and so don’t need (or want) to carry any kind of physical card in their wallet. But for some people this could be helpful because things don’t always go smoothly with Priority Pass membership cards.

I, for example, have had quite a few issues with the Priority Pass membership I hold through one of my Chase cards and while I now have a workaround for those issues, it would have saved a lot of time, phone calls, and effort had a physical Chase card been enough to access the lounges.

Sure, I don’t know if anyone has had similar problems with memberships issued via an Amex card, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they have and now, their Amex card gives them a backup option for the next time things go wrong.

Keep in mind that the wording in the Priority Pass email is careful to say that a physical Amex card is now good enough to grant access to a lounge, so it doesn’t look like a card stored in a digital wallet will do the job, but as a lot of us still carry a few physical credit cards with them when they travel, that’s probably not going to annoy too many people.

What we still don’t know, and what Priority Pass hasn’t made clear, is whether this feature is coming to other card issuers and which lounges will continue to want to see a Priority Pass membership card before they grant access (the update email says “most” lounges will accept a physical Amex card).

Nevertheless, this is good news. Yes, for most people it probably won’t make a difference, but given the issues I’ve had in the past, I’m happy to now have a way to access Priority Pass lounges that doesn’t involve a Priority Pass membership card.

Let’s now hope this gets rolled out to Chase, Capital One, Citi, and any other card issuer that uses Priority Pass Select membership as a card benefit.