The trend of reducing Priority Pass lounge benefits has been hitting travelers hard this year. First, we saw Amex drop restaurant and bar locations from their Priority Pass access. Then earlier this week Doctor of Credit broke the news that The Club Lounges are going to add a rule that limits entry to 3 hours prior to departure. This change is due to take effect on September 1, 2019. As I read the updated conditions on The Club Lounges, I came across a potentially new term that may be even worse for families.
What are the Changes?
The Club Lounges have allowed the cardholder plus two guests entry into lounges. Children under 12 years of age have been admitted for free. However, the new rule that caught my eye reads, “Children under 2 years are admitted free”. From the sounds of it, effective September 1, children over two will now count towards a cardholder’s two free guests. These new terms are displayed on the conditions at all 14 US lounges in The Club network and can be seen below.
What Does This Mean?
Couples and travelers without children may be happy that this limits the number of kids in lounges and I understand that viewpoint. However if you have two or more kids this is a game changer. We have a four-year-old and a four-month-old, so under the old conditions we had a while to go. The updated terms mean that once our baby turns two, we will need to ensure that my wife and I both have Priority Passes or we will have to pay the $40 per person daily rate for the fourth member of our family to enter. The Club JAX was recently added at our home airport in Jacksonville and these new conditions are a bummer to me. This is another significant blow to the value of the Priority Pass for families of four or more who have The Club Lounges at their home airport. I wonder if there are more lounge devaluations in the pipeline.
What are your thoughts on these changes? Leave a comment and let us know!
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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 
Does the Priority pass membership with Citi and Chase still get access to the non-lounge restaurants?
At this point it’s only Amex that removed the benefit. Cit and Chase cards still work for non-lounge restaurants and hopefully it stays that way!
I would say that each parent should get their own Priority Pass card. It sucks that it affects you like this, but remember people posting on the internet how they brought 19 and 38 people into a lounge. So because of a few bad apples things get worse for others which is why you can’t have good things.
At least AMEX Ascend and Hilton Business has a $95 option to enter the lounge 10 times a year so you can get your own while the spouse has his/hers.
I think you are right that it was ruined by overcrowding and people taking advantage of the system. We have been considering the Amex Surpass (what used to be the Ascend) and the 10x per year access to Priority Pass (for when the four of us travel together) will probably be enough each year.
the language you c/p above includes reference to 12 in one place and 2 in another
I read it as being 12 now and changing to 2 effective 9/1
oh you’re right. I missed that. Thanks. I HATE fine print.
A good move to reduce crowding. Plus less kids running around and screaming without adequate supervision.
Total over crowding with screaming kids and obese American adults wolfing down half the food. It ruined it for many folks
So they are changing the rules effective September 1 to only allow children under 2 in for free. The current rule is more lenient and allows children 12 and under in for free. This is a hit for families of 4 or more, but may make the lounges quieter for travelers without kids.
Sounds like they’re taking a page from AmEx’s book. I was at the Centurion Lounge PHL earlier this year where there was absolutely nowhere to sit except a “bench” (don’t think it was supposed to be that) in the hallway leading from the check-in counter.
Heard a husband and wife with a baby and toddler get denied because one of the kids was over 2 and only the husband had a card, and the new rules state that children over 2 count as a guest. The husband was surprised, stating “we haven’t had this problem before”.
While I empathize with the feeling of being denied on the day of travel, I think with the crowding this was the right decision on AmEx part.
It definitely seems like that is the direction the lounges are going. So many people have access now that overcrowding is becoming more of an issue.
Is this for all the Priority Pass cards?
I have one thru CSR, one thru Ritz card, one thru Amex Plat, and one thru Citi Prestige. I recall the Ritz one being unlimited.
Hal, that’s an interesting point. I know the Ritz card does state unlimited. What do the terms and conditions state under your Priority Pass from that card? I only have the CSR and the updates to the conditions just came in the last few days.
I guess that I have to agree with PP an Amex on this one. The lounges are insane and not built for the volume now that people have access with so many cards.
Yeah I understand that – I just wish there was a way that they could limit by total number of visits. The real problem of overcrowding isn’t the casual family traveling once every few months – it’s the business traveler accessing lounges (on departure and arrival, often multiple times in a day) every week
Aren’t the lounges supposed to be an oasis of quiet? That implies there will not be lots of kids running around. Stopping them coming in free will probably go some way to achieving that aim. It seems a very reasonable step to me and frankly one that should have been implemented a long time ago. If being in a lounge is so important to the parents, the lounge is still available – for payment. Kids have not been banned, you just have to pay for their entry.
It may help the crowding a little bit but to Dan’s point I rarely see kids in the lounges anyways and most if not all parents I have seen with kids keep them under control. I am typically bothered at a much higher frequency by adults. My family will surely add another Priority Pass once my son gets above age 2 so we will still have access. This is just another example of lounge benefits being devalued even if it may “help” some travelers.
This may actually be a positive for non-family travelers lol. For those of us with two or more kids it’s a tough break though! Also, to Dan’s point, most families with kids are using the lounges much less frequently so a change like this can really be a big hit to the Priority Pass benefit for them.
Get a CNB card and the issue of limited guests in a Priority Pass lounge goes away.
It’s not the credit card issuer limiting the amount of guests, it is The Club Lounge which is limiting them because of overcrowding.
Too many unruly and noisy kids and kidults! In lounges. I’m good with such changes.
As I have repeatedly said, it is far more common for me to be bothered by loud-talking business man than kids running around. In fact, the next time I see kids running around the lounge unsupervised will be my first, while it’s pretty much every time I’m in a lounge that I hear some “important” business man talking loudly on a conference call
Simple rule. People are people. Does not matter if they are 4, 8, 12, 18 or 40 years old.
Makes perfect sense.
Interesting and timely e-mail thread; lounges used to be an “oasis” and now they have become something less (much like the degradation of the flying experience that those of us of a certain “vintage” will remember from our younger days. I agree that there has been an increase in “loud” businessmen (and women by the way!!!) but as to Dan’s point about never having seen misbehaving children running amok in a lounge – you are a lucky man! I have lived that experience more than a handful of times and am amazed that blissfully ignorant parents think this is “cute” behaviour or a chance for their kids to “let off some energy”. I think the underlying issue is a lack of civility and consideration for others that is manifest in almost all aspects of modern life. My solution? Make that rum and coke a double (or maybe even a triple?!!!) and think of the excellent place you are heading to or coming from.
Andrew I think you are right that people need to be considerate and civil regardless of age. Your solution of a triple rum and coke is another way to cope as well lol!
I assume the 3 hour rule relates to your scheduled flight time? I rarely do overseas and planning on arrival (thru security) more than 3 hours doesn’t make a lot of sense. Lounges were meant to ease time between flights or for use on a delay or for a quick stop prior to a fight. Not a place for a vacation.
You are correct that it is a 3 hour before departure time rule. It rarely is an issue domestically but sometimes international connections may be longer and this change will make those layovers a bit less comfortable.
Yes, we now live in a day and age when the lounge should be used as a place to get a few “free” drinks prior to boarding- its not a place to do work or a place to collect ones thoughts prior to flying, its a step up from a dive bar, and we must embrace the new normal- Amex lounges are nice and crowded and most priority lounges are nice and crowded and dirty. Fun fact- I was at the Amex lounge in PHL and over heard 3 middle age women saying that they purchase 29 dollar Spirit tickets to gain access to the lounge to drink for a few hours!!!! This is cry-yourself-to-sleep, next level, saddness. Uber driver- WHERE YOU LADIES GOING TO – LADIES- TO AN AIRPORT LOUNGE TO DRINK AND NOT PICK YOU MEN – UBER DRIVER- NEXT STOP DEPRESSION
Most lounges I’ve been to (with Centurion lounges MAYBE an exception) would NOT be worth going to these kinds of levels to get access to
Allen I think you are right that lounges have become more of a “free” drink spot more than anything. Sometimes you can grab a basic meal or a quick shower but that’s about it. The story of the Spirit ticket buyers is ridiculous…I’m not sure if they deserve more pity than scorn haha. I wonder how rampant things like that are at the lounges. There are a few stories of people buying refundable tickets and cancelling them repeatedly to access the lounge but that seems like a lot of effort for the payoff.
It depends. When you travel (and of course I don’t mean getting from one US city to another), 4+ hour layovers are the norm. The inability to enter a lounge is a major inconvenience (granted one just exited an economy long haul). Having less kids in the lounge is the opposite.
Not saying anything about children, but overall this is fair. Children will take up space as an adult does, so it’s more along the lines of being equal and that is a good thing. I really don’t see where any issue is. This is a fair way of admitting people into the lounge. Age really has nothing to do with this in my opinion. I see no issues at all with a 10 year old joining their parents in the clubs so this just equalizes access for all. Good move on their part.
I agree that it is fair to count kids against the total but that doesn’t mean I like it lol. It is a devaluation to the benefit of the lounge access for families even if I understand the reasoning.