People who often have to fly are familiar with the tedious waiting procedure for a flight in the waiting room. Crowded rooms and large lines of eateries will not suit everyone. Priority Pass will help make your wait more comfortable. What is it and what advantages does its owner have, you will learn from this article.
Acquaintance
Cardholders can change their lives for the better. Priority Pass is an international access program to one of the 600 VIP airport lounges worldwide. Regardless of the airline and the class to be flown, a pass to the lounge area (superior lounge) is a card and a ticket for the flight of the current day. Cardholders are guaranteed peace and quiet in a separate waiting room, as well as low prices, subject to the purchase of an annual subscription. Separately, a range of business class lounges is provided in more than 300 cities around the world.
Cardholder Features
The Priority Pass card holder can invite friends to the waiting room for increased comfort to have a snack, drink, take a shower before the flight. But in some VIP-halls there are restrictions on the number of invited guests, as well as their age (not all children are allowed). The fee (if any) for the use of telephone, Internet, Wi-Fi, fax is paid directly to the staff of the VIP room. The list of free available services includes TV, fresh newspapers and magazines, the ability to charge popular models of phones, smartphones and tablets.
Registration of visits is carried out in one of two ways: through the electronic terminal, which is installed at the entrance to the hall, or the “Card for visiting” is issued to the cardholder. In the second case, the cardholder must verify the correctness of the data indicated in the coupon regarding him and all the people accompanying him.
The administration of VIP lounges can limit the maximum stay (usually no more than 4 hours) in order to avoid overcrowding. To increase the time spent in a comfortable lounge, you will have to pay twice for visiting the hall. The fee for visiting VIP-halls is charged for each visit per person, based on the conditions of participation in the program. The program provides access to meeting rooms.
Access to the hall is available to persons with an air ticket of the same day, provided that it was purchased without a discount. Outside the United States, you must also provide a boarding pass for the current flight at the entrance to the lounge. In some European countries, access to VIP lounges is open only to tourists traveling in the Schengen countries.
How to become a member of the program
Great opportunities open to participants in the Priority Pass program. How to get access to it? This card is not a means of payment, valid until the date indicated on the front side, and if the owner has a signature on the back. Priority Pass card is an application to Gold, Platinum, Infinity, Selective cards. Sometimes it is issued along with classic credit cards. But each bank has its own rules.
Only members of the Sberbank-Premier program, that is, customers who have issued a Platinum American Express card, can receive a card at Sberbank. The cost of annual maintenance is 15 thousand rubles. Subject to a pre-order, you will have to pay 10,000 rubles for the annual Priority Pass service. Banks Uralsib and Vanguard issue a card for free. The first service charge for 365 days is 6000 rubles, and the second - 3000-5000 rubles, depending on the type of the main payment cata (GOLD or PLATINUM). In some cases, Avangard Bank employees may offer to issue a Priority Pass for free if the Mastercard Standart turnover is large enough. Raiffeisenbank issues a card when connecting the Premium package and charges 3,000 rubles a month.
How much is it
The Priority Pass card in Russia is also issued by Rosbank, Absolut, Unicredit Bank, and the FSB. In Ukraine, a card can be issued at Privatbank, OTP, VTB, VAB, Russian Standard, and more recently, Delta Bank joined the program. Before issuing a card at any bank, you need to specify a service charge. Practice shows that banks more often draw up customers the first category of Priority Pass cards . What is this There are three main categories of tariffs:
- 100 euros annual fee, each visit to the owner or his guest is paid at 24 euros at a time.
- 250 euros - 10 visits included, each subsequent 24 euros per visit per person.
- 400 euros per year - unlimited visits to the cardholder and 24 euros for a single visit to a guest.
But if you spend time and draw up a card in the "right" bank, you can find the rates at which the issue of the card and all visits will be free. This is the best option for a large family.
Alternative way
The second way to get a card is via the Internet, on the Priority Pass website. But, in addition to registering on the site, paying a membership fee and shipping costs, you will also have to attach a new card to a regular bank card, from which funds will be debited. This entire procedure takes approximately 30 days. The amount of the membership fee depends on the tariff:
$ 399 per year - no limit.
$ 249 per year - $ 27 for all visits starting from the eleventh.
$ 99 per year - $ 27 for all visits to the owner and his guests.
Scope of application
When issuing a card, a bank employee must provide a directory with a list of airports around the world where this program operates. The presence of the directory can significantly reduce the time it takes to find the right airport with a VIP lounge. But even if there is no handbook at hand, the list of airports can be found in two ways. The first - on the official website of the service, in the "Find you lounger" plate in the left column, you need to enter the country, city and airport. The second - through the application for gadgets with the operating system iOS, Android, and more recently also BlackBerry.
Interestingly, anyone can install the application. At many airports, it is possible to enter the lounge area at a rate of $ 10-20, on the basis of the "usage fee" of the application. At the first start, the program does not require entering any membership data. And you can use the application without an active Internet connection. Within the application, you can save your favorite bookmarks and view the search history.
On practice
The advantages of the card are obvious - the ability to relax between flights in the lounge in an increased level of comfort. But there are some nuances of participating in the Priority Pass program. User reviews on the forums confirm this. Firstly, each VIP-hall has its own rules: in some, the number of admissions to lounge areas is limited, in others, you have to pay separately for guests. You can issue two cards in different banks in your name, then the guest will be missed for free. The second option is to draw up a card at Raiffeisenbank. When connecting to the package "Premium" guests in the lounge areas can be held free of charge.
Secondly, in Russia, card capabilities can only be used at Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Pulkovo airports. In Ukraine - Kharkov airport, Borispol and Zhuliany. Much more opportunities open at international airports. Forum participants actively share useful information. At the airports of Dubai, Barcelona and Hong Kong in the lounge areas free of charge food, hot showers, drinks, Internet access. The Nairobi Airport’s VIP lounge has air conditioning, unlike the airport itself. An ideal use of the card is when traveling with children. In such cases, free places in the rooms with food and drinks are guaranteed.
Summary
If a tourist travels more than 3 times a year, and besides, with a family with two children, then drawing up a card will significantly save the budget and allow you to comfortably pass the time between flights.