I tend to frequent quite a few travel groups on Facebook, and someone had asked about the # of times a Priority Pass could be used on a single trip. To those who do not know, having a Priority Pass gives you access to many airport lounges around the world. You could get your Priority Pass by having a high-end credit card. In my case, I got my Priority Pass from having a Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Business Platinum. Amex Centurion and Platinum members also get access to Centurion lounges around the world. More importantly, the list of airport lounges is ever-changing so it’s always good to check which airport lounge is available for your use the next time you fly.
My wife and I went to Peru back in April/May timeframe. This visit had allowed us to visit quite a few airport lounges. We had a rigorous flight schedule on our way back from Lima to Los Angeles. We had a long scheduled layover in Mexico City in the middle of the night. I would normally opt to get out of the airport and explore for a bit, however, we decided to just stay inside the airport. We’ve had enough adventures during our visit to Peru. Here’s what I wrote that summarized our trip to Peru, including our unforgettable visit to Machu Picchu and all the many ruins in this beautiful country.
Just us and Machu Picchu – what an amazing experience
Our flight itinerary from Peru to California
Back to our flight back from Lima to Los Angeles, our itinerary with Aeromexico looked like this:
- Lima to Mexico City (nine-hour layover in the middle of the night)
- Mexico City to Los Angeles (early morning flight)
We knew that we had a rigorous itinerary before we made it back home so we had to find a way either kill time by exploring or resting during our nine-hour layover. We opted to take advantage of using the airport lounges.
Priority Pass Airport Lounges in Lima, Peru
The thing with having a Priority Pass? It has given me an incentive in getting to the airport early. We’d get there before our flight, we get to relax, eat, take care of some last-minute business, and then make our way to our gate. For this flight from Lima to Mexico City, we arrived at LIM 2-3 hours before our flight. I’m a travel enthusiast, and so I checked which airport lounges were available to me. I went to my Priority Pass app and found three lounges which were all in the same terminal.
Bingo! I made it a point to give all of them a try. I had time to kill, so why not? For the inquiring minds, all visits to the airport lounges required that we show our boarding passes for our flight, along with proof of our Priority Pass membership and/or we had to present our American Express Platinum card at the Centurion lounge.
1. Sumaq VIP Club (now called Hanaq VIP Airport Lounge)
There were three options for us to use in Lima and they all happened to be in the same terminal. We visited Sumaq VIP Lounge (now called Hanaq). The lounge was quite spacious, with plenty of seat recliners. There was a bar, and an array of food selection. There was also a business center, and an outdoor seating area. I did see shower rooms available for use, and if I remember correctly, there was another room with a handful of recliners where people were able to sleep.
2. La Bonbonniere Restaurant
La Bonbonniere is a restaurant and not a lounge, but it was an option for me to use with my Priority Pass. I’m having to think back as to what I ordered, and I just couldn’t remember anymore other than the fact that the food was good. It’s great to have options to use a restaurant and have a real meal versus your typical snacks from airport lounges.
3. Bleriot Bar & Lounge
Directly across from La Bonbonniere was Bleriot Bar & Lounge. How convenient was that? It was just a few steps away from the restaurant. So if you want to grab a quick beverage before your flight, watch a game or whatever is playing on the TV, Bleriot is another great option in Lima. There were barstools and a little sitting area off to the side.
Pisco sour while in Peru
Bleriot Bar and Lounge was conveniently located across from La Bonboniere
Amex Centurion Club & Priority Pass Airport Lounges in Mexico City
4. American Express Centurion Club (Mexico City)
We arrived in Mexico City around 10pm and decided to kill time at the Centurion Club which was open until midnight. We actually got to try this lounge on our way from LA to Lima just a week prior and we took advantage of their free half-hour massage. My wife also got her manicure and pedicure during this trip. She paid just a little extra for the pedicure. This was her advise. Bring your own nail polish. The ones that they used on her was of mediocre standard, and it took forever to dry. Other than that, this lounge was not the typical Centurion lounge I was accustomed to. There was a menu and you had to pay for the menu items. Instead of doing that, we were given other sliders/sandwiches, and other little snacks at no charge. Drinks were also included.
Amex Centurion Mexico City
Outside The Centurion
The salon where my wife got her nails done
The free sandwich/sliders
5 & 6. Salon Premiere Aeromexico (2 separate visits)
Our flight back to LA was not scheduled to depart until 7am. After leaving the Centurion lounge around midnight, we still had 7 hours to kill, and we didn’t want to go out and explore the city in the middle of the night. The good news? Salon Premiere Aeromexico Lounge was still open. It was not that far from the Centurion lounge. The not so good news? It closed at 2:00am. We checked in, found a little corner to sleep. No one really kicked us out, but we got up around 2am and went to the chairs near the gate. We set our alarms. By 5am, we went back to Salon Premiere and checked in again using our Priority Pass and we also showed our MEX-LAX boarding passes.
Being able to access all of these airport lounges made our nine-hour layover livable. Therefore, we woke up refreshed as we began making our way back to Los Angeles. It was good to have these options available to us. It also worked out that we had our Priority Pass memberships and American Express Platinum cards which expanded our options.
Aeromexico Business Class flight from Lima to Los Angeles (via Mexico City)
The whole experience wasn’t exactly meant as a challenge to visit as many airport lounges as possible because the opportunity presented itself. The three locations I visited in Lima all happened to be in the same terminal. The restaurant and bar were right in front of each other. It just made it easier for us to get to these locations without feeling rushed or stressed to get to our gate before my flight. The Centurion Club in Mexico and Salon Premiere Aeromexico airport lounge (which we accessed two separate times during the evening and early morning) were also located within the same international terminal. We had a nine-hour layover, and what better way to use that time in the comforts of an airport lounge.
How about you? What’s the most number of visits you’ve done using your Priority Pass or Centurion visits during a single trip? Interested in hearing about your experience.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
The current trip I am on (PHX-LAX-PEK-GMP and return) is actually my record. Will do 7 and maybe 8, not trying to one-up you, just worked out that way. 🙂 All with Priority Pass from CSR.
LAX: AS Board Room. Early morning and empty.
PEK: BGS Lounge. Was OK, but no showers. See second admission.
-Air China First Class Lounge. Large and quiet, with pretty good hot food options. Showers are very small and unventilated. Bar selection is minimal but liquors have a bartender. Definitely a good place to relax and work, but beware of the Great Firewall of China.
-BGS Lounge. Flight was cancelled and had to stay overnight. Guested 2 other PAX into BGS and spent the night drinking, eating and talking. Passable lounge but not great.
GMP: Sky Hub lounge. Small but has a surprisingly decent food selection. Alcohol is even slimmer than CAs 1st Class, but lots ofo juices and non-alcoholic options.
PEK: Air China First Class again
LAX: Will maybe stop into KAL for shower. Going to try out Campanile which was just added this week. Will shoot for the Boardroom again, but pretty sure it’ll be closed to PP in the afternoon.
@Vet&Banker – I totally missed this reply. Wow! That’s pretty cool. I look forward to using my Priority Pass, and am very glad to use it whenever possible. Cheers to more future usage! Happy Holidays!